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Simply slipping on a sock would cause excruciating pain for this Indian farmer who is forced to tend his fields in the buff.

But Subal Barman, whose naked body is a common sight in Rajpur village, in West Bengal, northern India, refuses to let his strange condition get him down.

He said: "From my childhood I could not wear clothes on my skin. It gives me a burning sensation and it’s unbearable."

He can’t even sleep under bed sheets as the material affects his sensitive skin.

Subal was diagnosed with the rare condition when he was five and again when he was 17 by a local medical officer.

(Image: Cover Asia Press)

But his poverty means seeking medical treatment in a nearby city would be far too expensive.

Instead he has become comfortable living his day-to-day life in the buff.

While many might be shocked to see a fully-grown man wandering around in his birthday suit, he insists people in his village have got used to him.

He said: "My neighbours have fortunately got used to me, they think it’s normal and never complain.

"They know I’ve had this issue for years so they leave me be and do not tease me."

He refuses to allow his allergy to ruin his social life and explains that he’s attended weddings, parties and even popped into the local temple completely naked.

Despite years battling the elements without a stitch on, Subal, who has never left his village, still has trouble with the weather.

While he enjoys winter - as the cold against his bare skin is a pleasant sensation - the summer is a different problem.

(Image: Cover Asia Press)

"I have to take baths several times a day in the summer because my skin is too sensitive to the heat," he said.

"I can’t cope with the prickly sensations, water is the only thing that helps.’ Although his allergy hasn’t affected his work as a farmer, the man who lives alone after losing his father as a child and his mother in 2003, is convinced it is the reason he’s still single.

(Image: Cover Asia Press)

"What woman could marry a man who has this kind of problem?"

Subal asked. "No family will allow their daughter to marry me. I know I’m an embarrassment but I have no choice. This is the life I have to live. I know I’ll be alone forever – this is my destiny. But being sad or depressed about it cannot reduce my problem."

As a child he did occasionally feel uncomfortable naked, but he now accepts that he’s likely to be nude for the rest of his life.

(Image: Cover Asia Press)

He likes to believe the condition may be a blessing. "I have accepted that God has given me this special thing. Maybe in his eyes I am special!”

A spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, Professor Hywel Williams, said that Subal might be suffering from a form of Dysaesthesia, which is an abnormal unpleasant sensation when someone is touched, usually caused by damage to the peripheral nerves.

(Image: Cover Asia Press)

He said: “Dysaesthesia includes pins and needles, burning, tingling and a crawling sensation.

"Dysaesthesia can result from a number of conditions such as diabetic neuropathy or multiple sclerosis. It usually occurs in localised parts of the body. Sometimes, no obvious problem with the affected nerves is found.”