A mother-of-three has a rare allergy to water which causes a painful rash all over her body if she showers, sweats or even cries.
Candice Dent, 35, from Kentucky, suffers from aquagenic urticaria – which triggers an outbreak of hives if she gets caught in the rain or washes up the dishes.
But she also suffers from dermatographia, meaning her skin becomes itchy and swollen when touched – which she said is far worse.
It prevents her from wearing certain clothes and sleeping on certain materials because they will cause welts in her skin.
Medication has proved to be ineffective, meaning all she can do when she has a break out is wait for the itchy hives to disappear.
Now she is scouring the internet hoping to find someone else battling the same combination of conditions as a means of support.
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Candice Dent, 35, from Kentucky, suffers from aquagenic urticaria – which triggers an outbreak of hives if she comes into contact with water
She said: ‘I’ve learned to live with the water allergy. I still have to shower, to workout and sweat, to run errands in the rain – I don’t let it rule my life.
‘But the touch allergy has been horrible. Plus, it plays off the water allergy and makes things a thousand times worse.
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‘It’s a vicious cycle.’
She was diagnosed with aquagenic urticaria in February this year, but has spent nearly two decades ago battling the condition.
She also suffers from dermatographia, meaning her skin becomes itchy and swollen when touched – which she said is far worse. It prevents her from wearing certain clothes and sleeping on certain materials because they will cause welts in her skin
It came to her attention when the former lifeguard noticed a painful rash would come to the surface of her skin whenever she went in the water.
At first, doctors told her it was a chlorine allergy and instructed her to thoroughly shower every time she’d been in the pool.
WHAT IS AQUAGENIC URTICARIA?
Aquagenic urticaria is a rare condition in which hives develop rapidly after the skin comes in contact with water, regardless of its temperature.
It most commonly affects women and symptoms often start around the onset of puberty.
The exact underlying cause of aquagenic urticaria is currently unknown.
Due to the rarity of the condition, there is very limited data regarding the effectiveness of individual treatments; however, various medications have been used with variable success.
Source: GARD
But this made no difference, and before long the hives would also spring up if she sweated or got caught in the rain.
Ms Dent said: ‘After documenting everything that caused a flare up, I went back to my doctor and he said, “It sounds like you’re allergic to water, but that’s crazy”.
‘Back then, aquagenic urticaria wasn’t even heard of. I only got my official diagnosis in February this year.’
Until recently, worked as a pre-school teacher – and there have been times when the job triggered her allergies.
She recalled one occasion where a child cried on her arm, and the tears triggered a rash.
Over the years, however, she has grown used to hive outbreaks being a part of her daily life.
She continued: ‘Most people don’t believe me, and I get mocking questions like, “If you’re allergic to water, how are you still alive?”
Medication has proved to be ineffective, meaning all she can do when she has a break out is wait for the itchy hives to disappear
‘It’s a skin allergy, not a food allergy, so I can still drink it – although drinking water can make my throat burn.
‘People also ask how I bathe, and I always say that unless they have a very odd way of doing things, the same way as them.
‘The only difference is that I get hives every time, but I can’t not shower.’
Usually, her flare ups happen within minutes of being exposed to water, and she said sweat triggers the worst reaction.
Unfortunately, antihistamines are fairly ineffective, meaning all she can do when she has a break out is wait for the itchy hives to disappear.
On top of this, she was also recently diagnosed with dermatographia, meaning her skin becomes itchy and swollen when touched.
She is now scouring the internet to try and find other people out there battling the same rare combination of conditions as her. She said: ‘I can’t be the only one’ (pictured with her husband, David, avoiding the rain at a sports match)
But her face is less affected, allowing her to still be kissed by her husband David.
WHAT IS DERMOTOGRAPHIA?
Dermotographia or ‘skin writing’ is a type of urticaria, or hives – where a raised, itchy rash appears on the skin.
It is thought to be caused when the cells under the surface of the skin release histamines under the slightest pressure.
Histamines are chemicals released in the body as part of an allergic reaction, causing the skin to swell.
In this type of urticaria, itchy weals occur after friction such as rubbing or stroking the skin. This itching may be aggravated by heat.
Weals and red marks also often appear as lines at the sites of scratching, and generally last for less than one hour.’
She has to resist the urge to scratch, as the further allergy means this exacerbates the problem.
It also means she cannot wear certain things, such as leggings, as they are too tight and will leave huge welts down her legs.
She’ll also find marks where her waistband, watch and socks have been rubbing against her skin.
Even sleeping on a pillowcase with wrinkles in, or resting her hands against her face can leave a red rash.
Now, she is scouring the internet to try and find other people out there battling the same rare combination of conditions as her.
She said: ‘I can’t be the only one.
‘I think the conditions are so rare that we’re not likely to see much improvement in treatment options, but I’m okay with that.
‘There are people dealing with far worse. I watched my dad Jim die of cancer. He suffered – I just itch.’