- Hollie Davies diagnosed with cold urticaria at Birmingham Children’s Hospital
- She breaks out into painful rashes within seconds of skin meeting fresh air
- Sudden drop in temperature could send her into deadly anaphylactic shock
- It means the schoolgirl is banned from swimming and even eating ice cream
By
Rosie Taylor
19:46 EST, 2 March 2014
|
19:47 EST, 2 March 2014
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Allergy: Hollie Davies is allergic to the cold – meaning she is banned from swimming, playing outside in cold weather and even eating ice cream
Winter weather for most of us means a bigger heating bill and having to wear more layers, but it could be deadly for one five-year-old girl.
Hollie Davies, five, is allergic to the cold and breaks out into painful rashes within seconds of her skin meeting fresh air.Â
A sudden drop in temperature could send her into a potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.
It means the schoolgirl is banned from swimming, playing outside in cold weather and even eating ice cream.
Her family have spent a fortune on heating and head-to-toe skiwear to keep her insulated against the chill.
Her mother Nicola, 31, said: ‘It’s heart-breaking. She’s not allowed out to go and play with her friends. I try my best to explain her condition but it’s not easy. We’re desperate for the weather outside to cheer up so she can feel normal again.
‘When I tell other people that Hollie can’t get too cold, they tend to laugh at me. They think I’m either joking or being a paranoid parent – but actually it is a matter of life and death.
‘Her condition is so severe that if she doesn’t take her medication, she could go into anaphylactic shock and that is always a fear in the back of my mind.
‘We have to watch her every move. It’s horrible, for six months a year she is basically housebound.’Â
Hollie suffers from cold urticaria, which is thought to affect around one in 100,000 people.
The condition causes itchy, painful hives which can last for days, shortness of breath and fatigue. Severe attacks can cause sufferers to collapse, go into shock or die.
It usually begins in young adults and there is no known cure, although some patients grow out of it.
Hollie began breaking out in angry rashes and welts whenever she was outside from the age of two.
‘Heart-breaking’: The young girl suffers from cold urticaria, thought to affect around one in 100,000 people
Her concerned mother took her to their GP who said it was an allergic reaction but could not figure out what was causing it.
‘I
was at my wits’ end,’ said Mrs Davies. ‘I had changed washing power,
stopped her eating nuts and exotic fruits, kept her away from any pets
and gave her only organic food. But still she was suffering from hives
every day.’
WHAT IS COLD URTICARIA?
Cold urticaria is thought to affect around one in 100,000 people.
he
condition causes itchy, painful hives which can last for days,
shortness of breath and fatigue.
Severe attacks can cause sufferers to
collapse, go into shock or die.
It usually begins in young adults and there is no known cure, although some patients grow out of it.
Hollie was
eventually diagnosed after visits to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, but
doctors told her mother and father Darren, 38, there was no cure and
they could only try keeping her warm and on antihistamines to ward off
reactions.
Mrs Davies said: ‘I thought that getting a diagnosis would be a weight off my mind but doctors knew so little that I still felt completely in the dark.
‘I was told I just had to make sure she was kept warm. I had no idea what we were going to do.
‘It was the middle of winter and temperatures were below freezing.’
Now Hollie takes antihistamines twice a day, which means she can tolerate temperatures above 4C (39F) for a few minutes. Without medication she cannot withstand air colder than 15C (59F).Â
From October to April her parents keep the heating on continuously in the family home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and Hollie has to wear a ski suit and balaclava when outside to keep her skin covered.
Painful: The allergy causes Hollie to break out into rashes (right) within seconds of her skin meeting fresh air
Even summer is no respite, as air-conditioning or being near the chiller section in a supermarket can trigger an allergic reaction.
But Hollie remains a happy little girl, although she sometimes gets jealous of her elder brother Reece, seven, being able to play outside and go swimming.
Mrs Davies added: ‘She knows what will happen if she does any of these things and she just accepts it, she’s a bubbly little girl and tries to look on the bright side all the time.’
Diagnosis: The schoolgirl was diagnosed with cold urticaria after visiting Birmingham Children’s Hospital
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Penultimate Mohican,
Adjust Your Attitudes, United Kingdom,
3 hours ago
Her parents have obviously done a fantastic job to get her this far, but I think this is the moment for an energy supplier to step in and say that the heating’s going to be free as will the backup generator be, and we really need to find a way of incentivising pharmaceutical companies to invest more time and money on rare conditions.
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