Toddler nicknamed ‘Mickey Mouse' has incredible transformation
A young boy in China, once cruelly nicknamed 'Mickey Mouse' because of large, balloon-like skin growths on his head, has made a remarkable recovery following treatment for a rare skin condition.
The three-year-old, known as Qibao, was born in Fujian province with several large, dark moles across his scalp – symptoms of a rare condition called congenital naevus.
The condition stems from an overgrowth of pigment-producing skin cells and can have a lasting impact not just on a child's appearance, but also on their emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Doctors in Shanghai proposed surgery to remove the moles, but first, Qibao's skin had to be expanded to provide enough tissue to close the wounds post-removal.
His family documented the process, sharing video clips of Qibao before surgery with noticeable swelling on both sides of his head – an image that sadly led to the cruel nickname.
Five months later, the transformation is extraordinary.
Surgeons have successfully completed the procedure, and Qibao is now free of the large moles.
Post-surgery footage shows the cheerful toddler, head wrapped in bandages, playing in the hospital nursery.
His mother, Ms. Chen, reflected on the difficult journey and the hurtful comments from other children saying, 'We wiped away our tears and kept moving forward.'
Qibao's bravery has resonated with many on Chinese social media. One Douyin (TikTok China) user wrote, 'This child is so courageous, and so is his mother. I cried watching this.'
'I was teased for my looks too – this really hit home,' said another.
'He looks so happy now. This shows what love and medicine can do,' added a third.
Congenital naevus affects about one per cent of newborns, but in most cases, the marks are much smaller and often referred to as 'brown birthmarks.'
These moles tend to grow with the child, and for larger cases, surgery is typically required. If surgery isn't feasible, alternative treatments such as laser therapy or dermabrasion – a method that resurfaces the skin – may be used to reduce pigmentation and smooth the skin's appearance.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Winter is flaring up eczema for about a third of Aussies who suffer from the irritating skin condition
An irritating skin condition is flaring up for a third of Australians trying to keep warm this winter, made worse by heaters, woollen jumpers and long, hot showers. Eczema is a dry, itchy and inflammatory skin disease that usually begins in childhood and affects one in five children and one in 10 adults that suffer redness, scales, bumps, skin cracks, oozing fluid and crusts. Children are more likely to experience eczema because their immune system has not matured. People with a family history or from East or South Asian countries or others who suffer from hay fever or food allergies are also affected. The condition can be deadly when it is left uncontrolled and extremely inflamed, although rare. People can get serious infections from the disease, or the body can divert all of its blood away from vital organs to the skin. Dermatologist Deshan Sebaratnam told NewWire that a lot of people would notice eczema flare-ups due to the cold change in weather. 'When it is cold, there's often less humidity in the air, so your skin loses water to the air easily,' he said. 'There's also less sunlight, and sunlight dampens down the activity of the immune system in the skin and because it's cold, people aren't using their creams and moisturisers as much as they should. 'Wearing long clothes and things like wool can also be irritating on the skin, so now's a common time for eczema to flare up for a lot of Australians.' Dry air, heaters and long. hot showers that strip the body of natural oils can flare up eczema. The best way to avoid the condition is to use thick and greasy moisturisers that contain glycerine and ceramides to trap water in the skin and avoid products with fragrances, perfumes or food. 'You shouldn't be spending lots of money on your moisturisers,' Dr Sebaratnam said. 'Products from the QV ceramide range are really good or QV intensive as well. 'Funnily enough, people can use a cream their whole life, or a moisturiser or make-up, then suddenly develop allergies to a product. 'No one really knows why, but one day your immune system just decides it doesn't like it, then every time you put it on you get eczema. 'That's called contact dermatitis, and that can also make eczema worse.' Dr Sebaratnam said people with concerns about their skin should see a GP or dermatologist, a medical specialist in skin disease and health. 'No one understands your skin like a dermatologist, and they can help you know with eczema,' he said. 'It is a really itchy and uncomfortable condition that affects your sleep and has a cosmetic impact in terms of people's confidence if it is on their face. 'It can affect children's schooling, and even adults. If you're constantly scratching you can't focus at work, it affects every facet of your life.' Dr Sebaratnam said there were lots of myths about eczema. He said food rarely caused problems with the condition and steroids were a safe treatment option when supervised by a doctor.
