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A woman who was born with a rare inherited skin blistering disorder which caused her to get “bullied” and feel “like a freak” throughout her childhood and teenage years, as well as forcing her onto a soft food diet of “bananas and custard” for weeks at a time, now writes inclusive children’s books with a focus on disability to encourage “other children to grow up with confidence”. Vie Portland, a 52-year-old confidence coach, author and speaker from Winchester, was born with epidermolysis bullosa simplex generalised intermediate but was not formally diagnosed with the skin condition until she was 28. According to the NHS, epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare inherited skin disorder that causes the skin to become very fragile, and any trauma or friction to the skin can cause painful blisters. Vie is yet to find a treatment that helps her condition, and her feet are regularly covered with huge internal blisters which feel like she has “stones under (her) skin.” Her condition even means that she cannot eat “anything acidic or too peppery” and often spends weeks eating “just bananas and custard”. She has also developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms, because of walking with a limp to try to ease the pain. Now, Vie writes inclusive children’s books to raise awareness about living with a disability, because she grew up “afraid that there was no one else like (her)”, and hopes to write a book about someone with her condition next. Vie told PA Real Life: “So it feels like I’ve got stones under my skin all the time on my feet and it doesn’t matter how much you try to explain that to someone people just don’t get it. “Even things like if I meet friends for a drink in a lovely pub garden – I’ll be in agony because of walking on gravel and it takes so much energy out of me. “I can’t eat anything acidic or too peppery – sometimes I have to eat just bananas and custard for weeks.” Vie was born with the skin condition, saying: “I was born with no skin on my bottom and had some skin missing on my left foot. “The charity that works with people that have EB wasn’t around then – I spoke to someone recently from Debra, the charity, and they said if you looked at all the people on a double-decker bus, you’d expect to find at least one person with psoriasis. “But, you’d have to wait for over 700 buses before you met someone with EB.” As a child, Vie regularly had huge blisters all over her feet and the back of her heels. She explained: “I remember wearing jelly shoes one summer, and heat and friction are two of my triggers. “Throughout the day, blisters grew around the rubber shoes and I had to have the pair of shoes cut off my feet – it was excruciating.” When Vie was a teenager, she was very self-conscious of her condition, she explained: “I was in constant pain, and I struggled with all shoes and walking anywhere. “We’re always told not to pop blisters, but when you have EB they tell you to pop them because they get so big. “I didn’t know that at the time and it was just so painful. “People were noticing how I walk and I was embarrassed to show my feet – I didn’t have a normal childhood because of this. “Even something as simple as opening a bottle makes several layers of skin come off and cause me to have raw skin all over my hands, I was told this was weird by other people.” Doctors were baffled by Vie’s condition, over the years, she was told she had different types of eczema and even that she was allergic to her own sweat. But, at age 28, she was diagnosed with EB by a dermatologist in London. She said: “I just grew up believing that it was my fault and I was afraid that there was no one else like me.” “It all just made sense. “They even took pictures of my feet for a medical journal because it was so rare.” After getting her diagnosis, Vie began researching the charity DEBRA, which specialises in EB. She said: “I started finding out that there were people like me – it was amazing, growing up, I was bullied and felt like a freak.” Since then, Vie has sadly not been able to find a treatment that helps her condition. “There’s no cure for EB but things have moved on a lot over the past 20 years,” she said. “We have special types of dressings and creams which can help alleviate the pain.” On top of this, because Vie has been walking “unusually” for most of her life, she has developed thoracic outlet syndrome, chronic bursitis, and often has spasms. Vie said: “It can be frustrating at times because it just feels like no one will ever understand what it is like. “For most people, blisters are a bit painful, but it’s all right, but for me, it’s one of the worst pains in the world.” Now, Vie is focussing on raising awareness about living with a disability, and has recently written two inclusive children’s books called ‘Where Are We Going?’ and ‘Who Am I?’. She said: “I want other children to grow up with confidence and not to feel like a freak like me. “Children aren’t born with prejudice and I think it’s really important to teach them about all of our amazing cultures and worlds. “In my books, I don’t explicitly say the character is disabled until the discussion questions at the end – I want the character to be accepted and not defined by their disability. “I think people have more in common with each other than things that are different, and that’s a beautiful thing. “I’m hoping to write a book about someone with my condition – that’s my next plan.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fraser Franks undergoing heart surgery – four years after ‘hidden’ condition cut short football career 4 viral TikTok make-up trends you’ll actually want to try Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: What are the warning signs that your child might have cancer?

Breakups, dating drama, fertility struggles, and family feuds — hairdressers are privy to all manner of personal stories. As we relax, unwind, and feel someone else’s fingers through our hair, we tend to let down our guard, and often, the conversation can spill over into a free therapy session. The salon chair has long served as a sanctuary where we instinctively find solace in sharing our deepest thoughts and emotions. But unbeknown to us, hairdressers repeat the same interaction up to eight or nine times a day. It’s little wonder, then, that this is taking a serious toll on their mental health.

