Allergy season is rough for a lot of people, but nothing compares to the case of Florida's Julie Reid, who possesses a rare and strange immunological condition that makes her allergic to her own sweat and tears, causing her to break out in hives whenever she sweats or cries.
The condition - cholinergic urticaria - causes her skin to be hypersensitive to various things, including exercise and emotional stress.
"I am allergic to my own sweat (and tears)," Reid said on her GoFundMe page. "Me, out of all people. Someone who was so physically active every day."
Reid claims to have developed the condition just three years ago while working at a gymnastic gym, which forced her to quit her job due to the constant sweating causing her to break out in hives for hours to days. Now, she remains mostly homebound, even breaking out in hives when she vacuums.
Although the condition has drastically affected Reid's professional life, forcing her to stop being a gymnast, it also affects her personal life, as it prevents her from going out as much due to the stares that she receives for her condition.
"I went from being a gymnast and a dancer, to not being able to walk through the grocery store, during the day, without receiving hurtful stares," Reid said. "It is just as emotionally painful as it is physically."
Cholinergic urticaria works by stimulating the release of histamine and numerous other chemicals underneath the surface of the skin, causing tissue swelling and leading to small, bumpy rashes. Although many people point to heat as the cause, sweating is the direct physical stimulus.
Current treatments are limited, and many patients receive little outside of antihistamines, according to the National Organization for Rare Diseases.
"Currently, there is no cure," Reid said. "And I have no money to continue living like this, nor pay my medical bills. Especially without any health insurance. I cannot work and I am still fighting for disability assistance."
People can suffer from short-term urticaria through food allergies, insect bites, stress and specific medications. However, when the body's immune system attacks the tissues during these acute bouts, chronic urticaria can result.
Scientists believe that chronic urticaria is also linked to other conditions, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and hypothyroidism.
