A 21-year-old woman suffers from a rare condition, Aquagenic Pruritus that means she is allergic to water, tears, sweat, and urine.
Watch the woman who is allergic to water, tears, sweat, and urine
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Niah Selway, from Hastings, East Sussex, struggles in her day-to-day life as a single drop of water leaves her in burning pain that lasts for hours.
She can’t sweat or cry as well as it causes her body to burn for hours. She has left housebound and can’t go out especially when it’s raining.
Niah is a YouTuber and is also known as the ‘Girl who’s allergic to water’.
She said: “I am suffering in a really severe way, and no medication or treatment has had any substantial effect. It doesn’t matter where the water touches me, if a drop touches my arm the pain will spread to my back and torso, sometimes to my whole body.
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“There are so many things people don’t think about, such as sweat, urine and tears. Sometimes I’ll have a reaction on my body, I’ll start crying because of it and have one on my face too.”
“It is basically a disability because of the things I can no longer do.”
When she has a bath, her whole body burns for hours. She says over time, she has found ways to make it a little less traumatic but it’s still very painful.
Due to her rare condition, she started to feel that she wouldn’t be able to live a normal life. But her parents, Bob and Antonia and her boyfriend, Mark supported her and gave her strength.
Niah says she has learned to live with it and now has a positive attitude towards life. She has stopped thinking about what would happen and has started living her life.
She said: “I stopped focusing on what’s going to happen, and try to make now as positive as it can be. My family has been amazing, even in little things, like doing the dishes.”
“They just take all water-related responsibilities away from me, and they have adapted their lives around mine.”
Niah’s organs are not affected due to the rare condition which means she can drink water but if the water comes into contact with her skin, it leaves her with burning pain.
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