The strange case of the young woman allergic to water and a sip cuts her tongue

The university Tessa Hansen Smith suffers from a strange condition that has turned his life into torture for years: it is allergic to your own tears, saliva, and sweat and can only shower twice a month. Even drinking water can cut your tongue.

She was only 10 years old when doctors discovered she was allergic to water after developing a rash in the shower. Tessa, now 21, was diagnosed with aquagenic urticaria, a debilitating and incurable disease that can cause fever, migraines and rashes and seriously disrupt your daily life.

The young woman from California currently take nine tablets per day in the hope of keeping her rare disease stable.

“It’s a really hard condition to have because I’m even allergic to my own tears, saliva and sweat. I am very prone to heat exhaustion and should avoid physical activity. I even have to be transported to my campus to college because otherwise I come to my class with fever, migraines and rashes, which makes it very difficult to concentrate, ”she said.

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“I also suffer from a lot of muscle fatigue and nausea; the disease is usually caused by consuming something with a lot of water in foods such as certain fruits and vegetables. Even drinking water can cut my tongue, ”he added.

Tessa first showed signs of the disease at the age of 8, when he showered frequently and had a rash. He initially assumed that the rash was due to the fact that she was potentially allergic to certain soaps she was using.

“I’m very lucky because my mom is a doctor, so when these rashes kept showing up her first guess was that she was allergic to my soap or shampoo. With this in mind, we offer these products one by one. To relieve the rash I took an allergy pill which cleared it up, but aquagenic urticaria gets worse with age, so it does not work for me as before, ”he lamented.

Tessa and her mother had to do a lot of their own research to get to the bottom of it: “Having aquagenic hives can be a mind game sometimes; it’s hard to take so many pills every day knowing it will never really stop. “

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“I am often reminded that there is no cure and that I will never be completely better., which is certainly a hard thing to hear sometimes. “

Despite the daily challenges, Tessa is determined not to let her condition completely control her life: “I have always been very determined to be independent and to leave my hometown to go to college. I do my best to take things one day at a time because some days are better than others. If I can see my friends and loved ones without having to leave early because I feel bad, or go to all of my classes in one day, I see it as a victory. “