My face was ‘on fire’ after eating disorder erupted into bloody sores

Mental Health

By Emily Lefroy

April 20, 2023 | 2:08pm

A UK woman with a face on fire finally has answers after years of being dismissed by doctors.

Charlie-Shannon Bedford, 20, had struggled with disordered eating since she was 12 — but never imagined it would leave her with painful burn-like marks and bumps all over her face.

The mental health care student was living with pain so extreme she was unable to lift her head and felt like someone had “thrown hot water” on her face.

“It wasn’t until the lumps began coming up that someone actually checked my blood and found out it wasn’t flowing properly around my body,” Bedford told NeedToKnow.co.uk. “My skin turned bright red — it was as if someone was consistently burning my skin.”

Doctors believe that malnutrition as a result of Beford’s eating disorder had affected her circulatory system, leading blood to collect in unusual places and causing “bright red” skin and debilitating pain.

At first, Bedford chalked it up to hormonal acne — but her condition got progressively worse.

“The lumps were on either sides of my chin and also my cheeks, there was hardly any pus but the pain was unbearable at times,” she recalled. “My face was constantly swollen, I could barely speak, and my skin felt like it was on fire.”

Her condition started getting bad in July 2020, and for the following two years she was in “hell,” with Bedford trying constantly to look for new ways to relieve the pain, including medication and at-home remedies.

All the while, Bedford was coping with bullies online. “I was told I looked like a burn survivor, I was told to kill myself, I was told to get cancer,” she recalled of viewers on TikTok, where she’s shared her health journey. “I was told my eating disorder should’ve killed me.”

The connection between Bedford’s eating disorder and inflamed skin was finally made in mid-2021 when a particularly severe flare-up prompted doctors to give her a blood test.

“[Doctors] realized my body was producing too many white blood cells, resulting in the blood not traveling around my body properly — it is also called leukocytosis,” she explained.

Leukocytosis — having too many white blood cells — can be a sign of underlying infection or inflammation in your body, or a symptom of something more serious, such as blood cancer, according to experts.

Bedford said her symptoms started making sense after she got her diagnosis.

“I was getting ill 24/7, I was in pain whilst walking and sometimes even standing up took a toll on me,” she explained.

As of 2023, Bedford’s skin has finally started to clear despite suffering occasional days of dryness and inflammation. More importantly, she’s “fallen back in love” with how she looks.

“Now I realize that the number on a scale doesn’t determine my beauty or personality,” she said. “I have since completed my eating disorder recovery, which allowed me to once again feed myself without feeling guilty about it.”

Bedford urged anyone who is suffering to reach out to those around them and seek professional help.

“As cliché as it sounds, it does get better,” she added.

The determined woman credits her family and friends for helping her through her darkest days.

“I am truly so beyond grateful to have them in my life,” she gushed.