A resident of Utah told about water allergies

A resident of the US state of Utah, Alexandra Allen (Alexandra Allen) found out that she was allergic to water. The guesses of a 17-year-old girl confirmed the doctors diagnosis.

For the first time, allergy symptoms appeared in Allen at 12 when she was on vacation with her parents. After visiting the hotel pool, the girl noticed a rash on the skin and itching began. "I remember sitting in the bath and trying not to itch, not to make myself worse," Allen said.

At first, the family assumed that the girl had a reaction to chlorine. However, after a while the allergy reappeared after swimming in a lake known for its clear water.

Doctors diagnosed Allen's Aquagenic urticarial (allergy to water) when the girl was 15 years old. The disease is so rare that the medical literature describes only about 50 of such cases, the newspaper notes. Experts said that the American disease is degenerative in nature, that is, it is constantly progressing.

In 2014, during a trip to Cambodia, Allen found that she had a similar reaction in regions with a humid climate. The girl is worried that she may become allergic to drinking water.

Aquagenic urticaria is one of the rare forms of urticaria. Its main symptom is a painful reaction of the skin to water. Sometimes the reaction manifests itself only on a liquid of a certain temperature (very cold or hot) or on contact with water in which other substances are present, for example, fluorine or chlorine.