We’ve all had to deal with the coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, a rash or some other skin irritation, and maybe even hives. And for what? Usually do to some substance that our body is allergic to, causing annoying and sometimes painful symptoms.
It’s safe to say that most people are allergic to something. Whether it be pet dander, dust, chocolate, or that lovely yellow powdery substance we like to call pollen, most people have to deal with being allergic to one thing or another. Being allergic to dust or pollen or certain types of foods seems common these days, but can you imagine being allergic to something else? Say…the sun? Here’s a list of the top ten oddest allergies.
10. Wood
Wood allergies can definitely be troublesome. While people are allergic to certain types of wood or sawdust, there are cases when people are allergic to any type of wood in many types of forms, whether it is dust or solid. Along with wood allergies comes the fact that you can’t touch paper, use a pencil, or be a lumberjack! The allergy can be so strong that it can cause the skin to look as if it was burned. In most cases wood allergies cause skin irritation, coughing, sneezing, and hives.
9. Plastic
In today’s world, I can’t imagine being allergic to plastic. As more everyday items are being turned into plastic items in order to be recycled, being allergic to plastic definitely has to be a hassle. Having plastic dermatitis means no drinking from water bottles, no Tupperware, certain types of glasses can’t be worn, no credit cards, or even plastic utensils. This allergy usually causes skin irritation such as a rash, swelling, redness, or itching.
8. Nickel – Nickel dermatitis
Nickel dermatitis is said to affect about 1% of the population today. While not a rare allergy, this allergy has become more widely known as the use of cell phones and other technical gadgets has skyrocketed. As more people use cell phones and iPods, there are more cases of nickel allergies popping up throughout the world. An allergy to nickel can make life hard, as many everyday items usually contain it. For instance, coins, jewelry, certain types of clothing, scissors, kitchen utensils, and even metal chairs.
7. Caffeine
Caffeine intolerance is a pretty common ailment. However, there are people that cannot ingest the smallest amount of caffeine without having to deal with life threatening allergic reactions. We all know caffeine to be the wonder drug when we need a little energy boost during the day. Those allergic to caffeine can experience delusions, anxiety attacks, hallucinations, muscle jerks, rashes, hives, heart palpitations, and blurry vision. Some even experience seizures which can be deadly.
6. Kissing
Sometimes a kiss isn’t just a kiss. This is exactly the case for those who are said to be allergic to kissing. No we’re not talking about a dwindling marriage either. Though this allergy doesn’t mean one is allergic to another’s lips or…tongue, the person who suffers from this allergy is usually one with a severe food or medicinal allergy. Because of the close contact and sharing of saliva, food particles or particles from medicine can be left in the mouth, causing an allergic reaction in some.
5. Computers – Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
Allergies to computers seems almost impossible these days, and even more impossible to imagine. However, computer users have complained or nasal congestion, sneezing, itching, and even headaches after using the computer. Studies have found that computer monitors and other parts contain a chemical called triphenyl phosphate, which is used as a flame retardant. Fortunately, levels of the chemical usually decrease after the computer is used for a longer amount of time.
4. Exercise – Anaphylaxis
You’ve probably heard someone joke and say that they are allergic to exercise out of the mere cost of being funny and probably lazy. However, there is in fact a real allergy that makes some allergic to exercising. Only 1,000 people are said to have the allergy. Called exercise-induced anaphylaxis, this allergy is only noticed after someone eats a certain type of food, say peanuts, and goes to exercise. That person can easily eat peanuts without having a reaction, but when exercise is added, the person may experience fainting, vomiting and difficulty breathing.
3. Cold – Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome
Not many people love being in the cold, but imagine being allergic to it. Known as familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS) or simply cold urticaria, this allergy is caused by cold temperatures. The cold weather will trigger the body to release histamine in the skin which causes rashes, hives, redness, and swelling. This condition can be deadly, especially if undiagnosed, as most people may at times swim in a cold pool or take a cool shower. Both of these can cause the body to go into shock.
2. Sun – Erythropoietic Protoporphyria
It is very rare that people are allergic to the sun, but the allergy does exist. It is said that only 300 people in the world are allergic to the sun. It’s medically known as solar urticaria. There is also a more serious condition known as erythropoietic protoporphyria. When exposed to direct sunlight, the immune system activates inflammatory cells that are within the skin. Most people allergic to the sun are told to limit their exposure and to wear sun block. Others need to wear special clothing or avoid the sun at all costs.
