Loren Montefusco
is 22 years old, lives in South Carolina (United States) and
is allergic to water
.
If she gets wet she gets an itch that can last up to an hour.
The disease he suffers from is called
aquagenic urticaria
.
It is a variant of hives that only 37 people in the world suffer from and causes a rash after exposure to water.
She first noticed it when she was 12 and her doctor diagnosed it three years later as it kept getting worse.
Today, Montefusco manages to live a normal life without going near the water.
But sometimes he can't help but clean himself.
How does someone who is allergic to water bathe?
The young woman told the Caters news agency that
she avoids bathing as much as possible
.
When she does it, she showers quickly and dresses quickly as soon as she gets out of the water, since the wind, hitting her wet body, emphasizes the itching.
Loren tried several ways to calm the rash.
A cloth and water, for example, but it didn't work.
He did discover a solution in dry shampoo to avoid water.
However, what was infallible when it came to showering were the “
body wipes
.”
Thanks to them it is not necessary to get into the shower.
Loren Montefusco is 22 years old and lives in North Carolina.
Photo: New York Post
In addition to the physical pain, the thought of not bathing as often as most people distresses her.
She thinks it is “disgusting.”
When she discovered that there are other people who suffer from something similar to her, she felt accompanied in suffering from her.
Of her rashes, Montefusco said: “
I feel like the itch is far below the surface of my skin
.”
"I try my best not to get stung, but I can't help it."
It is very difficult for Loren to stay away from water, since in many scenes of everyday life she is exposed to it almost without realizing it.
“
I just have to hold on
.”
"I scratch my skin to feel more pain and not feel irritation or itchiness," she described.
The young woman tries to avoid bathing as much as possible.
Photo: The New York Post
The cause and symptoms of aquagenic urticaria
According to the
National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
, symptoms of aquagenic urticaria include small welts with clearly defined borders—mostly on the neck, upper trunk, and arms—and itching.
It becomes evident that the itching comes from the water when the patient is no longer exposed to it and the hives disappear.
The cause of the disease is still unknown
.
Although the aforementioned site mentions that scientists have several theories about it.
On the one hand, there are those who believe that it may be a substance dissolved in water that enters the skin and triggers an immune response.
According to this theory, hives are more of an allergen in the water.
Another idea is that hives result from an interaction between water and a substance found in or on the skin that generates a toxic material.