As everyone knows, food allergies, skin allergies, and respiratory allergies are the most prevalent causes of allergic reactions in humans. However, there are also certain uncommon forms of allergies, such as water, cold, perspiration, and sunlight. The last ailment impacts just around 250 individuals globally.
Since she was a teenager, Tessa has experienced symptoms of a water allergy.
A 25-year-old Fresno resident has an allergy to water due to an uncommon illness known as Aquagenic Urticaria. Even her tears and perspiration can cause welts and hives to appear on her skin as a result of this uncommon illness. According to Tessa Hansen-Smith, who has had this illness since she was eight years old, “My scalp would suffer after showering, and I would get out of showers with massive welts on my skin.”
“Therefore, the initial things we kind of did were, ‘Okay, let’s take away your conditioner, shampoo, and any soaps you’re applying,'” Tessa continues.
The woman has a burning feeling in her body and throat when she consumes water because of her disease. As a result, she is handling this problem differently. She says she drinks milk because it contains lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates that help the water molecules get past her immune system and feel better.
It is an uncommon ailment that has not yet received much research.
The National Institutes of Health describes aquagenic urticaria as an uncommon disorder in which skin contact with water, at any temperature, causes hives to appear quickly. It’s interesting to note that while its precise causes are yet unclear, it primarily affects women.
After years of consulting with physicians, Tessa’s mother, Dr. Karen Hansen-Smith, a family care physician, was the one to identify her daughter’s water allergy. “I feel a little guilty as a mom for not seeing when she would get out of the shower that she had itching, and figuring it out way earlier that it was a water issue,” she said, acknowledging her shame as Tessa’s mother.
It is devastating. My daughter is still with me. However, she isn’t leading the life she had hoped to,” she remarked. In addition, Tessa has an elder sister who is not allergic to water.
For her, taking a shower is not a soothing experience.
Tessa deliberately avoids things that cause her to perspire and minimizes body odor by shaving and using deodorant as needed, but occasionally she finds herself in circumstances that call for a shower: “I can’t do a lot of things that get me dirty,” the speaker said.
“It’s not a relaxing self-care experience for me to stand in the shower for more than five minutes and try not to pass out from hyperventilating while the water hits me,” she says.
Considering that Aquagenic Urticaria is thought to afflict less than 250 individuals globally, Tessa frequently runs into doubt from other people. It might be difficult and annoying for her when people even try to test her allergy.
Tessa prefers to drink milk than water.
Instagram user Tessa, also known as “Living Waterless,” often updates her followers on her life experiences.
She gave her fans an explanation in a 2019 Instagram story post, saying that because her immune system isn’t able to recognize every water molecule, she can tolerate a certain amount of water consumption, mostly from milk. She described how drinking water makes her body and throat burn, and how eating foods high in proteins, fats, and carbohydrates helps her better control and lessen the allergic responses that come with her disease.
Despite acknowledging on Instagram that her illness is becoming worse, Tessa remains optimistic about the future and aspires to become a nurse. “I aspire to return to school and find employment,” she uttered. “I’m hoping to regain some semblance of normalcy in my life.”
Not everyone has the amazing quality to pursue their goals despite setbacks. Hannah, a different girl who was born with an uncommon hereditary bone problem, motivates others with her accomplishments in cosmetics, showing that we can all be fighters and never give up.
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