“They call me red tomato and they don’t want to touch me”: the drama of a boy who suffers from a strange skin disease | the Chronicle

This is the story of Artiom, the child from Russia who, from birth, had to face a skin disease that made him cry out in pain, and at the same time suffer discrimination. His name is ‘Ictiosis “, a disease that affects one in 600,000 people and causes dry, scaly skin on specific parts of the body. In the case of Artiom, covered her whole face and through a shocking video told her harsh life story.

“They called me a red tomato, some are surprised and others don’t even want to touch me” the boy started in his story with his eyes about to shatter. His relatives also provided testimony where they explained his difficult life story. “He was all red, like he had a burn. Doctors diagnosed him with ‘ichthyosis'”, expressed the grandmother when talking about how her birth went.

“The whole time he’s itchy, it’s sleepless nights. The baby kept crying,” he continued. Over the years Artiom he grew and the scales on his skin multiplied. They thought he would never walk or sit down. However, he was successful, but by the age of 8 his skin was already covered with scabs.

“It was difficult for him, but he always says ‘I’ll do it myself!’Her grandmother went on to point out that despite her difficulties, she asked for as little help as possible all her life. “Here in Russia, the doctors weren’t paying much attention to us, ‘Well, what do you want, it’s a genetic disease’ they told us.”he added.

“I held the scabs, I screamed, but I held”, He continued Artiom, demonstrating his strength with a chuckle. His parents couldn’t bear to see him in pain and took out a loan to travel to Germany, where they went to work to pay for his care. In the meantime, the creature lives with its grandparents.

“The most difficult thing for him is to bathe, he is in a lot of pain. If his skin is not cleansed, he scabs and he can even pass out in hot weather, and when it’s cold his skin tears “ added the grandmother, where at the same time she shows pictures of how she bathes her grandson.

To conclude, the grandmother mentioned that because of his illness, he is harassed by strangers. “Some adults are worse than kids, they even start to ask ‘What is this?’ ‘Why ?’ How could you let it burn like this? ” ” Vladimir Vitalievich, grandfather of Artiom. To protect him from assault, or take him to a private Orthodox school, where They take two hours to get there but he has friends who support him.

In the story appear several friends of Artiom, who have also testified and claim that they defend him when they ask him ‘Why do you look like a tomato?’. “We say it’s none of your business,” Misha said.

What is ichthyosis?

It is a group of diseases that produce visible scales over all or a large part of the surface of the skin. Its name derives from the Greek word for fish. Most cases of ichthyosis are hereditary, but some types appear as a result of syndromes or genetic diseases.

Symptoms depend on the type of ichthyosis. The most common are dry, scaly skin. This disease has no cure. Experts say the only solution is to relieve the pain with the right medications.

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