A teenager who sheds her skin every six weeks due to a rare condition
that dries it out has been thrown out of school because classmates are
scared of her.
Shalini Yadav, 16, suffers from Erythroderma, an inflammatory skin
disease also known as ‘red man syndrome’, which doctors are unable to
treat.
She needs to soak her body in water every hour and smear it in
moisturiser every three hours to prevent it from seizing up and flaking
off.
But her family of eight cannot afford the cream and she has shed her skin every 45 days since she was born.
And she has now been thrown out of school because the other children are scared of her because of her snake-like appearance.
Her desperate mother Devkunwar said: ‘Shalini is suffering from the disease since childhood.
‘We saw several doctors but none of them could cure her and her condition has continued to get worse.
‘I feel so helpless when I see her skin coming off, causing excruciating pain to my child.
‘This disease is not killing her but taking her life bit by bit. We have no idea where to go to and who to consult.’
Devkunwar, a care-giver in a state-funded community centre, is so heart-broken she says death would be kinder to her daughter.
She added: ‘It is better to die than living a life of misery.’
Shalini’s two siblings Sejal, 15, and Price, eight, are normal with no such complication.
Her father Rajbahadur, a daily wage worker, said: ‘It’s really sad
because she was not born normally and has scaly skin all over her body.
‘It is similar to being severely burnt, from the sole of her feet to her head.’
Shalini said: ‘I wanted to study but they threw me out of school as the children would get scared by seeing my face.
‘Everybody in the family is suffering because of my medical condition.
‘But what is my fault? What sin did I commit to be cursed with such a disease. I want to live.
‘Please help me, if you can.’
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