A Place In The Sun's Laura Hamilton shares photo of her bruised legs as she gives health update on her battle with rare autoimmune disease

Laura Hamilton shows off her bruised legs as she gives health update

A Place In The Sun's Laura Hamilton gave her Instagram fans a health update on her battle with a rare autoimmune disease on Monday.

The TV presenter, 42, suffers from Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a disorder that causes you to have low platelet levels which often leaves her with excessive bruising.

And sharing her day-to-day struggle with the disease, Laura confidently posted a photo of her legs covered in bruises.

Laura, who is currently filming for the Daytime TV show in Greece, revealed she's been suffering with 'flair-ups' this week and has had to wear long dresses to cover the bruising for filming.

Alongside the photo, she wrote: ''This is ITP! Just a little flair up this week. But you won't see it under my dress for filming! #itp #autoimmunue #itpawareness'.

Speaking in a video, she said: 'Well hello and good morning. I just want to say thank you so much to everybody who reached out to me following my recent story with my legs that are bruised.

'So that's ITP, Immune thrombocytopenic purpura. It's a reaction from a low platelet count that I have in my blood.

'It's been a very, very crazy week for me which I'll tell you more about very soon. I've been really really busy and I think it's just taken its toll.'

Platelets are cell fragments that are found in the blood and normally help the blood to clot. In people with ITP, the body produces antibodies that attack and destroy the platelets.

The autoimmune disease can cause easy or excessive bleeding or bruising with many experiencing purple bruises, as well as tiny reddish-purple dots that look like a rash.

She captioned the video: 'Also sorry to hear from those of you that have ITP too, particuarly those whose children have it... I am happy to offer any advice that I can! Laura x'

Laura spoke about her disease for the first time in October 2022 and explained that for her, ITP flares up when she is stressed but it is under control at the moment.

She said: 'It was really mad a year ago I was filming A Place In The Sun with a lovely couple in France - Mark and Janine - and I just stood there and I had an insect bite on my leg and I started scratching it.

'I was like, "Oh, I shouldn't have done that because I'm gonna have bruises on my leg from ITP."'

She continued: 'It's kind of under control at the moment I don't have bruising quite like that on my legs but it does happen it does flare up but I'm always trying to be positive about things and be a glass half-full.'

The disease only affects 4000 adults at one time, and is most common among young women.

Laura previously posted the picture of herself showing the bruising by holding her arm up in the mirror before heading out to film the latest series of the show in France.

She wrote in the caption of the tell-all post: 'This week I might have posted a few photos in pretty dresses, but this is the reality of what is underneath and what you can’t see…

Continuing on she said: 'I have had bruising on my arms and my gums have been bleeding. This is ITP.

'Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an auto immune disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. The bleeding results from unusually low levels of platelets — the cells that help blood clot.'

Giving a message to her followers, Laura concluded: 'If you are an ITP sufferer my thoughts are with you. Don’t let it get you down. Follow your dreams. Anything is possible. There is no need to let it hold you back… '