A man born with an agonising, rare butterfly skin disease said it won’t defeat him even though brushing his teeth causes blisters and showers feel like nails on his skin.
Peter Mesits has Recessive Distrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB) and regularly posts about the condition online, with some explainer clips gaining tens of thousands of views.
It affects every aspect of his daily life from his mobility to how he eats, drinks and sleeps.
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The 21-year-old said the condition was a lot worse when he was younger.
Now he focuses on building strength and promoting a positive mindset while managing the rare, painful skin-blistering.
But he still has many painful hurdles to overcome every day.
“It hurts like hell most of the times and it can affect my mental and physical health too,” he told Need To Know.
“Even brushing my teeth can cause blisters to appear in my mouth.
“Bathing is one of my biggest struggles because I have to change bandages every day.
“When I bathe I have to slowly take off the bandages one by one.
“Sometimes they stick into my open wounds and I have to tear it out of the wounds with a medical saline irrigation spray.
“When I sit in the bathtub the water can burn my wounds and it hurts like hell, and when I shower it feels like I’m showering with nails.
“Because the condition also affects me internally, blisters can appear in the mouth and in the throat.
“It makes the esophagus weaker, leaving esophagus narrowness behind.
“I was struggling to eat for as long as I can remember because I had severe esophagus narrowness but for the past few years it has improved significantly.
“People with RDEB most often get feeding tubes due to severe esophagus narrowness.
“I can say that I can now eat and drink more freely and actually enjoy eating.”
For people with RDEB, the skin is so fragile that normal use of the hands causes constant wounds and each time the skin heals, it forms scar tissue.
After years of healing and re-healing this scar tissue progressively causes the fingers to slowly fuse together.
Despite this challenging symptom, Peter has worked out his own way around it.
He said: “People with RDEB struggle with everyday things like eating, drinking, walking, running, exercising, getting dressed, changing clothes, bathing and showering.
“Everything just takes a lot longer but over the years I have worked out my own way of doing things.
“I have a daily routine.
“I wake up, make myself a cup of coffee, have breakfast, and do my daily bandage change routine.
“The bandages can take from 30 minutes to 90 minutes every day.
“Luckily I haven’t had any surgeries in my life.
“I usually have to go to the dermatologist clinic every two to three months for a visit.
“I’d say that I’m really looking forward about how my life will look like in the future, and I’m really optimistic about it.”
Peter, who is from Hungary, holds out hope that researchers will find a cure for the disease.
Incredibly, he still manages regular gym sessions to boost his fitness, which is not only a physical outlet but also helps his mental wellbeing.
He added: “My biggest goals are to keep progressing in my bodybuilding and fitness journey and gain as much weight and muscle mass naturally as I possibly can.
“That will improve my life quality and health.
“I also aspire to be an advocate for RDEB and spread as much awareness as possible about this condition.
“I am endlessly grateful to my parents for what they have done for me throughout all the hardships and trials and tribulations.
“I wouldn’t be here without their efforts.
“They keep me safe with this condition.
“They have done absolutely everything in their power to keep me safe, raise me up, and build me into the man I am today.”
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