Woman Suffers from Rare Disease that Causes Her Nose to Grow at an Extreme Rate

At age 46, Pamela Ichard is afraid to leave the house.

The Louisiana native suffers from Rhinophyma, a rare skin condition that causes bumps, discoloration and rapid growth to her nose, and has since she was 15.

“When I was 15, I had beautiful skin, and my nose was a normal size,” Ichard says in this exclusive clip from Monday’s episode of The Doctors. “Puberty set in, acne set in — it got to be really bad. The bumps became purple, and red, sometimes tissue would come out of it.”

She tried to fix her nose with medications and laser surgery, but it only got worse.

“The doctor would prescribe me different types of medicine, but nothing worked,” Ichard says. “When my second child came, I noticed that the shape of my nose changed. From that point on, my nose continued to swell up and become disfigured.”

She has yet to find a solution, and went on The Doctors in the hopes that someone can help her.

“Despite going to different doctors, no one could tell me what was going on with my nose,” she says. “Every time I looked in the mirror, something would be changing on my face. My nose is so large I was embarrassed. It has stopped me from leaving the house. I’ve had anxiety for a long time.”

Dr. Sonia Batra, a dermatologist on The Doctors, says that it’s very uncommon for someone as young as Ichard to develop Rhinophyma, and it’s particularly rare as a woman.

“I think the most frustrating aspect is there’s no cure, and there’s no quick fix,” Batra says.

Instead, Ichard will undergo surgery to shave down the excess tissue.

“It’s a new beginning,” she says.

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