What is a collodion baby?
Collodion baby is the name given to a baby who is born encased in a skin that resembles a yellow, tight and shiny film or dried collodion (sausage skin). These babies are often premature.
The collodion membrane undergoes desquamation or peeling, which is usually complete by 2 to 3 weeks of life. This reveals the underlying skin disorder.
It is due to mutation of certain genes and is usually an autosomal recessive, congenital ichthyosis (scaly skin condition). However, 10% of collodion babies have normal underlying skin – a mild presentation known as ‘self-healing’ collodion baby.
Most of these babies die within first few days to weeks of life because of respiratory difficulty, inability to feed, and severe skin infections. Patients who survive beyond infancy have severe ichthyosis and variable neurologic impairment🥺
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