ON the face of it, Susan Johnson has what every woman wants – eternally youthful skin.

Her body is producing too much collagen – the natural protein added to beauty creams and injected by those in search of plumper lips and less lines – and so she is unlikely to ever get wrinkles.

But the reality is a painful disease, which leaves her exhausted and makes it difficult to do simple tasks.

Mrs Johnson first noticed something was wrong when her hands changed colour last winter.

The symptoms went beyond the normal effects of chilly weather. Her fingers would go blue and red and she suffered tingling sensations, so she went to the doctor.

She was referred to a rheumatologist and was diagnosed with Raynaud’s, which is a condition where the blood supply temporarily cannot reach fingers and toes because of the cold or a change in temperature.

During the following months Mrs Johnson, of Halstead Road, Stanway, noticed her joints – particularly in her hands – getting swollen and her skin becoming much tighter.

She was sent to the Royal Free Hospital, in London, and told she also had scleroderma, which is closely related to Raynaud’s.

It means Mrs Johnson’s body is making too much collagen, her skin is getting thicker and tauter, and losing its elasticity.

She explained: “It’s on my arms, my hands, my face, neck and feet.

“I have absolutely no loose skin on my arms, so carrying bags of shopping is quite painful and I have no strength in them to push myself up and out of the bath.

“Even peeling a potato can be difficult, because my fingers are bent.”

She has similar symptoms to rheumatism – swollen, painful joints covered by shiny skin – but scleroderma can also damage internal organs.

She takes medication every day, from steroids to tablets for her circulation and immune suppressants.

“No-one knows what has caused it,” said Mrs Johnson. “I’d never had any problems before this.

“It’s not contagious, it’s not hereditary and, at the moment, there’s no cure.

“I’ve been told it should stabilise in about five years, but I haven’t got a clue how I might look then. I’m beginning to see some changes.

“I’m 61 and I say to my husband, Keith, that it will look as though he’s married a 30-year-old.

Raynaud’s is quite a common condition, affecting 10 million people, and can be an early warning sign of the lesser-known and more serious scleroderma.

The Raynaud’s and Scleroderma Association encourages anyone who suffers from Raynaud’s symptoms to go to their GP for a proper assessment.

For more information, call the association on 0800 9172494 or visit www.raynauds.org.uk