I'm allergic to water! Or Living with Aquagenic Pruritus.

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Hi! So as you read in the title, I am allergic to water! Or to put more accurately my skin is. It is a rare allergy that I have struggled with since my early teen years, and its something I would like to raise more awareness about! As not many people even know it exists! So this is my story. So first lets start with symptoms, unfortunately AP does not have any visual symptoms which is incredibly frustrating as in the past I have had people thinking that I am lying about my condition. My skin reacts to any kind of water, when I bathe, when it rains or even my own sweat! (Which can be a joy at the gym) About 3 minutes after my skin is exposed to the water the itching begins, now its hard to properly explain the intensity of the itching, the only way to describe it is like a painful, burning prickly heat but with no visual abrasions on the skin, now this can last anywhere between 20 minutes and 3 hours at its worse. my itching is mostly localised to my thighs but, has been known to travel to my torso and arms if I'm having a particularly bad attack. Now the problem with this is if I actually itch the affected skin the itching intensifies and lasts longer, so I have to stick it out until it dyes down. I would wrap myself up in as much clothing as possible and then further wrap myself in my bedding to stop myself from itching and to put pressure on the skin. In the past I punched and slapped the affected skin because that pain was easier to deal with then the painful itching however, this was when I was in high school and phone calls home were made to my parents as they worried I was being abused as I was constantly covered in bruises! What I have discovered more recently which works a lot better is going for a power walk immediately after my skin has been exposed to the water, as my body is constantly moving and the itching is not as bad if this is the case, also I have something to concentrate on. Since I started using these methods my walks usually last around 30-40 minutes until I feel confident that the attack has past. (And the upside is I've lost some weight since I started this method! haha) This started around the time that I hit puberty, so around the age of 13, Unfortunately before this I was a talented swimmer, I was put forward in my age category to swim for my town! however as the symptoms started to kick in I had to hang up swimming until I knew what was going on. I remember my first proper attack, it was by far the worse attack I have ever had, I didn't know then not to itch the skin so the attack was incredibly intense and very long, lasting around 4 hours. My mother was beside herself not having a clue of what was wrong or what she could do to help while I was writhing around my bed in agony and itching myself to the point of bleeding. I learned very quickly after this that it was the water causing the effects and slowly I began to figure out how I could better deal with them. It took 10 years to be diagnosed with AP. TEN YEARS. Ten years of going to the doctors week after week so frustrated with my symptoms that I was at the point of tears. I wouldn't bathe for days on end because I was so scared of the attack that would surely follow. It was a very difficult time. The doctors prescribed every type and brand of antihistamine, anti itch cream and sensitive skin body washes and shampoo you can think of. He was convinced it was not the water that was creating the symptoms but the products I was using on my skin. Even after I repeatedly told him that I get the same affect with rain and with sweat. After ten frustrating years I moved in with my boyfriend, who lived in a different city. So as one does I applied at a new doctors and during my first appointment with them I mentioned my symptoms to him, he listened and smiled. "You have Aquagenic Pruritus" He said, and I've never felt so relieved in my life, finally someone believed me and I actually had a name for my condition! I felt so validated and excited I thought that if they knew what It was they could begin to treat it! Unfortunately the doctors explained to me that not much is known about the condition as they aren't sure exactly what causes the reaction in the skin, however he directed me to plenty of websites with information about the condition, and forums of people who suffer from the same condition as me where they would share tips and tricks that they found worked for them! I rushed home and instantly began reading as much as I could about the condition and about other peoples experiences. I cried with happiness, I thought I was all alone in the world with this odd condition which stopped me from enjoying a lot of every day things, but there are thousands of people with the same condition! I tried a lot of the suggestions and found some amazing results, I still have some intense attacks from time to time, but my condition is very manageable and a lot easier to live with now! There are medical trials happening in regards to AP right now, unfortunately I could not attend due to the fact I'm in university and can not miss 7 weeks of that, however I am remaining hopeful that they will figure out a cure soon! Thank you so much for reading my story, please let me know if any of you suffer the same condition or know someone who does. I would love to know your story, if not please tell me if you had any idea this condition existed! If you have any other questions about my condition please let me know also! :)