With the exception of Ichthyosis Vulgaris, Ichthyosis is a very rare disease. Your skin is your body's largest organ. The normal skin cycle is renewing, dying and shedding - with the average skin cell lifespan being 14 days. With Ichthyosis, the skin does not shed as it normally would, but rather, builds up. There is little reliable data on the incidence of ichthyosis.
Most figures are informed estimates, with the margin of error large.
Best guesstimates are that more than one million Americans are affected by ichthyosis, and more than 16,000 babies are born each year with one of this family of genetic skin diseases, thus qualifying ichthyosis as a rare disease. If you have this condition, be aware that your children are at risk for developing it. There currently is no cure for ichthyosis. Intensive localized moisturizing may reduce symptoms. Caring for ichthyosis is as much about looking good as feeling good.