Summary

here we look at the top 5 craziest allergies imaginable

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When most people think of allergies, they think of common allergies, such as peanuts, tree nuts, etc. However, there are much rarer conditions that may surprise you. Here are the top 5 most insane allergies.

1.      Allergy to touch (dermatographia urticaria)

When touched, the victim’s skin will inflame, causing rashes and blisters. Surprisingly, the rashes and blisters can be shaped, and on victims you can often see them shaped.

2.      Allergy to water (aquagenic urticaria)

Michaele Dutton, 21, is an example. Whenever her skin comes in contact with water, she gets hives. Water beneath the skin has no effect though. People with aquagenic urticaria produce histamine from mast cells in the skin which causes redness, rashes and hives if they touch water. Dutton's sensitivity is such that she can only bathe for about 10 seconds each week and cannot drink water, juice, tea or coffee, opting for diet cola instead. She is also restricted from eating certain fruits and vegetables.

3.      Allergic to hot and cold (hot and cold urticaria)

Note: this following info is from Mayo Clinic

Cold urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-e-uh) is a skin reaction to cold. Skin that has been in contact with cold develops reddish, itchy welts (hives).

 Note: This information is from Cholergenicurticaria.net

Cholinergic Urticaria is a medical term used to describe a subcategory of physical urticaria (hives). It is characterized by a hypersensitive response in the skin as a result of the body increasing in temperature (passively or actively), or the precipitating release of sweat. Individuals with this physical heat hives condition often ask, “Why do I itch when I get hot or exercise?” This is the most common symptom experienced by sufferers. Individuals may experience a cholinergic urticaria reaction in response to any activity that increases overall body temperature (or causes a sweat release).

4.      All food

This is a special type of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders, or EGID. It happens when white blood cells called eosinophilic invade parts of the digestive system. It happens rarely, which most of these having a few exceptions, meaning that most of the time, a person is allergic to most food, not all. However, there are still plenty of people allergic to all foods. They get nutrients directly pumped into his stomach.

5.      Sunlight (photosensitivity)

Note: the following info comes from Harvard Health

A sun allergy is an immune system reaction to sunlight, most often, an itchy red rash. The most common locations include the "V" of the neck, the back of the hands, the outside surface of the arms and the lower legs. In rare cases, the skin reaction may be more severe, producing hives or small blisters that may even spread to skin in clothed areas.

Sun allergies are triggered by changes that occur in sun-exposed skin. It is not clear why the body develops this reaction. However, the immune system recognizes some components of the sun-altered skin as "foreign," and the body activates its immune defenses against them. This produces an allergic reaction that takes the form of a rash, tiny blisters or, rarely, some other type of skin eruption.

There are several types of sun allergies. The most common are:

• Polymorphous light eruption (PMLE) — PMLE, which usually appears as an itchy rash on sun-exposed skin, is the second most common sun-related skin problem seen by doctors, after common sunburn. It occurs in an estimated 10% to 15% of the U.S. population, affecting people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. Women are affected by PMLE more often than men, and symptoms typically begin during young adult life. In temperate climates, PMLE is usually rare in the winter, but common during the spring and summer months. In many cases, the PMLE rash returns every spring, immediately after the person begins spending more time outside. As spring turns into summer, repeated sun exposure may cause the person to become less sensitive to sunlight, and the PMLE rash either may disappear totally or gradually become less severe. Although the effects of this desensitization process, called "hardening," usually last through the end of the summer, the PMLE rash often returns at full intensity the following spring.
• Actinic prurigo (hereditary PMLE) — This inherited form of PMLE occurs in people of American Indian background, including the American Indian populations of North, South and Central America. Its symptoms are usually more intense than those of classic PMLE, and they often begin earlier, during childhood or adolescence. Several generations of the same family may have a history of the problem.
• Photoallergic eruption — In this form of sun allergy, a skin reaction is triggered by the effect of sunlight on a chemical that has been applied to the skin (often an ingredient in sunscreen, fragrances, cosmetics or antibiotic ointments) or ingested in a drug (often a prescription medicine). Common prescription medicines that can cause a photoallergic eruption include antibiotics (especially tetracyclines and sulfonamides), phenothiazines used to treat psychiatric illness, diuretics for high blood pressure and heart failure, and certain oral contraceptives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also has linked some cases of photoallergic reaction to the nonprescription pain relievers ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve, Naprosyn and others).
• Solar urticaria — This form of sun allergy produces hives (large, itchy, red bumps) on sun-exposed skin. It is a rare condition that most often affects young women.

Sources:

 "Chronic Hives Caused by Heat." Cholinergic Urticaria, 23 May 2015, www.cholinergicurticaria.net/.

“Cold Urticaria.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 19 Jan. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cold-urticaria/symptoms-causes/syc-20371046.

Publishing, Harvard Health. “Sun Allergy (Photosensitivity).” Harvard Health, 2017, www.health.harvard.edu/allergies/sun-allergy-photosensitivity.