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Woman with over 40 allergies deals with her condition with humour, shares videos on Instagram
Shiv Sewlal from South Africa's Cape Town who has over 40+ allergies posts various videos on Instagram that people often relate to.
An influencer named Shiv Sewlal, based in Cape Town, South Africa has made an connected with people for a certain brand of Instagram Reels that hasn’t been explored much or talked about either. She talks about her life with 40+ allergies and has made people on the social media platform quite aware of the struggles, preparations and general humour around the lives of people like herself. She currently has over 86,500 followers. Hindustan Times got in touch with her to know more about her and what prompted her to start this page
Here's one such video, where she uses humor to talk about her condition.
Shiv tells us, “My worst experience was when I was five or six years old. I remember going to ballet classes and when we were all changing into our tutus, the other kids would just stare or move away from me. Now that I’m older, I can understand that because of the lack of awareness around eczema - they assumed that I was contagious. But back then, the most hurtful thing to witness is someone you’re just trying to be friends with, running away scared each time you go near them.”
The awareness she creates with her content, she hopes, will help against stigmatising those with allergies.
Talking about why she prefers to post video content above everything else, Sewlal shares, “Videos allow you to show your personality and I find it more authentic and real. I like to show both the good days and bad days with my conditions.”
And here is a video enactment of one such incident from her childhood:
Social media often helps people create safe spaces and the influencer agrees, “I receive many messages every day from people who are going through the exact same struggles as me. Social media has definitely helped me not feel alone. I have successfully built the community I always wanted to join as a child. People also give me tips so it’s truly a safe space where I can learn and we can teach each other.”
Talking about family support she adds, my family’s constant encouragement and help always makes me feel safe and loved though I didn’t make it easier for my parents growing up.”
Here’s a video of an allergy-free food item she made:
She concludes by saying, “If I was born with perfect skin and no allergies, I wouldn’t be the person I am proud to be today. I am strong, I am resilient and it takes a lot to truly bring me down. I have a strong and supportive structure of friends and family who understand and protect me. And fortunately, I also have a large supportive structure online.”
