I'm Beautiful Despite My Scaly Skin | BORN DIFFERENT

AN ITALIAN student with ichthyosis is learning to embrace his skin condition through the love and support of his friends. 19-year-old Anthony Berizia, from Sicily but now studies in Trieste, was born with ichthyosis - a disorder that causes his skin to become extremely dry and scaly. Ichthyosis affects one in 250 people and can cause a number of health issues including overheating, as skin build-up can block sweat glands, and infections from skin breakage. As a result, Anthony spends hours every day caring for his skin, with a strict routine of exfoliating and moisturising. Anthony told Truly: “I always have to put my body lotion on otherwise I will feel very itchy, I will feel like my skin is burning. When I was a child I remember not understanding jokes that other children made. I’ve always been a very, very insecure child.” Anthony says that he often feels as if he is “not good enough” or “beautiful enough” and that he would always worry about not making friends or finding love. However, this has not been the case - and now he is beginning to embrace his skin with the help of his closest friends at home and at university. He said: “My friends are one of the most vital things in my life - they are the most precious people I’ve ever met. The positive thing about being born different is that you can distinguish people between good people and bad people.”