Allergic to the cold
By tony leather, 9th May 2012 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutNewsHealth
Where other young people in her age group can play in the snow, paddle in the sea, or just enjoy the outdoors, abbie could be fatally affected by even the slightest chill, in a deadly allergic reaction.
Allergic to the cold
For 12-year-old Abbie Tully, It has been a long, lonely winter, because this Bournemouth dwelling youngster has been forced to spend the last five months stuck indoors. Why? Because a rare allergy to the cold - known to medicine as cold urticaria - could kill her. Where other young people in her age group can play in the snow, paddle in the sea, or just enjoy the outdoors, abbie could be fatally affected by even the slightest chill, in a deadly allergic reaction. So bad is her affliction that she not only gets an angry, burning rash developing all over her body when she exposed to the cold, but anaphylactic shock is also a dangerous possibility.
Abbie must, for this reason, have a self-administering Epi-pen of adrenalin with her 24/7, in case the dangerous reaction takes hold, which happens to the unfortunate girl even if wrapped up warm, because the affliction strikes even if only a small portion of skin is exposed to the cold.
Normal school, during the colder half of the year, is out of the question for her, and she attends a special unit for children with long-term illnesses. With a name which translates to cold hives, this condition is so rare that it is not known how many sufferers there are in the UK.
The itchy, red rashes which flare up upon exposure to cold temperatures, be it via air, water or surfaces contact are very uncomfortable, and the symptoms appear very quickly - within just a few minutes and last up to two hours or more, in which eruptions.
appear all over the body, more severe reactions causing shortness of breath, abdominal pain and an irregular heartbeat.
Worst case scenarios can involve a drop in blood pressure, severe shock, a bodily collapse and even death, in the most extreme cases.
It is the activity swimming, whilst in cold water, which most commonly causes allergic reactions, and as this could pose drowning risks, victims are advised to avoid unsupervised entering of the water at any time.
The trauma is endless for Mother Nina Tully, 38, who has spent a small fortune on thermal underwear, hats, gloves, coats and scarves for her beleaguered daughter. Anyone thinking they might have this condition should hold an ice cube to the skin for a short time, and if distinct swelling and rash signs emerge, make an appointment to see a specialist for further tests.
Other, more familiar conditions associated with this peculiar allergy are viral hepatitis, glandular fever and chicken pox. For some patients, but not all, very high doses of anti-histamines are prescribed,but for Abbie they are ineffective.
Nina Tully is full-time carer for her daughter, along with IT manager., husband John, 41, the family having moved south from Edinburgh last year, though the condition surfaced only after the move. As a baby, Abbie had developed eczema, and blood tests showed her to be
allergic to milk and eggs.
It was in April 2011 that Abbie went swimming in the sea, emerging covered head to toe with red, itchy hives. The GP first suspected a water allergy, until a cold snap caused the rash to suddenly erupt again. One day in November, waiting for the school bus, she turned red and the hives spread all over her face and body.
A Christchurch Hospital, Dorset dermatologist, diagnosed cold urticaria, a rare allergy to cold, the hives a histamine reaction to cold stimuli, especially drastic drops in temperature, however brought about. The
condition also means that a sudden change in temperature could cause her to go into anaphylactic shock.
Since this is such a rare affliction, and untreatable as far as modern medicine is concerned, Abbie can only hope that one day, it might disappear as mysteriously as it arrived, and keep warm until the seasons allow her once more to brave the great outdoors without the thermal clothing. What an awful sentence for a young person to have to bear.
Abby Two
The itchy, red rashes which flare up upon exposure to cold temperatures, be it via air, water or surfaces contact are very uncomfortable, and the symptoms appear very quickly - within just a few minutes and last up to two hours or more, in which eruptions.
appear all over the body, more severe reactions causing shortness of breath, abdominal pain and an irregular heartbeat.
Worst case scenarios can involve a drop in blood pressure, severe shock, a bodily collapse and even death, in the most extreme cases.
It is the activity swimming, whilst in cold water, which most commonly causes allergic reactions, and as this could pose drowning risks, victims are advised to avoid unsupervised entering of the water at any time.
The trauma is endless for Mother Nina Tully, 38, who has spent a small fortune on thermal underwear, hats, gloves, coats and scarves for her beleaguered daughter. Anyone thinking they might have this condition should hold an ice cube to the skin for a short time, and if distinct swelling and rash signs emerge, make an appointment to see a specialist for further tests.
Abby Three
Other, more familiar conditions associated with this peculiar allergy are viral hepatitis, glandular fever and chicken pox. For some patients, but not all, very high doses of anti-histamines are prescribed,but for Abbie they are ineffective.
Nina Tully is full-time carer for her daughter, along with IT manager., husband John, 41, the family having moved south from Edinburgh last year, though the condition surfaced only after the move. As a baby, Abbie had developed eczema, and blood tests showed her to be allergic to milk and eggs.
It was in April 2011 that Abbie went swimming in the sea, emerging covered head to toe with red, itchy hives. The GP first suspected a water allergy, until a cold snap caused the rash to suddenly erupt again. One day in November, waiting for the school bus, she turned red and the hives spread all over her face and body.
Abby Four
A Christchurch Hospital, Dorset dermatologist, diagnosed cold urticaria, a rare allergy to cold, the hives a histamine reaction to cold stimuli, especially drastic drops in temperature, however brought about. The condition also means that a sudden change in temperature could cause her to go into anaphylactic shock.
Since this is such a rare affliction, and untreatable as far as modern medicine is concerned, Abbie can only hope that one day, it might disappear as mysteriously as it arrived, and keep warm until the seasons allow her once more to brave the great outdoors without the thermal clothing. What an awful sentence for a young person to have to bear.
Comments
3rd Jul 2012 (#)
I have won this disease，Among the cold water when the hives and itching，Time I go swimming, the water was cold and then I fainted，now i m 24years old,This disease is too when I was ten years old,Disease for ten years, my mother took me to see a Chinese medicine
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