Woman Who Has Water Allergies Can’t Drink Bath, Sweat Or Cry

A Woman has spoken out about her sickness with the aim of assisting others suffering from chronic illnesses.

Tessa Hansen-Smith suffers from Aquagenic Urticaria, which means she is allergic to water.

She got a “water allergy” when she was about eight years old, and it has gotten worse over time.

Tessa said: “I would come out of showers and have huge welts on my skin, and my scalp would be bleeding after showering. So, the first things we kind of did was, ‘Okay, let’s take away your shampoos, take away your conditioner, take away any soaps you’re using.”

She played, swam, took baths, and drank a lot of water as a child, just like any other child, until she started experiencing strange symptoms.

Water now causes itchiness, rashes, and hives on her skin. When she drinks it, she feels a scorching feeling in her throat and throughout her body.

As a result, she prefers milk since the water content is buffered by proteins, lipids, and sugars.

Years of testing by numerous doctors led to a conclusion by her mother, her closest doctor.

“I feel a little guilty as a mom for not having seen when she would get out of the shower that she had hives and figuring it out way earlier that it was a water issue,” explained Dr Karen Hansen-Smith, Tessa’s mom.

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Tessa’s mother has encountered many unusual illnesses as a family medicine physician, but seeing her own daughter suffer is even more painful.

“It is heartbreaking. I still have my daughter, she’s 25. She’s not living the life she wanted to live,” said Karen.

Tessa attributes her cheerful mood to the encouragement of family and friends.

“That seriously makes all the difference, having people around you that do believe you and are helpful.”

Tess enjoys walks but must avoid overheating, so she spends much of her time indoors creating art, playing with her cats, and reading.

“In the summertime, when people are going to the beach, people are having pool parties and trying to escape the heat the best they can, those are things I can’t participate in and can’t enjoy, so it can be really isolating,” Tessa said.

Her health deteriorated as a result of her avoidance of water.

Tessa spent 12 days in Community Regional Medical Center after becoming dehydrated and developing ischemic colitis, a condition in which blood flow to the colon is stopped, resulting in serious illness.

She is currently undergoing physical rehabilitation.

Tessa is now sharing her story to help others with unusual and frequently misunderstood diseases.

She is included in the book “Chronically Empowered” and has appeared on the Dr. Oz show.

“I always think about how much easier and how much better life would have been if this didn’t happen to me, but because I know I can’t really change that, I just focus on how I can help other people going through similar things,” Tessa explained.

Tessa’s story has gone global on social media, and she uses her Instagram page Living Waterless to connect with others suffering from uncommon diseases and offer empathy and support.

“Having been able to meet so many people and getting to talk to so many people from so many different walks of life really does give me a lot of joy and gives me a sense of purpose with the condition,” Tessa said.

She plans to continue her studies in nursing and believes that as a nurse, she would treat patients with compassion and, most importantly, believe in their symptoms.

“I hope that I can go back to school again, I hope that I can get a job again, I hope that I can find a sense of normalcy in life again,” Tessa explained.

Tessa has an older sister who is not allergic to water.

Aquagenic Urticaria is thought to affect only 100 to 250 people worldwide.

There is no solution, and Tessa and her parents travel to the Valley and San Francisco to seek advanced allergy therapies.

For the time being, she is taking antihistamines to relieve the rashes, hives, and itching caused by water contact.