Harlequin fetus

Content Warning! The following article contains content that some may find shocking. Reader discretion is advised. Harlequin Fetus is a term used to describe pictures of infants with harlequin ichthyosis, a rare genetic skin disorder where the skin of an infant is covered with thick pale scales on the body. These plates are extremely painful and tend to crack and split apart very frequently. The thick plates can pull at and distort facial features and can restrict breathing and eating. The baby also has completely red eyes as a result of inverted eyelids. Mutations in the ABCA12 gene cause harlequin ichthyosis. Origin Due to the revolting nature of these images, they are often used as a bait and switch to trick people into searching this particular image. According to Google Analytics, the search terms "Harlequin icthyosis", "Harlequin fetus", and "Harlequin baby" have been searched since 2003. On January 16th, 2004, an Urban Dictionary user Bubby the Tour Guide submitted an entry about the image, warning users not to search it up. They described the image as "the most horrifying image of a disease anybody has ever seen." Another Urban Dictionary user submitted an entry for Harlequin Fetus, describing it as "the most severe form of congenital ichthyosis." The entry has received over 500 likes. Resources

Harlequin ichthyosis is a rare congenital disease that affects the skin Harlequin ichthyosis is a rare congenital disease that affects the skin of nearly 1 in 500,000 people. Around seven Earlier, babies with harlequin ichthyosis rarely survived beyond a few days. This was because they were unable to control their body temperature with the thick scabby skin and had difficulty What exactly is harlequin ichthyosis? Babies born with harlequin ichthyosis exhibit excessive thickening and hardening of the skin that looks like plates of skin scabs. These plates Difficulty breathing (death is most often due to breathing problems) • Difficulty in eating • • Flat nose • Red lips and eyes (everting of the skin causes them to turn inside out) • Small, swollen hands and • Ears fused to the head that appears as misplaced ears • Low body temperature • • • Frequent respiratory infections Most of the problems have their roots in the thickening of the skin. Due to the thick skin around the mouth, babies with harlequin ichthyosis face difficulty sucking milk from their mother’s breasts. Hence, they usually need tube feeding. What causes harlequin ichthyosis? Harlequin ichthyosis runs in families. The disorder is due to a problem in the gene ABCA12. ABCA12 is responsible for maintaining the skin’s protective barrier against external factors such as microorganisms. Genetic changes (mutations) disrupt this barrier and lead to the characteristic signs of the disorder. If your baby has harlequin ...

Lucas Ottone/Stocksy United Harlequin syndrome is a rare autonomic disorder, meaning that the condition stems from the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic part of the nervous system is responsible for unconscious bodily processes. Researchers This is because Harlequin syndrome can affect the body unilaterally, meaning either the left or the right side of the body. As a result, people with this disorder may experience unilateral sweating and flushing. Clinicians may also refer to Harlequin syndrome by using medical descriptions of the symptoms. Other terms for this condition are progressive isolated segmental Although similarly named, Harlequin syndrome varies from Harlequin ichthyosis appears in infants and results from the mutation in the ABCA12 gene. Infants with this inherited condition are born with areas of thick skin that are prone to cracking and splitting. This condition can impact the infant’s ability to eat or breathe. Signs and symptoms In some reported cases, symptoms of Harlequin syndrome begin appearing in adulthood. However, researchers note that the syndrome Trusted Source PubMed Central Highly respected database from the National Institutes of Health The most characteristic signs of Harlequin syndrome are the absence of both perspiration and skin flushing on one side of the body or face. These symptoms tend to be most noticeable following times when one might expect natural sweating or flushing. These times can include physical exertion, emotional resp...

the developing young in the uterus, specifically the unborn offspring in the postembryonic period, which in humans is from the third month after fertilization until birth. See also The stages of growth of the fetus are fairly well defined. At the end of the first month it has grown beyond microscopic size. After 2 months it is a little over 2.5 cm long, its face is formed, and its limbs are partly formed. By the end of the third month it is 8 cm long and weighs about 30 g; its limbs, fingers, toes, and ears are fully formed, and its sex can be distinguished. After 4 months the fetus is about 20 cm long and weighs over 200 g. The mother can feel its movements, and usually the health care provider can hear its heartbeat. The eyebrows and eyelashes are formed, and the skin is pink and covered with fine hair called After 7 months the fetus is 40 cm long and weighs over 1.3 kg, with more fat under its skin. In the male, the testes have descended into the scrotum. By the end of the eighth month it is 45 cm long, may weigh 2.3 kg, and has a good chance of survival if it is born at that time. At the end of 9 months, the average length of a fetus is 50 cm and the average weight is 3.2 kg. adj., adj fe´tal. a severe autosomal recessive form of collodion baby in a newborn, usually premature, infant; that is, a form of ichthyosiform erythroderma characterized by encasement of the body in grayish brown, often fissured plaques resembling plates of armor and by grotesque deformity of the...

Introduction Harlequin fetus (Harlequin ichthyosis) is a rare, severe genetic disorder that mainly affects the skin of a newborn. It is an autosomal recessive disease that affects one in five lakh live births. The newborn infant's skin is covered with diamond-shaped plates similar to fish scales. It affects the shape of the nose, eyelids, ears, and mouth, interfering with the movement of arms and legs. In addition, thick hard plates of skin present on the face and chest cause breathing difficulties. Thus newborns with Harlequin ichthyosis need immediate neonatal care unit management. Even though the Harlequin fetus is a serious medical condition, recent advances in the field of modern medicine have made an improved response to treatment and life expectancy. What Is a Harlequin Fetus? Harlequin fetus is a severe form of ichthyosis with extreme skin dryness and scaling all over the body. In this condition, newborn infants are born prematurely with hard trapezoid or diamond-shaped heavy skin plates separated by deep cracks. These skin abnormalities disrupt the shape of the nose, eyelids, ears, and mouth resulting in abnormal facial features. Thickened skin over the nose and chest interferes with normal respiration and causes breathing difficulties and feeding problems. Abnormally hard skin plates in the entire body disrupt normal protective functions of the skin and result in recurrent infections, water loss, and altered body temperature. After the newborn period, the skin pl...

Are You Confident of the Diagnosis? What you should be alert for in the history The clinical diagnosis of harlequin ichthyosis is supported by a history of premature birth, encasement of the neonate in a hard, armor-like shell of thickened stratum corneum, ectropion and eclabium in all affected infants. Characteristic findings on physical examination Characteristic findings include a severely hyperkeratotic stratum corneum that immobilizes the baby and cracks shortly after birth to form firm, polygonal, yellow-brown adherent plates separated by wide, deep, erythematous fissures (resembling a harlequin clown, hence the name) (Figure 1). The rigidity of the skin causes severe ectropion with conjunctival edema and eclabium. The ears and nasal cartilage are rudimentary and microcephaly can occur. The digits are well formed, but their encasement causes flexion contractures and mitten deformity. There may be digital as well as auricular synechiae, which can lead to conductive hearing loss. Circulation is impaired, sometimes resulting in loss of digits. Scalp hair may or may not be present, but eyelashes and eyebrows are usually absent. Movement restriction causes respiratory insufficiency and impaired suckling. Other rare reported organ abnormalities include renal tubular defects, lung hypoplasia, cervical hemivertebrae, micromelia, polydactyly, enlarged or absent thymus, thyroid aplasia, and patent ductus arteriosus. Prior to the past 20 years, most patients died in the first f...