Ichthyosis vulgaris is a skin disorder causing dry, scaly skin. It is the most common form of ichthyosis, affecting around 1 in 250 people. For this reason it is known as common ichthyosis.

The symptoms manifest themselves in childhood and can often improve with age, although they may become more severe again in old age.

The condition is not life-threatening; In mild cases the impact on the patient  is generally restricted to mild itching and the social impact of having skin with an unusual appearance, which can have scaly patches on the shins,  fine white scales on the forearms and rough palms.

In severe cases there is a build up of scales all over the body although areas with a high concentration of sweat glands are least affected.  When the build up of scales is acute,  the patient can suffer from prickly heat and severe itching especially  when he or she needs to sweat but cannot as a result of the scales. Various topical treatments are available to "exfoliate" the scales, in particular lotions that contain alpha-hydroxy acids.

This condition occurs in males only and develops in infancy with tan or grey scales on the limbs and across the trunk. It may effect the ears and face and the scales appear to be stuck on like stamps . It varies in its severity and improves in fine or sunny weather. It changes very little with age.

This condition is passed on by a mother  to her son with a 50% risk for each son. The carrier mother shows no evidence of the condition.

 

Affected babies are born in membrane, a shiny waxy outer layer to the skin. This dries out and is shed 10-14 days after birth, revealing the main symptom of the disease, extensive scaling of the skin caused by hyperkertosis.  The majority of collodion babies will develop congenital ichthyosiform erythoderma. However, a small number of these babies will have normal skin once the membrane is shed and, therefore, it is not possible to accurately predict the outcome in the early stages.

With age, the scaling tends to be concentrated around joints in areas such as the groin, the armpits, the inside of the elbow and the neck. The palms and soles are sometimes thickened and scaly and the scales often tile the skin resembling fish scales. 

 Usually the health of the child is normal, but obviously some problems may arise with their appearance when starting school and during teenage years.

The less common form of congenital ichthyosiform erythoderma is Lamellar Ichthyosis. This is different in that the skin is less red but the scaling is larger, perhaps darker and more adherent or stuck down.

These two conditions are passed on by parents with normal skin who both carry the abnormal gene (autosomal recessive) and the risk of a further child being affected is 1 in 4. They can be diagnosed
on a skin biopsy from the foetus taken (between 18 - 20 weeks) halfway through a pregnancy, if the parents which to know but there is no way of preventing them before conception, as the abnormal gene has not yet been identified.