A 19-year old girl has shared her story about dealing with torment over the birthmarks on her body.
A teenage girl born with spots all over her body and as a result was verbally abused for years by other children has revealed how she has come to love the hundreds of birthmarks covering her face and body.
Ciera Swaringen, 19, of Rockwell, North Carolina, was diagnosed with Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus after being born with the oversized mole-like marks.
They cover more than two-thirds of her body, with the largest one stretching from her navel to her lower thighs.
Since she was a small child, she has had to endure cruel taunts from other children - and adults - but she has developed a positive attitude towards her rare skin condition, which affects around one in every 500,000 people.
Ciera's body was dotted with dark brown birthmarks as a baby, which shocked medical staff at Stanley Memorial Hospital in Albermarle, North Carolina, where she was born - as well as her parents.