1. Water – Aquagenic Urticaria
Known as aquagenic urticaria, this condition is said to only affect one out of every 23 million people in the world. Being allergic to water is extremely rare, and most that are allergic to it are confined to their homes. Being allergic to water means being allergic to sweat as well as tears, and even allergic to foods that contain water, such as juices, tea, and coffee. This means that bathing and showering are extremely difficult. The person is hypersensitive to the ions found in non-distilled water, so most have to be very careful when drinking water, or they drink non-distilled water. Here is an article from an actual case of aquagenic urticaria.
51 Comments
I’m allergic to iodides, flourides, and bromides in tap water. Quarter sized whelps all over when I shower. They go away about 20 mnts after I get out. Diagnosed over 20 yrs ago, & haven’t drank or cooked with tap water since (not that I would want to, lol.) No issues with natural lake water, though. I have several other allergies, mostly chemical; nickel, pyestrr, plastic, ppd, thiurum, etc. Very annoying.
3. Cold – Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome
I am badly facing this problem since my child hood but middle days it got stopped but again facing same issue 🙁 everyday it’s happening please give proper and permanent solution to it
I would like to find out from those of you, whom are allergic to water, the Dr. that was able to Diagnose your condition. My 16 year old Daughter is allergic to water, Her Dr’s around where we live say so as well, but they tell me that i have to have her condition confirmed through a specialist for her medical records and all.
I’m allergic to bleach. If it makes contact with my skin, I get third-degree burns, and the smell of it causes me to have an asthma attack.
Some of my allergies: (1) Allergic to cold, break out in hives in torso, legs and arms, main reason I moved from north US to Texas. (2) Allergic to plastic , started out this past summer when holding plastic material under arm, huge red hives that sting. Same problem with cardboard/ books (moved all paper products out of bedroom) know to be careful. Remedy: Wash with soap and water and it clears up in 20- 30 minutes. (3) Allergic to rubber silicone caulking compound, found out while doing home repairs, accidentally rubbed right eye, swelled almost shut within 15 minutes. Again washed with mild soap and water, this one 12 hrs before my eye was back to normal. (4) deadly allergic to clams, eyes & tongue swell, throat starts to close, arms & body huge welts. So far been close to store both times it occurred. Remedy: taking 3 Benedryl antihistamine pills, sitting down for a while till rash disappear (I am pushing it, know in time I will be running the anaphalitic seen). And last (5) this weekend my ears started ringing, nonstop. Run into this post looking for answers as to what may be causing it. Sure bet , it is another allergy, but to what? It is my newest 64k allergy question.
Reacting like that to unset silicone caulk is actually normal. I’d worry it’s an allergy if you reacted that way to it once it had set fully.
i have this unusual is that i have what doctor diagnose as photo dermatitis but i am not sure if he is correct you see when i touch water especially the face my skin will sprout out new skin and intensely very itchy also if i go to a/con place my face will be pain also sameful also when bath what do think is the actual diagnoses thank you
Our 3 year old daughter is allergic to plastic, she can’t have the run of the mill toys that other children can have she has mostly wooden toys – but can have Lego. She also reacts to acrylic & polyester clothing – we found out when she got sick at 5 months old when her hospital name tag was stuck in her skin & a huge blister from the drip back slab straps& is now the owner of a Jnr epipen – it is hard for others to understand how hard it is for her, will we ever be able to find a day care that is safe for her, who knows we have been looking for 3 months now, will she ever have a safe learning environment outside of the safety of home that is our fear at the moment.
From the article “Usually do to some substance …” It’s ‘due’ not ‘do’… what has happened to education in this country?
im also allergic to water.i was diagnosed a few days ago and im only 14.its horrible and yeah it does happen to some people
Just be happy that you’re not allergic to things that you love to eat and love having.Like I’m a cat lover and I used to be allergic to cats and now I’m allergic to pecans,almonds,sesame seed,and every other type of nuts
🙁 Try having celiac disease. You might as well be allergic to everything delicious and even remotely processed. Even shopping for fresh meat at the market is a risk if it’s stored next to something seasoned with questionable seasoning. Grain fed beef, eggs and milk can sometimes carry it too. I’ve even gotten sick from cut veggies prepared in the store. Though also reacted to cantaloupe cut in store with the same symptoms as my kiwi allergy because the surface it was prepped on before packaging was contaminated.
Have celiac disease! I found out by accident too. My nurse for type one diabetes had put my blood work for A1C in the wrong place and it was tested for celiac disease, coming back positive!
I am also allergic to polyester. It is almost everything today. Found out 10 years ago when I was given a one piece pj set and woke up with eyes swelled shut, lips about 3x there size and hives about the size of my head all over my body. Polyester is everywhere. Best way to stop hives/itch is olive oil or peppermint oil. I also use zyrtec or allegra everyday or its hives everyday.
