Jameela Jamil stretches ‘elastic’ skin on her face as she raises awareness of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Jameela Jamil has advised people to visit their doctor if they experience symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, while revealing her own experience with the incurable disorder.

The actress, 36, from London, took to Instagram, to raise awareness of the rare inherited condition as she demonstrated how the skin on her face stretches and her joints bend unusually.

She explained that it can be “dangerous” to live undiagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome because of how it impacts overall health including physical and mental.

Jameela has been praised by her 3.7 million followers for raising awareness of EDS, with many commenters sharing their own experiences with the condition.

Jameela pinched both of her cheeks as she began the video by demonstrating the “elasticity” of her skin and explained the unusual look isn’t caused by a filter.

Jameela said: “Hi look at this, Jesus Christ, this is not an app or filter. It’s just my face, look at how elastic that is. The reason it’s so elastic is because I have EDS, that is Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I have HEDS three, the H because I’m so hyper mobile.

“The joints, nothing bends the right way, everything bends the right and wrong way. Yes, that’s very sexy, thanks for asking.

“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 it even affects your mind and it’s very dangerous to not know you have it if you have it.

“It impacts bruising, bleeding, healing, if you want to have a baby it’s so important that your doctor knows you have EDS because it makes pregnancy so much more complicated.

“Childbirth, C-Sections, having an injection in your spine which some people need during childbirth. These are all vital things to make sure that you are super informed about.”

Jameela revealed that she was diagnosed with EDS at age nine as she shared the importance of children knowing if they have the condition, so that they can avoid contact sports and other things that could make them sicker.

She continued: “I don’t drink, smoke, do drugs. I’m worried about the fact I’m at a huge disadvantage with my health.

“It makes you clumsier, sometimes it makes your joints swell and it means you dislocate. It means that your teeth are harder to work on.”

The Good Place star explained that the condition can cause migraines and trigger random allergies, therefore she always has to carry an EpiPen. She said it’s also “common” for people who have EDS to experience random fainting.

Jameela added: “If you think you have any of these things, think you bruise really easily etc. look it up and see if you have any of the symptoms.

“If you’re struggling with your joints and accidents all the time, please find out before it’s too late or a doctor makes a massive mistake because they didn’t know you had this.

“It really can save your life. It’s hugely under researched, underfunded and misunderstood, especially because the people who have it really look well and healthy. People don’t believe us… I love you, I’m with you, go get checked!”

Jameela apologised in the caption of the post for not talking about her health condition more, having previously admitted that she was left feeling suicidal after a troll accused her of having Munchausen’s syndrome.

Munchausen’s syndrome is a rare psychological condition in which somebody fabricates or exaggerates suffering from an illness.

Jameela has previously defended her range of health conditions, including experiencing deafness as a child, being left in a wheelchair after a car accident and “having cancer twice.”

“I’m tired of the bullying, the taunting over my mental and physical health,” she tweeted at the time.

Jameela’s fans admitted they are “grateful” that she has since decided to share her experience of living with EDS, as some revealed they share some of the same symptoms and struggled to get diagnosed.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome can be disabling for some sufferers, while others have relatively mild symptoms. According to the NHS, EDS is a group of rare inherited conditions that affect connective tissue.