A woman in the US has opened up about her unique illness - Aquagenic Urticaria or allergy to water. Tessa Hansen-Smith told ABC News that she developed the allergy when she was 8 and it has worsened over the years. She played, swam and drank lots of water as a child but after the onset of the disease, she started developing symptoms. Taking baths or drinking water causes itching, rashes and hives on her skin. Ms Hansen-Smith has shared more about the journey and hospitalisations on Instagram.
"I would come out of showers and have huge welts on my skin, and my scalp would be bleeding after showering," she told ABC News.
"So, the first things we kind of did was, 'OK, let's take away your shampoos, take away your conditioner, take away any soaps you're using'," Ms Hansen-Smith added.
Drinking water causes a burning sensation in her throat and body so the 25-year-old claims she drinks milk because the fats and proteins and sugars in milk help the water molecules to "sneak past" her immune system.
Her mother Karen Hansen-Smith is a doctor who has seen many rare illnesses, but watching her own daughter suffer is very difficult.
"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," she told the outlet.
"It is heartbreaking. I still have my daughter. But she's not living the life she wanted to live," the doctor said.
Ms Hansen-Smith has an older sister who does not have a water allergy.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to pay the bill for her recent hospital stay, which rose to $8,000 (Rs 6.65 lakh). She has thanked all her supporters for helping them collect $10,000 in just three months, which will also help her in doctor's appointments, follow ups and physical therapy.
But she has had her tough moments. Ms Hansen-Smith said the scepticism of people around her was more painful than the condition.
"When I did tell people about it in college, I would have people try to purposely splash water on me, or I would have people throw ice cubes at me," she told ABC News.
However, despite her condition, Ms Hansen-Smith thrived in college. She attended UC Davis after graduating from Clovis Unified's Buchanan High School.
She takes walks but must avoid sweating too much, so she spends much of her days indoors, working on art, playing with her cats and reading.
It is that estimated only 100 to 250 people have Aquagenic Urticaria worldwide.