I am allergic to plastic. Its not as serious as that I can’t be near anything plastic, but I do break out into rashes that can be very itchy if I have exposure for a while (like 5ish minutes). For example, I have gotten rashes from plastic masks, chairs, bandaids, my glasses, a watch, some clothes and things like that. I don’t hold onto credit cards for more than 2 minutes at a time along with a lot of those other things, so that kind of stuff I don’t have to worry about.
Hi Ali
Finally found someone with the same allergy as our 3 year old daughter
Leza
i also am allergic to cold ever since i was 12 years old, very terrible, hives are unsightly and itch with burning, keep warm and take benny pills!!
That’s so weird. I used to love playing in the snow and didn’t mind being cold until I was about 12 years old. i found out around that same time that I had hypothyroidism. I started getting hives in the cold and when I go swimming I have to make sure it’s a heated pool 🙁 booo.
Recently, I had an allergic reaction to my dog and my eye swelled up and I couldn’t even put an ice pack on it because it made it worse. I’m 24 now and I still have this condition and now it has spread to my face when it’s cold. It used to only happen in my arms and legs, but now it’s all over.
It sucks, but I guess I’ll live 🙂
I think laura's parents may be my doctors.
Having allergic reactions to something? Got it limited to plastic, sunlight and polyester. Someone told me that plastic and polyester are the same thing does any one know if that is true? Also does any one know of, a home test that I can do, to determine what I am actualy allergic to?
Hi Cora
If you are allergic to these things, please try to stay clear of acrylic – our little one is the same as you minus the sunlight allergy & as far as we are aware there is no home test that you can perform to determine your allergies, prick & blood tests are the most effective to determine the allergens, I hope this is of help
Leza
the allergy known as Anaphylaxis is actually real, but it will not account for the obesity epidemic. we should add allergies to healthy eating and raw foods to the mix. Anyone have a name for that?
I'm allergic to nickel. It only affects me if I hold onto something with nickel in it for a very long time. Like a belt buckle touching my skin or jewelry. Its not the end of the world, but it just affects how I make purchases. I just have to buy gold and expensive jewelry (or plastic). I feel like this article treats these allergies like they affect us more than they actually do. I would imagine that someone who was allergic to wood or plastic is more like me, where it only affects them if they stay in constant contact with the item. I can keep metal stuff that has nickel all around my house, I just can't be touching it for an hour or more. If I keep my ipod in my pocket I'm fine. If I switch ears while having a phone call over 2 hours I'm fine.
Now I understand that there are cases where these allergies could be extreme, and in result be far worst than what I have to deal with. These extreme cases would be even rarer than they are trying to make it sound. So don't think that these allergies are scary things, when in reality there not.
Good point to bring up, there are different levels.
I’m also allergic to Nickel, but same as you, I have to touch it for awhile…the shortest time I’ve had a reaction was maybe 20 minutes, with some cheap earrings…but usually it takes an hour or 2 to notice, like for belt buckles and bracelets and such…and I have never had an issue with chairs or phones, probably because I don’t wear shorts much and I tend to wear makeup…it is scary what happens if I get a reaction and ignore it though…I swear after about 6 hours a cheap pair of earrings will literally cause my piercings to itch, sting, turn red and inflamed and finally start to BLEED, like they are somehow reverting to being freshly pierced or something…it’s horrible.
I actually am mildly allergic to sunlight. Not severely… I just have to avoid sunlight most the time and if I do go out I have to wear sunblock… I get all swollen, hives-y, and burned if I go in the sunlight. Also, small chunks of my hair fall out if I go out for too long.
I am also allergic to heat… If I am in a warm place i get hives. Summer is my least favourite time of year. HAHA
If I take hot showers I get hives and feel kinda faint/dizzy…Idon’t know if it’s actually an allergy or not but it is weird. Oddly enough I am also very sensitive to sunlight (I start burning in 20 minutes, not even exaggerating!) and I sneeze/get a powerful urge to sneeze if I step out onto bright sunlight, but only if it’s actually sunlight, not if it’s a bright light bulb turning on or anything.
The cold makes my hayfever go wild
It hurts when I touch paper, it makes my skin feel like its burning and it makes my hands sweat. I love to read but it makes it difficult to read and do homework. So I have to have a folder between paper and my wrist when I write. Its the worst when the paper is cold too.
wow, Aquagenic Urticaria would be terrible, especially around here, where it rains all the time. I personally love rain and even swim a lot on top of being rained on constantly.
laura, I can tell your parents are both successful by your grammar, no need to mention it.
