A woman who was subjected to a bullying ordeal due to her severe eczema has hit back against her tormentors - by being becoming a top beauty queen. <\/p>\n
Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, endured daily taunts of 'snake skin' throughout school due to the condition which affected her face and body and it left her desperately under-confident and considering self-harm. <\/p>\n
But the dance teacher refused to cower away after she left school and when her eczema eased off she entered a local beauty pageant at the suggestion of her boyfriend. <\/p>\n
Now she has had the last laugh after she was crowned Miss Black Country and went on to compete in the Miss England pageant. <\/p>\n
Shelley, from Walsall, West Midlands said: \"I was picked on every day at school because of my eczema and it shattered my confidence. I never dreamed I would have the courage to enter a beauty pageant, let alone win, but I've finally shown the bullies that their words won't hold me back any more.\" <\/p>\n
Shelley-Marie had been born with sore red patches of eczema covering her body and although doctors told her mother Tracey-Marie that she would grow out of it, the condition only got worse. By the time Shelley-Marie was a toddler, she was covered from head to toe in eczema. <\/p>\n
\"It was really severe. My skin was always sticky and when my hair started to grow long, I had to have it cut short so it wouldn't get stuck to the eczema on my neck. <\/p>\n
\"It was in my eyes and the creases of my arms and legs. Mum used to bandage my hands up at night so I couldn't scratch myself in my sleep. I still try to sleep in gloves now to stop myself scratching, because it's become such a habit.\" <\/p>\n
\"At high school the bullying got much worse,\" she continued. \"People would try and get away from me like I was contagious. We had to wear long-sleeved shirts so during the summer, I was always going to see the school nurse to put my eczema cream on and cool down. <\/p>\n
\"That definitely didn't help. Most of the bullying was during PE lessons when I wore shorts and everyone could see the rash all over my legs. I hated it - I always tried to get out of PE, which I regret now. <\/p>\n
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The rest is here: A woman who was subjected to a bullying ordeal due to her severe eczema has hit back against her tormentors - by being becoming a top beauty queen. Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, endured daily taunts of 'snake skin' throughout school due to the condition which affected her face and body and it left her desperately under-confident and considering self-harm. But the dance teacher refused to cower away after she left school and when her eczema eased off she entered a local beauty pageant at the suggestion of her boyfriend Continue reading
\nGirl bullied over severe eczema so bad she was called 'snake-skin' becomes beauty queen<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"