A man feared that he might lose his nose after developing a huge growth on it which stopped him from leaving the house.
Around a decade ago former sailor Ian Arthur started developing enlarged bumps on his nose and went to the doctor for some advice.
He was initially diagnosed with a skin condition called rosacea, which causes redness on the face, but despite being prescribed treatment from his GP his nose continued to swell and expand.
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The 64-year-old tried to secure an effective treatment before the Covid lockdowns struck and was given an ointment and chemical scrub as a prescription.
However, this too did absolutely nothing to help Ian's issue and he was stuck seeking surgical treatment to relieve his issue after being referred to a specialist clinic.
By this point his nose had become bulbous to the point that he didn't want to go out in public unless he was wearing a motorcycle helmet and started shopping at late hours so he'd encounter fewer people.
Ian finally learned that he was suffering from something called rhinophyma, which causes the nose to become red, swollen and bumpy.
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"The rhinophyma started to develop about 10 years ago, gradually at first, but then more aggressively," Ian said.
"It became much worse and much more noticeable until, by two years ago, I started to feel like a freak.
"In my isolation, I called my nose John, after John Merrick in The Elephant Man. It was huge carbuncle, which people could not avoid looking at.
“During Covid, I began to withdraw from society and, when it ended, I just couldn’t face meeting people.
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"I wound down my business, because I felt clients were just staring at my nose. I even began shopping late in the evening, when there were fewer people about."
Urged by his daughter to do something about the condition, Ian 'thought about going to Turkey, on cost grounds' but feared his 'nose would fall off'.
In the end he came across the Ever Clinic in Glasgow, just down the road from his home in Helensburgh, and learned they'd successfully treated a more serious case of rhinophyma than his.
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The 64-year-old underwent a two hour laser treatment that removed the excess skin tissue on his nose, with him saying it was 'like stripping layers of wallpaper'.
Ian said: "At last, I discovered the Ever Clinic, virtually on my doorstep. I saw pictures of what they had done with another poor soul who was, if anything, worse than me.
"And the cost was affordable. I was dealt with in a single treatment of two and a half hours and, yes, it has changed my life.
"You must understand, I am a basically a working class, Northern lad and I felt very nervous and out of place in a private clinic. But the staff were brilliant and Dr Convery was utterly superb. I am so thankful.
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"Now it has gone, a huge weight has been lifted from me."
Ian now plans to make up for time lost during the pandemic by travelling on his motorbike, joking that he was 'just going to follow my nose'.
Featured Image Credit: SWNS