‘This is nasty’
A British olympian has horrified his followers by sharing a TikTok showing his legs had turned to “playdough”.
Lawrence Okoye warned his followers “this is nasty” before pressing his fingers into his shin, with the flesh depressing under his touch, leaving indentations. The clip has been viewed 8.5m times since being posted in December.
“It looks like I’m made out of playdough,” the Croydon native told his followers.
Viewers in the comments rushed to diagnose the former NFL defensive tackle and track and field athlete, speculating that the dimpling was caused by “fluid retention” or “pitting edema.”
Users also cracked a few jokes at his expense, with one quipping, “Bro turned into memory foam.”
“Bro can play connect the dots anywhere,” another joked.
When the athlete finally got to the bottom of the problem, he realised that the condition could have been life-threatening. It turned out to be a skin infection called cellulitis, which he revealed in a subsequent TikTok.
“Basically, it’s this thing called cellulitis,” he explained. ”
@fullheartedpush Can’t say I didn’t warn you! ? #disgusting ♬ original sound – Lawrence Okoye
The infection developed after Lawrence “smashed up” his leg a few weeks prior, the athlete explained.
Skin that looks red and swollen or is painful, warm and tender to the touch is a sign of the infection, along with “pitted” skin, “like the peel of an orange”, the New York Post noted.
According to the NHS, cellulitis can be serious if not treated quickly, spreading to other parts of the body, such as the blood, muscles and bones.
“Cellulitis makes your skin painful, hot and swollen. The area usually looks red, but this may be less obvious on brown or black skin. Your skin may also be blistered, and you can also have swollen, painful glands.”
In more serious cases, it can lead to full-blown sepsis, which could be fatal or require amputation of the affected limb, the Post noted.
“A ton of people were trying to tell me I had heart disease or liver disease, kidney disease, cancer and diabetes but obviously that’s not the case,” Lawrence explained in the second TikTok video, which garnered over 110k views.
@fullheartedpush #stitch with @Lawrence Okoye ♬ original sound – Lawrence Okoye
“Those crazy holes that were in my leg no longer exist,” he added in a third video.
“It’s easily treatable, just a weeks’ worth of antibiotics and some rest and I should be back to normal.”
Most people tend to make a full recovery in 7 to 10 days.
@fullheartedpush Replying to @Reece Roberts113 ♬ original sound – Lawrence Okoye
After Lawrence ’s first Olympic stint, in the 2012 summer games, he opted for the NFL and played for the Jets, Dolphins, Cowboys and Cardinals.
He then returned to Team Great Britain, nearly a decade after his American football aspirations expired, and competed in the Tokyo Olympics. He won silver in discuss at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year.
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