SBS Australia
a day ago
- SBS Australia
A war-time missile struck her family. In Australia, Jasmina achieved her goal to help save others
Dr Jasmina Kevric is scrubbing in for surgery. The 39-year-old breast cancer specialist operates at Melbourne's Cabrini hospital and also volunteers her services, helping refugees like herself. "I wanted to give back to this country for giving us this second chance. I wanted to provide the care for the patients to have the best healthcare system that we could possibly offer." It's a sentiment born of the suffering she experienced 33 years ago. Dr Kevric grew up in Brcko, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was a young child in 1992 when conflict erupted. "No one anticipated a civil war in the middle of Europe. We heard a loud missile hitting the bridge. And that was the moment when the war started for us." For the Kevric family, it was time to flee. "We were lucky to escape at that time into a nearby town called Bihać, which is where my grandparents lived. And so we sought shelter." But conflict was never far away. One day it arrived at their peaceful family farm in the form of a missile. "All we heard was a big bang and the sound of the splinters that came towards us. I saw lots of blood. I saw my family on the floor. My grandma, I saw her lying on the floor in a pool of blood. My grandfather was on top of my brother protecting him. There was blood on both of them. "My dad had blood running down his face. It was a very surreal moment. It was something that stays with you for the rest of your life. I was standing on the stairs looking down at the medics doing CPR and stopping the blood and providing pressure on the bleeding parts of my family." The Kevric family survived but the impact of that terrifying scene changed the course of Dr Kevric's life forever. "I remember looking at those medics and thinking 'one day I want to be like that. I want to be able to provide this help to those most vulnerable." Four years after seeking refuge in Germany, Dr Kevric arrived in Melbourne as a teenager. She started school and the long journey began, towards her dream of becoming a doctor. "I didn't speak any English, so that was the biggest hurdle is learning how to speak the language. But, I embraced this new culture. And because I missed out on education for the last 14 or so years, I was absolutely hungry to learn." Dr Kevric mastered English and earned a scholarship to study medicine at Melbourne university, later specialising as a breast cancer surgeon. But for many of the 20,000 humanitarian arrivals accepted in Australia each year, barriers to skilled employment persist. John van Kooy is lead author of a report released this week by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. "It's significant because it's the largest longitudinal study of humanitarian migrants in Australia, one of the largest in the world. We surveyed around 2,400 humanitarian migrants or refugees over a 10-year period. And what we found, we are calling it 'occupational downgrading', which basically means that for those that were working in professional and managerial roles prior to coming to Australia, even after 10 years of permanent residency in Australia, weren't able to find the same level of employment and the same occupational status." For women, the 'occupational downgrade' was worst. "In families where there were children under five years old in the household, they were 84 per cent less likely to be in employment compared to men over that 10-year period. So significant differences in terms of gender." John van Kooy said many women and men unable to get their skills recognised here, turn to entrepreneurship. "Over one fifth of the sample in this study after over that 10-year period had ended up in self-employment or had started their own business, which is higher than the rate of self-employment for the Australian-born population. But it does show that the refugee cohort are resilient and they will do what they need to do to earn income and support their families." After achieving her childhood goal to become a surgeon, Dr Kevric now supports other refugees at the Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub in Melbourne's Northcote. "I feel incredibly proud and privileged to be able to reach this point in my life where I can provide the support that I feel that refugee patients need. And I know that because of my own personal experience. Often certain healthcare providers didn't understand what it was like to come to new country, not speak the language, not have the same culture." Dr Kevric's medical services are valued by the hub's clinical director, professor Suresh Sundram. "Any specialist, who've got an experience of a refugee background more sensitively manage and deal with the sorts of complexities that asylum seekers and refugees present. They may not access or recognise health issues that are important. This is particularly sensitive for mental health problems where mental health literacy may be very limited. We also have to deal with the problems of language where people may not be fluent in English. "And of course, their backgrounds: their torture and trauma background, their pre-migration experiences of conflict, which forced them to flee in the first instance, their migration journeys, which may be very harrowing in particular, if they've needed to take a boat from Indonesia, for example. "And then their post-migration experience. So, for example, experiences of immigration detention, which have a powerfully corrosive effect on people's mental health and physical health as well. So all of these factors combine to create a unique set of health challenges that asylum seekers and refugees present and may not be well understood by mainstream health services." Professor Sundram started the hub in 2016 and is proud it provides support for hundreds of people - all part of the Cabrini global health network, founded in America in 1880 by an Italian migrant. "St Francis Cabrini, who established the Cabrini Order in New York, really to cater to the needs of the immigrants that were coming into America. We formed a partnership to establish the hub here, which has been a major success in terms of being able to provide accessible free healthcare for asylum seekers and refugees who are unable to afford mainstream healthcare services or unable to access them." Dr Kevric is married with a young daughter. She is proud to support refugees and urges others to do the same. "I am hoping that the people of Australia see refugees who come to this country as someone who lost a lot in their life. I also want to remind everyone of the potential that the refugees bring to this country and that they are potentially the future doctors, the future lawyers. Together we can make this country even a better place if we embrace all those that we have in this wonderful land."
