What is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome? Jameela Jamil shows off face elasticity while raising awareness for condition

British actress Jameela Jamil has opened up about her battle with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare condition that affects the body’s connective tissues. The actress took to social media on Tuesday to share a video of herself, in which she can be seen pulling her cheeks to show the elasticity and how much the skin stretches.

With the video, she wanted to raise awareness about the issue and encourage people to get treated, as it can be dangerous if left undiagnosed or untreated.

In the video shared by Jameela Jamil, she is heard saying:

“Hi, look at this.. this is not an app or filter. It's my face, look at how elastic that is. The reason it's so elastic is because I have EDS, I have HEDS three, the H because I'm so hypermobile.”

She also went ahead and talked about her joints and showed how nothing bends “the right way.” She said:

“I want to talk about it despite the fact people like to make fun of me because of my health. It's a serious condition and affects every part of your body and your mind and it's a dangerous thing to have if you don't know you have it."

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What symptoms does Jameela Jamil have? More details about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome explained

Jameela Jamil’s condition might be very rare, but as explained in her video, it can be extremely dangerous if not diagnosed or treated. Experts describe the condition as a group of inherited conditions that cause abnormal collagen function. Additionally, these can affect the connective tissues that usually support and structure the skin, joints, bones, and even blood vessels.

As seen in Jameela Jamil’s video, people with this disorder have unusual joint mobility and stretchy, fragile skin that’s prone to breaking. Experts suggest that there are close to 13 kinds of EDS. One of which is hypermobility, which the Good Place actress suffers from. Other than that, other types that exist are classic, classic-like, cardiac-vascular, vascular, brittle cornea, spondylodysplastic, etc.

Talking about the symptoms, the most common ones are loose joints, elastic skin, and fragile skin. However, if one is experiencing too much muscle pain, muscle fatigue, skin that bruises very easily, or heart valve problems, they should immediately consult a healthcare practitioner. The diagnosis can be easily done through a few mobility assessments, genetic tests, a skin biopsy, and a specialized test called an echocardiogram.

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“Please look at the symptoms. It really can save your life”: Jameela attempts to spread awareness about the signs of EDS

Jameela Jamil expressed in her video that the sole purpose of her creating the video is to create awareness about the rare disorder. Speaking about the signs and symptoms, the She-Hulk star exclaimed:

"The way it affects bruising, bleeding, healing, if you want to have a baby... I don't drink, smoke, do drugs. I'm worried at the fact I'm disadvantaged in my health. It means you dislocate, your teeth are harder to work on, your struggle with migraines, random allergies.”

She also attempted to spread awareness and motivate people to visit a healthcare practitioner if they had any of the symptoms that could be associated with this rare disorder.

Jameela said:

“I’m not a doctor but that's why I want you to go to a doctor... if you're struggling with your joints and accidents all the time, please look at the symptoms. It really can save your life. The people who have it really look well. I love you, I'm with you, go get checked!”

This is not the first time that Jameela Jamil has spoken about her condition. She addressed the issue back in 2019 when she uploaded a video on social media about the same. She once again talked about it in 2021 with Parade in an interview where she called it an “invisible illness.”