• Question: can you be allergic to water

    Asked by anon-207513 to Silvia, Scott, Oliver, Natalie, Michelle, Lowri on 13 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Silvia Imberti

      Silvia Imberti answered on 13 Mar 2019:

      Apparently yes! I saw this in the news not long ago. So you have to be careful not to sweat, what a hard condition to have! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37625178

    • Photo: Scott Graham

      Scott Graham answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      although it is rare it is actually possible to be allergic to water. the condition is called Aquagenic urticarial. it is not a real allergy in the sense of when people have allergies a certain chemical called histamine is released. people who suffer from Aquagenic urticarial have similar symptoms but don’t release histamine. this doesn’t make it any less pleasant though

    • Photo: Natalie Lamb

      Natalie Lamb answered on 14 Mar 2019:

      Yes, like Scott said people who are allergic to water and it is called aquagenic urticarial. But also we treat drinking water by adding chlorine and you can also be sensitive and have a reaction to chlorine. This is not an allergy but is actually irritant dermatitis (like a chemical burn).

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