aquatic urticaria

[grazel]

hi dr.. Im 26 years, female. i have a problem regarding my skin. after i took a bath, a red rashes appear on my face and chest for about 5-10 minutes before it completely gone. I've been to a dermatologist and she told me i have this aquatic urticaria. She recommends me to take desloratadine antihistamine every time this rashes appear again. i need your help.. is there any way that this allergy will not occur even though i would not take this kind of medicine?  Kindly reply.. thnx

[JME_B]

In am 37 yrs old and have had this my whole life. No dermatologist ever caught this and people had though that I was crazy always telling me that no one in the world can be allergic to water however I am. It has caused depresseion and extreme discomfort.  It is getting worse with age. How do I get someone to believe me? No medications have helped me at all that I have taken in my life.  Please help.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Water urticaria, or aquagenic urticaria, is a rare condition in which hives develop within 1 to 15 minutes after contact with water. The hives last for 10 to 120 minutes and do not seem to be caused by histamine release like the other physical hives. Most investigators believe that this condition is actually exquisite skin sensitivity to additives in the water such as chlorine but distilled water can also cause this reaction.

Treatment of water urticaria includes epinephrine, antihistamines, or cortisone-like drugs. Itching can be controlled with cold packs or commercial topical agents that contain menthol, camphor, eucalyptus oil, aloe, antihistamines, or cortisone preparations

Hope it helps. Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.Kind regards.

[jagesh50]

Some say it is more a hypersensitivity to the ions found in non-distilled water.Whether it is so or not can be a trial and error.Try bathing once with mineral water instead of tap water.Always do not lock your self in should you develop a severe type anytime.From your history seems a mild type only.Does this happen with cold or hot water?or both?