Teen suffers from rare condition that covers her skin in scales
A teenager has been cruelly dubbed “snake lady” because of an ultra-rare condition which means she is covered in scales.
Floraine Nalugon, 17, needs to constantly smear her body with moisturizer to stop it from hardening and seizing up.
She said her bedding is covered in “scales” every morning when she wakes up and she rarely ventures into the crowded places in a bid to avoid unwanted stares.
The teen suffers from ichthyosis — a condition where a faulty gene affects the rate at which the skin regenerates causing a build-up of rough, scaly skin.
Nalugon from the Philippines hopes to be treated by experts in Spain who are looking into her case.
She said: “When I was seven-years-old, my parents moved. Initially, I thought I could escape kids back home, who ridiculed me for my condition.”
“My parents told me that I was conceived out of fish, that’s why my skin looks like fish scales to some while to others it looks like snakeskin.”
“It hurts me a lot hearing other people making fun of me. My parents gave me the strength through.”
“They showered me with love despite my physical deformities.”
India-based press agency Newslions is currently helping Shalini Yadav, 16, from Madhya Pradesh get treatment for a similar condition in Malaga.
They have taken details of Nalugon’s case to the same doctors.
“I’m very excited to know that there is a treatment of the disease I suffer from,” she said.
“I will be studying hard, get a good job and to show people that discriminate against me that there is a chance for me to be like them also.”
“I am hopeful that I will also be treated like the Indian girl, who suffers from the same disease like mine, is being treated today.”