A woman has a "burning" skin condition which leaves her looking bright red and turns her eyelids "inside out".
Nathalie Richert, from Malmö, Sweden, suffers from a rare disorder known as Ichthyosis confetti which affects her entire body and makes it scaly, stiff and extremely dry.
The 23-year-old was diagnosed with the condition which she claims has only been reported in 20 people across the globe.
It baffled doctors when she was born because of "purple" skin.
Nathalie has since learned to live with her symptoms but is often the butt of jokes and regularly gets stared at in the street by unknowing strangers who think she has severe sunburn.
She said: "When I was born, it was so hard for my mother (Jeanette) as neither she nor the doctors knew what was 'wrong' with me.
"I was born purple and shiny; at first, doctors thought that my skin was so thin that the colour you could see was my blood, or that I had been deprived of oxygen.
"I started bleeding when the nurses held me and from wearing diapers.
"It's difficult living with something that is very painful and takes so much time to manage.
"People are shocked when they first see my skin when it's bad and say rude or hurtful things, like calling me a tomato or disgusting.
"Some have even told me that I'm not supposed to be alive.
"It's even worse when I'm abroad, in a warmer climate, as people immediately think I have got really bad sunburn."
Nathalie has suffered discrimination all her life, sharing some of her most painful memories.
She said: "When I was 10 years old, I was at a waterpark with school and the teacher told me people working there had received complaints from guests.
"They didn't feel comfortable bathing in the same water as me, so I wasn't allowed in the pool anymore.
"It made me feel incredibly sad.
"Another time, my sister and I were abroad looking for a place to rent and found a wonderful place, but when they met me they didn’t want to rent it out to us anymore because of my condition."
The 23-year-old is often in so much pain that she needs help with basic tasks like getting into the bathtub.
Her skin also gets so raw she can "peel off dead" parts of it.
Other side effects include cracking skin, stiff joints and having her eyelids turn outwards, as well as extreme fatigue.
There are different types of Ichthyosis; Nathalie's extremely rare type is self-healing – which means she also often gets dots of 'normal' skin appear on her body.
She said: "Somedays when I'm too stiff, I wake up and need help to get in the bathtub to take a shower or bath – some days I can't even move.
"When soft enough I can peel off dead skin from my body.
"I also get problem with muscle ache and stiffness.
"My eyelids are usually flipped inside out because of my tight and dry skin.
"They get dry and water a lot, I have to put gel every morning and before bedtime to keep them moisturised.
"The warmth is very good for my skin but I do get easily burned so I have to be more careful.
"As someone with a very different appearance, it's very easy to become ashamed, and often dealing with bad thoughts."
It has been a difficult journey over the years, but Nathalie has learned to love her body and accept herself for who she is.
She added: "As I get older I start to feel more confident about myself and slowly accept my skin.
"I don’t know any different, so I'm just trying to live my best life and being as positive as possible.
"I'm also so incredibly grateful for my family and friends.
"They all help me whenever it's needed, some of my friends have even helped me with my skin, for example taking dead skin from my scalp.
"It's not something everyone would do, so I'm very thankful and lucky.
"When I was on a trip in India, someone said that I was a goddess.
"It's not something you hear everyday, so it is still something I think of and it makes me smile every time.
"I want to share my story to help others."