“My career was so multifaceted, if you look at it one way — messy, if you look at it another way — because I just wanted to do as much as I could with the throughline, the goal, and the North Star that I have,” model-entrepreneur-advocate Lauren Chan said during Thursday’s Refinery29 Twitch stream. “[And that] was to make fashion a more inclusive space when it came to size.”

Women and men who experience migraines have an increased risk of having the most common type of stroke, research has suggested. Additionally, women alone may carry a further risk of heart attack and haemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in or around the brain). People diagnosed with migraine are believed to have a higher risk of experiencing a heart attack or stroke before the age of 60. Migraine was associated with a similarly increased risk of ischemic stroke among young men and women Cecilia Hvitfeldt Fuglsang, Aarhus University Previous research had suggested the increased risk of ischemic stroke – when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel to the brain – mostly affects young women. However, it was unclear whether women with migraine also carry a higher risk of heart attack and haemorrhagic stroke compared to men. Cecilia Hvitfeldt Fuglsang, of Aarhus University, Denmark, and her team looked at Danish medical records collected from 1996 to 2018, from people aged 18 to 60. They identified men and women with a history of migraines and compared their risk of a heart attack and ischemic and haemorrhagic stroke before the age of 60 to the risks faced by people in the general population without migraine. Hvitfeldt Fuglsang said: “Migraine was associated with a similarly increased risk of ischemic stroke among young men and women. “However, migraine may be associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction and haemorrhagic stroke only among women.” The findings suggest both men and women with migraine had a similarly increased risk of ischemic stroke. However, women with migraine may also carry a slightly higher risk of heart attack and haemorrhagic stroke, compared to men with migraine and the general population. Women are more greatly impacted by migraine, especially since the condition is predominantly diagnosed in women, the researchers suggest. The researchers point out that since they used prescription drug records to identify patients with migraine, they may have missed untreated people, which could have resulted in an underestimation of the contribution of migraine to these health problems. The findings are published in the Plos Medicine journal. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Less than half of children ‘have received a meaningful financial education’ Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes makes British Vogue cover debut aged 82 Toff: Drinking mindfully is a gift to yourself

Many maternal care doctors in states that have restrictive abortion laws are facing the choice of whether to stay or leave after last year's Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade

Lewis Hamilton has claimed there were multiple drivers who should have been disqualified from last weekend’s United States Grand Prix for running an illegal car. Hamilton was stripped of his second place after the floor on his upgraded Mercedes failed a post-race scrutineering check. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who finished sixth, was also kicked out of the classification for an identical breach. But Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who claimed his 15th win of the season, and the McLaren of Lando Norris, elevated to second following Hamilton’s penalty, were both cleared of any wrongdoing. However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s race in Mexico City, Hamilton said: “I heard from several sources that there were a lot of other cars that were illegal and they were not tested so they got away with it. “I have been racing here for 16 years and there have been many other scenarios like this where some people have got away with it, and some have been unlucky and have been tested.” Hamilton said the sprint format in Austin – which allowed for just one hour of practice before parc ferme rules heavily constrict changes to the cars – coupled with the bumpy nature of the Circuit of the Americas were behind his disqualification. Limited FIA resources means the governing body checks only a handful of cars after a race, and the selections are based on oscillation data. But Hamilton continued: “There needs to be a better structure to make sure it is fair and even across the board. “We have never had that problem in Austin before, and is because we had a sprint race. An easy fix is that we should be able to change the floors. “The car should not be set from Friday morning especially at the bumpiest track on the calendar. “That is the only reason there were failures. And that reason wasn’t why we were as fast as we were. We hope we have another strong weekend here.” Hamilton finished just 2.2 seconds behind Verstappen in his most competitive race of the season – one he believed he could have won if Mercedes did not fluff their strategy lines. “I had just come out the press conference and I was about to get into the ice tub when (team principal) Toto (Wolff) came running down and told me,” added Hamilton. “It was devastating because it was such a great day and a great race. I was deflated, but there are lots of positives to take from it.” Read More Max Verstappen beefs up security in preparation for hostile reception in Mexico On this day in 2015: Lewis Hamilton crowned F1 world champion for third time Mercedes ‘need to take Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification on the chin’ Max Verstappen defies Lewis Hamilton to edge United States Grand Prix victory I can do something wiser with my time – George Russell stops using social media Charles Leclerc snatches pole position after Max Verstappen’s lap was deleted

People in the U.S. and Canada can now use Google’s flood forecasting tool to better

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Iran’s parliament has approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public and those who support them

TL;DR: The Kindle Paperwhite is on sale for $89.99 this Prime Day. This deal is