A woman with an extremely rare allergy to water has revealed the tragic struggle of her day-to-day life.
A woman with an extremely rare allergy to water has revealed the tragic struggle of her day-to-day life.
Niah Selway, 21, from Hastings, East Sussex, has such severe reactions that a single drop of water can cause an intense burning all over her body that will last for hours.
The Truth
She has Aquagenic Pruritus, an allergy that only affects very few people worldwide and has no known cause…
The Symptoms
This rare condition means that, even though Niah’s organs are not affected and she can still drink water, liquids cannot come into contact with her skin, and everything from her own tears to sweat and urine can trigger allergic reactions…
Hours of Suffering
Her symptoms are so intense that she will often fall-asleep from exhaustion after a reaction, and has been left housebound apart from trying to sort out medications. Despite being under specialists for nearly four years, medical professionals are yet to find out the cause…
Treatments Don’t Help
Niah, who is known on YouTube as the ‘Girl who’s allergic to water’ said: “I am suffering in a really severe way, and no medication or treatment has had any substantial effect.” “It doesn’t matter where the water touches me, if a drop touches my arm the pain will spread to my back and torso, sometimes to my whole body…
Her Daily Routine is Impossible
“When I have a bath my whole body burns for hours on end. “Over time I worked out a routine, either way it’s painful but I have found ways to make it a little less traumatic. For instance, I don’t wash my hair in the bath anymore, I do it separately to feel less pain.”
A Disease Turned Disability
“There are so many things people don’t think about, such as sweat, urine and tears. Sometimes I’ll have a reaction on my body, I’ll start crying because of it and have one on my face too. It is basically a disability because of the things I can no longer do.”
A Life of Sacrifices
“In the morning I get to the toilet and I’ll have an allergic reaction to the first thing I do. I also can’t do much exercise apart from yoga and walking because I can’t sweat, and on hot days I’ll have to be stuck in front of the fan.”
Constant Pain
Niah experienced her first reactions at the age of five, with them worsening through puberty and finally peaking over the last couple of years. “Initially it would happen about every ten showers. The doctors weren’t showing any concern for it, so I thought maybe I am just not good at dealing with pain.”
Doctors Were Shocked
“Then in my teens it became every single shower or bath, and it got to the point where I wasn’t able to ignore it.” Niah’s extreme symptoms have left her unable to carry out basic daily activities and ‘baffled’ doctors…
A Strong Support System
“My family have been amazing, even in little things, like doing the dishes. They just take all water-related responsibilities away from me, and they have adapted their lives around mine.”
Time Away From Work
Niah, who works at an insurance company, has been forced to take time off her job due to her condition. Now barely able to leave the house, she will soon be deemed unfit to work…
A Life Of Isolation
Niah said: “There are days when my skin is awful from time to finish, and I just spend my time looking after my illness. The thought of rain is also terrifying, so I never go outside if there’s the chance it’s going to rain. I am in my own little bubble trying to deal with the pain, and I do what I can whenever it stops.â€
Impossible Dreams
One of Niah’s most treasured memories from childhood was ‘swimming’, and her favourite in adulthood as she first scuba dived in Tenerife in 2013.
“A lot of plans for my bucket lists where water-related things, like swimming with sharks.” However, her very predicaments allowed Niah to grow and find new strength and faith in herself…
Keeping Her Head Up
“I gained the ability to enjoy small things and not to be focused on the future, on the fact that I might not be able to work or have children. I only have time for positivity and people I love. If you weigh up how much of my time I spend in pain, I don’t think I should waste any of what’s left for myself.”
Hopeful For a Cure
Dr Adil Sheraz, consultant dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, said: “Aquagenic Pruritus is an uncommon and distressing condition that results in severe itching almost immediately after contact with water.”
The Official Diagnosis
There is no visible change on the skin, the itching can last for an hour or more. Underlying causes for AP remain unknown, theories proposed include breakdown of mast cells that lead to histamine and thus an itch. Although this is an uncommon condition it is probably under-reported and misdiagnosed…
Extremely Rare Condition
While Niah isn’t the only one with this conditionn, it is extremely rare. Some of these other strange allergies will shock you…
Your Shoes: Leather Allergy
If you get a poison ivy-type rash on your feet after wearing leather shoes, you could be allergic to chemicals used in the leather tanning process.
On The Bench: Allergy to Exercise
In mild cases, exercise allergy causes only urticaria, or hives, but in a more severe form, it can lead to anaphylaxis, a dangerous condition in which your blood pressure drops suddenly and you have trouble breathing.
Solar Flare: Allergy to the Sun
Symptoms are hives caused by sun exposure. The hives can be treated with antihistamines, and avoidance of sun can prevent this reaction. Fortunately, sun allergy is very rare. When it happens, the hive symptoms, which include stinging and itching, appear within 30 minutes of sun exposure and clear up within minutes of getting out of the sun.
Allergy to Electricity
People who claim to suffer from electrosensitivity say they are sensitive to electricical fields generated by products such as cell phones, microwaves, computers, and power lines. Symptoms of electricity allergy include headache, ringing in the ears, fatigue, and many other complaints.
Plastic, Please: Allergy to Coins
If you get an allergic rash on your hands after handling coins, you could have another type of contact dermatitis — a reaction to nickel, one of the metals from which coins are made. Nickel is a silvery metal that is mixed with other metals to form alloys. It’s found in coins, jewelry, zippers, the frames of eyeglasses, and many other products, and if you’re sensitive to it, you can develop a rash wherever nickel comes in contact with your skin.
Written On Your Skin: Touch Allergy
Dermographism is yet another type of physical urticaria. The word means “skin writing,” and the condition is so named because if you have this type of allergy you can write your name on your skin with pressure from your fingernail. Pressure on the skin causes an itchy hive reaction.
Beyond Brrr: Allergy to Cold
Cold urticaria, another of the physical urticarias, is very rare, but potentially dangerous. “Cold urticaria can be life-threatening if a person is suddenly exposed to extreme cold, such as diving into very cold water.
Allergy to Pollinated Fruit
This allergy occurs when someone who is allergic to pollen eats a fruit that contains the same protein as the pollen. This is called cross reactivity, and it can occur between ragweed and bananas, grasses and tomato, and birch trees and apples, plums, or peaches. Symptoms of such allergies are an itchy mouth and throat, and sometimes swelling of the lips. Symptoms usually go away if you swallow or spit out the fruit, and treatment is usually not necessary.
Flea Market Furniture
If you have a known allergy to dust or mold, be careful what items you bring into your home—especially if you don’t know their history or what could be lurking inside them. Non-washable fabrics, upholstered furniture, and carpets can all harbor dust mites and mold spores.
Chamomile Tea
Averse reactions to strong scents or flavors (like sneezing or coughing after eating hot pepper) are often caused by an irritant effect, rather than a true allergy. Occasionally, there are patients who develop a true immune-system response to plant-based products like herbs, spices, and essential oils.
Potting Soil
You may be careful about choosing a houseplant that you’re not allergic to—most don’t pollinate, fortunately—but what about the dirt it’s planted in? Soil can harbor mold spores, a very common allergen, especially when plants are kept out of direct sunlight or aren’t given time to dry between waterings. Mold can also grow on leaves and stems that are too moist, and dust (yup, another allergen) can build up on plants that aren’t tended to often.Â
Vacuuming
For people with dust allergies, vacuuming and even sweeping up around the house can be extremely difficult. Cleaning of any sort really tends to stir things up. Using a vacuum with a HEPA filter can trap some allergens within the unit—but it won’t prevent the “side scatter” that occurs around the vacuum as it’s pushed along carpet