Five of the Most Insane Allergies

People with food preferences are ruining things for those with legitimate allergies. Sure, you can follow a gluten-free diet because your yoga instructor told you to. You can avoid shellfish because you don’t like their squishy texture. But don’t try to gain legitimacy for your picky eating by calling your preferences “allergies.”

It’s eroding overall understanding of allergies. One study from the University of Leicester found children with nut allergies often faced bullying and prejudice from their peers. These peers perceived the allergy as a “self-indulgent fad” instead of a serious medical condition.

Aquagenic urticaria causes people to break out in painful hives, lesions, and rashes when they come into contact with water.

An allergy is the body’s overreaction to a substance to which it is hypersensitive. Common allergy symptoms include welts, rashes, difficulty breathing — and in the worst cases — anaphylaxis, a life-threatening response that throws the body into shock. If untreated, an allergic reaction can escalate and cause death. That’s why families with children who have food allergies often have to carry up to four EpiPens to counteract allergic reactions.

There’s at least a minimal understanding of allergies to common substances like peanuts and bee venom. But if you think it was hard to get people to take your nut allergy seriously, think again. There’s a host of less common allergies that cause serious problems for their victims. Here are five of the most unusual allergies:

Water
Aquagenic urticaria is a rare condition that causes people to break out in painful hives, lesions, and rashes whenever they come into contact with water. Our bodies are 60 percent water, but the water already in the system isn’t the problem. Patients with this disorder only react to water when it comes in contact with their skin.

Related: The Disorder You May Not Know You Have

Scientists have no idea what causes it. The current theories are that a substance dissolved in water causes the allergic reaction or that water interacts with skin to create a toxin. Antihistamines don’t help. Rachel Warwick, who shared her story with the BBC, says she doesn’t go outdoors during the winter when it rains. Whenever she cries, her face swells up. But in the end, she just has to “suck it up and get on with it.”

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Sunlight
People with solar urticaria break out in swollen red patches known as wheals whenever they come in contact with ultraviolet light and sometimes even artificial light. It’s not life-threatening and symptoms usually fade within 24 hours, but this allergy causes painful reactions and can be debilitating. Those who suffer from it usually prefer a life of perpetual darkness. When they do go outside, they need to lather on sunscreen, wear long-sleeved pants and shirts, and use sunglasses and wide-brimmed hats.

Cellphones
Cellphone-related allergic contact dermatitis is a real condition that causes blistering lesions on the skin. Older versions of phones with keypads often had cobalt, nickel, or chromium — all somewhat common allergenic substances. People who were allergic to these substances usually had to resort to headphones or speakerphone whenever they called someone. Thankfully, newer versions of smartphones do not contain these substances.

Somewhat less common is electromagnetic sensitivity. Scientists have been unable to identify a set of symptoms that accompany this disorder. They range from digestive problems and heart palpitations to skin rashes. People who suffer from electromagnetic sensitivity will also likely have reactions to their computers and tablets.

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Anesthesia
Stephanie Kuleba, an 18-year-old from Boca Raton, Florida, died unexpectedly during surgery at a local clinic. Investigators later found out Kuleba suffered from a rare allergy to anesthesia. Her muscles contracted and her temperature spiked during the surgery; doctors couldn’t save her.

Allergies to anesthesia affect anywhere from one in 10,000 to one in 30,000 people — the data is unclear. But this allergy is tough to identify and hard to distinguish from an allergy to latex, which is often used in surgery. The patients who have this disorder usually wake from surgery packed in ice because their temperature skyrocketed during the procedure. Developing a headache or nausea from the anesthesia is not the same as having an allergy to it.

Sweat
Julie Reid, a former gymnast and dancer in Clearwater, Florida, suffers from an allergy to her own sweat. She led an active lifestyle as a dance instructor until she was diagnosed with cholingeric urticaria three years ago. “You don’t realize how much your body sweats until you become allergic to it,” Reid wrote on her personal website.

She runs the air conditioner constantly, but her body is almost perpetually covered in hives and lesions. Her condition made it impossible to continue in her profession. She breaks out in a sweat just while vacuuming.

Related: 9 Home Hacks to Combat Allergies

Symptoms for this allergy range in severity and can include difficulty breathing, fever, and fainting. Eating spicy food can also trigger a reaction. Some antihistamines have been able to minimize the reactions, but there’s currently no cure. “I have lain in bed for the last three years straight to avoid sweating, and it breaks my heart every single day. I miss my old life so much,” Reid says on her site.