Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media
Topics: Health, Mental Health, NHS
Alice Wade
A woman has claimed that she broke out in a full-body rash due to the stress caused by healthcare professionals not taking her illness seriously.
23-year-old Lily Thompstone, from Greater Manchester, England, had 'always' struggled with gut issues so serious that she was regularly sick after eating and was in constant 'discomfort'.
She was initially diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but believed there was something else lurking beneath the surface.
Then one day in May 2023, she woke up with lips so 'humungous' that she was rushed to the hospital in a panic. There in the emergency room, she was administered steroids to bring down the swelling.
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Lily recalled: "I randomly woke up with massive lips, they were humongous. The doctor sent me straight to A&E because they thought it could be an allergic reaction."
At this stage, she knew in herself that something was desperately wrong, but once again felt doctors were not taking her seriously.
A month later, a rash appeared on her chest and Lily, determined to find answers, visited three different doctors to try and get to the bottom of her symptoms. However, she once more felt as though no one was taking her seriously.
Medics at the time diagnosed her with light sensitivity and psoriasis, but Lily remained convinced that her body was signaling at something more serious.
From there, her symptoms only got worse, with the young woman developing a 'scaly' rash that spread to 90 percent of her body.
"It spread from my neck. I was completely covered," the 23-year-old said. "It just spread all over. When I showered, it would sting. There were hundreds of scaly spots. It covered 80 to 90 percent of my body."
Hoping to try to alleviate her symptoms, Lily rented a UVB lamp and began taking salt baths, which helped calm things down.
Sharing photos of her rash on social media, the content creator wrote: "Let this be your sign to stop stressing your body out before it turns on you."
After a year of fighting for a diagnosis, Lily decided to go private and was told she had endometriosis, the condition reportedly present 'all over' her body.
She now believes years of 'chronic physical stress' from a lack of diagnosis was the cause of her rash and that her body was 'signaling that it needed help'.
Lily said: "I wasn't taken seriously. It was horrendous.
"I had chronic physical stress from not resting, ignoring symptoms, under-eating or eating foods that didn’t support my body, and constantly pushing through discomfort. My nervous system and immune system were under strain for a long time."
Since being diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body, she has undergone two surgeries, with the latest one being in December 2025.
Lily added: "I never contemplated having endometriosis. Whenever I went to the doctors and told them where the pain was they'd say it was IBS.
"I went privately because I felt like I was at a dead end. I had pain when I needed to go to the toilet, I just knew something wasn't right."
In the end, she went to see an endometriosis specialist who said the findings were 'unbelievable'.
She is now urging other women to advocate for themselves.
Lily said: "It had a mental effect on me, I felt the need to cover up because I was really embarrassed of it. It definitely impacted my confidence.
"Just keep pushing because it does feel like you're at a dead end. I gave up until my psoriasis came and that gave me the push.
"Keep fighting, keep advocating for yourself."
She admitted that she was grateful for the initial psoriasis diagnosis since it helped to eventually uncover the real cause of her discomfort.
"Let this be your sign to stop stressing your body out before it turns on you," Lily said.