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
EZZ and these ASX stocks ride China's growing kids supplement boom
Kids' vitamins boomed after Covid Aussie supplement brands win big in China's wellness craze EZZ surges with China sales, and expands into Southeast Asia When Covid hit, parents across the globe scrambled for ways to keep their families healthy. But while adults were downing zinc and elderberry by the handful, something else happened – children's supplements quietly exploded. Early in the pandemic, the general view was that kids weren't at serious risk from Covid, so supplements for them weren't top of mind. But when new variants started popping up like whack-a-moles and vaccines lagged for younger age groups, parental panic set in. Suddenly, boosting kids' immunity became a front-line priority. By mid-2022, the global children's supplements market was already 35% bigger than it was pre-pandemic. Gummy vitamins led the charge (no surprise there), but liquids, chewables and powders also spiked; anything that could get past fussy taste buds. And the momentum hasn't slowed. Analysts reckon the children's supplement market could be nearly 50% bigger by 2025 than it was before Covid hit. Riding the wellness wave Meanwhile, Aussie brands didn't just catch this wave, they were paddling out before the swell even formed, especially in China. Post-Covid, 'Brand Australia' has become gold-standard stuff across Chinese households. Clean, safe, and trusted. In a market where quality and safety matter more than ever, Aussie products walk in with halo lighting. From baby formula to supplements, Aussie goods feel like peace of mind in a bottle for the Chinese consumer. For instance, Blackmores, now delisted after its Kirin takeover in 2023, remains a major player in China, backed by its 'authentic Aussie wellness' reputation. Another big Aussie brand, Swisse, continues to blend local ingredients with savvy storytelling, tapping into China's love of natural health. Swisse's use of familiar ingredients like eucalyptus and tea tree, which are staples in traditional Chinese medicine, has helped the brand resonate with health-conscious parents. EZZ builds momentum in China and Southeast Asia But it's not just the big legacy names making traction in China. A newer and smaller player, EZZ Life Science (ASX:EZZ), has also carved out a fast-growing niche. Over 85% of EZZ's revenue now comes from China, where its children's supplements are tapping into a growing cultural pressure that's as much about wellbeing as it is about academic performance. In recent years, healthy bone development has become part of the competitive parenting equation in China, and bone growth supplements are taking off. EZZ's L-Lysine Growth Capsules and Bone Growth Chews 3.0, which feature ingredients like lysine, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D3, are formulated to support healthy bone development, according to their labels. These two products have quietly become bestsellers on Chinese platforms like Tmall and driven by parents looking for that extra edge in their child's growth journey. In the first half of FY25, EZZ notched up a 40% lift in revenue and a threefold rise in pre-tax profit. And while children's growth supplements have led the charge, EZZ's broader lineup – covering eye health, immune support, DHA chews, and minerals – continues to expand. All of it is backed by TGA registrations, GMP standards, and growing reach into pharmacies and e-commerce alike. Other ASX-listed players in the game There are a couple more listed names riding the children-and-wellness trend: Nutritional Growth Solutions (ASX:NGS), for instance, specialises in paediatric nutrition. Its clinically tested Healthy Heights milkshake is in US grocery chains and moving into APAC, including China. Vita Life Sciences (ASX:VLS) formulates and sells vitamins, minerals, and superfood supplements across Asia-Pacific, including China, and caters to all age groups with brands like VitaHealth and Herbs of Gold. These names, alongside EZZ, are part of a growing local cohort tapping into global demand for quality supplements.
