Health & Medicine

Hugging Is Dangerous For Baby With Rare Skin Disease

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Dec 18, 2014 03:56 PM EST

A 2-month-old was recently diagnosed with a very rare disease that makes it impossible for her to receive a simple hug. Named Kiira Kinkle, the little girl was born with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, which causes the skin to blister and rupture from minor friction.

"This is the worst disease you've never heard of," said her mother, Kirsti Kinkle, via NBC. "A clothing tag or rough fabric or even me picking her up under her arm can cause blisters. I can't hold her hand because it's constantly bandaged. There is no skin-to-skin contact."

At the time, the California family have been told that there is no cure for the health issue. However, there are certain precautionary methods to take that help prevent related health issues.

Stanford University's children's hospital talked with the family of three about the current condition.

"There is no cure," Kirsti Kinkle said, via KCRA. "Everything right now is just a treatment to improve conditions but not get rid of it."

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).    

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

More on SCIENCEwr