Olympian Lawrence Okoye Shares Playdough-Like Legs After Scary Diagnosis

British Olympian and former American football defensive tackle Lawrence Okoye shared a video sharing his playdough-like skin due to a rare disease, as per a report in Fox News. In a video shared on Instagram in December, the athlete is seen poking the front part of his leg with his thumb six times. The imprint in his skin still remained even after releasing the pressure, as if he had pressed into dough.

Watch the video below:

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A post shared by Lawrence Okoye (@fullheartedpush)

"WARNING!! DON'T watch if you're squeamish...," Mr Okoye wrote in the caption. 

As per a report in the New York Post, the sportsman said on TikTok that "it looks like I'm made out of playdough''. Many people in the comments section thought that the player was having "fluid retention" or "pitting edema". 

The athlete later revealed in another TikTok video that he had a skin condition called cellulitis. Mr Okoye claimed that the infection started after he "smashed up" his leg a few weeks before posting the first video in December last year, the outlet further said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Cellulitis is a common bacterial skin infection that causes redness, swelling, and pain in the infected area of the skin." Antibiotics can be used to treat the disease, but if it not treated right away, it can be deadly. Furthermore, it can result in sepsis and very rarely, the infection may extend to the fascial lining, a deep layer of tissue, if left untreated. Moreover, cellulitis may result in shock, amputation and even death.

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Since its symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for those of other skin illnesses, cellulitis is often known as a 'silent killer'.

The Post stated that people assumed the athlete had a variety of other diseases. "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. I had an infection called cellulitis. It's basically bacteria that gets into your system from an open wound," Mr Okoye said in the TikTok video. 

He also confirmed that the playdough condition did not exist anymore. "Those crazy holes that were in my leg no longer exist," he athlete added.