A Murang'a grandmother is appealing to well-wishers to aid her in getting appropriate treatment for her grandson, who has a strange skin condition.
Alice Wambui, said her three years old grandson, Mark Kimya, has been suffering from this strange condition for two years.
She narrated how the boy's skin started flaking and thought it was ringworms when he was one year old.
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Wambui made the decision to rush her grandson to a nearby hospital where they were prescribed with an emulsifying cream, but the condition did not go away.
"After we stopped applying the cream the condition would come back, and we had to go back to hospital often," Wambui said.
Wambui said with time the boy's condition became worse as the skin became itchy and dry, making him to scratch himself all over the body and at times inflict wounds on himself.
"The itchiness makes him uncomfortable and at times he can't sleep at night,"she said.
The grandmother says Kinyanjui's mother woke up one day and fled from their home, leaving the boy behind under her watch.
"She became frustrated about his condition and decided to run away from home,"she added.
She said they have been attending frequent clinics at the Murang'a hospital, but the medication required to treat his condition is too expensive for her to afford.
Wambui who is a chips vendor at a roadside kiosk in the outskirts of Murang'a town said this has been making the boy's condition worsen day by day.
"It's more dangerous for him during sunny days because the skin flakes and starts peeling off, leading to small wounds," Wambui said.
Wambui further revealed the boy is normally sidelined by his peers, as they avoid playing with him due to his condition.
"I am afraid he might not be able to join school come next year," she added.
Ezekiel Kirimi, a dermatologist at Murang'a hospital, says Kinyanjui is suffering from exfoliative erythroderma, a severe skin inflammation causing it to peel off.
He said if detected at an early stage it can be treated with a cream, but the disease is at an advanced stage, a more expensive medication will be required.
He said the condition might affect the proper functioning of the skin exposing the patients to more health problems.
"This child will require intensive care and proper dieting to manage his condition," Kirimi said.