@Meg: I'll bet it is, although I'm not allergic to any metal myself.
Here's something that must be frustrating to people who are allergic to wood: paper. That means no books. Also, doors tend to be wooden, although some types of houses don't use wood.
the daftest thing ever is being alergic to Nickel or any tipe of metal is having to choose a restaurant that doesnt have metal chairs ! =O
@laura, funny that you should have two successful doctors as your parents nd u type lyk dis. I think what you're saying is that humans are made of a large percentage of water. While that may be true, what triggers aquagenic urticaria is the contact of water on skin, not the water alone. "although it is not a histamine releasing allergic reaction like other forms of urticaria; it is more a hypersensitivity to the ions found in non-distilled water"
Thank Anna, you beat me to replying @laura. You said it much better than I would have anyway.
So she is right, they are not allergic to water.
If i were allergic to electromagnetic fields (EM) then i would not go around and say i am allergic to computers, thats just wrong, Laura is right that this article is bad, its “sensational” journalism. Water and computer allergy is much more sensational for the average intelligent ppl than Ion and EM, but its still false info unless one reads the fine print, which Laura did not do.
no one is allergic 2 water, ma father nd mother are very succesful doctors and told me that you cant be allergic 2 water, its impossible, if u r, ude dye, so whoevr the loser dat rote this is totally rong!
people are allergic 2 water, just not too many people. i dont care if your parents are doctors, sometimes even they get it wrong. for example, Ashleigh Morris from Melbourne is allergic. Look it up!
FYI LAURA I HAPPEN TO BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE WITH THIS PROBLEM IDC IF YOUR PARENTS WERE NOBEL PIECE PRIZE IN MEDICAL, WINNERS I KNOW WHAT I AM ALLERGIC TO IF I COME IN CONTACT WITH IT MY BODY STARTS TO SWELL UP, AND I CAN NOT BREATH SO UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY GROW A HEART AND STOP BEING SO STUCK UP AND THINKNG JUST CAUSE UR PARENTS ARE DOCTORS “QUCKS” YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERY ALLRGY.. NO HONEY YOU DONT SO U NEED KEEP YOUR IGNORANT MOUTH SHUT!!!
Sounds like they were trying to stave off an attack of hypochondria, laura :p
Laura, your parent’s probably said that because the human body is mostly water…however there are different levels of allergies and different situations that aggravate allergies…a good example being the one about exercising after eating certain foods.
There ARE people whom are allergic to water. There is simply so much medical information and so many illnesses out there that no doctor can know about ALL of them.
What no one thinks about when they talk about nickel allergies are the buttons on jeans. So annoying! Although I feel like nickel is among the least worrisome of all the allergies in this list. I can't imagine being allergic to plastic, let alone sunlight, water, or cold!
Nuts…. nuts have lots of nickel in them too.. which sucks for my mom, seeing as she’s allergic to nickel and loves… nuts (didn’t sound quite as dirty in my head)
Stay strong, Laura. You and your parents understand. But you are dealing with others, (not stupidity), just ignorance, and their information is limited. It would SEEM that one might be having a reaction to water, when, ACTUALLY, the reaction only surfaces, when water is applied and somewhat locks in what one is ACTUALLY allergic to. It is deceptive, often because it can be a delayed effect. Something someone came in contact with PRIOR to to water being applied. The body then, fights like crazy to rid it when water “traps” it in. So you and your parents are right and I empathize with how others try to belittle your understanding.
I'm also allergic to sun 🙁 It suck SO much. I'm literally allergic to nature.
Would like to meet inertia. THE whitest she said ?
Thanks for sharing this informative link.
seems strange, i too having lots of chicken pox scars all over my body
Ha ha, I actually am one of those 300 allergic to the sun. It gets extremely annoying–especially during the summer. I am /literally/ the whitest girl you will ever meet.
Yeah I feel your pain, I couldnt play outside as a kid because of the sun and im allergic to the cold, I get hives and my hands and feet swell and itch when there cold, when I get hurt people try to put ice on it and when I tell them why that isnt a good idea they look at me funny, same with the sun though not as bad. And the sun only gives me a rash and I feel sick
Hi my daughter is allergic to sun cold heat vibration and water. She has Lyme and co infections bartonella and Babesia. Anyone else with rare hives and Lyme combo?
No one knows this sort of daily suffering than all of you. Prayers someone discovers cure
Being allergic to water? Suicide waiting to happen.
I am allergic to dry erase markers. If I touch the marker or a dry erase board I break out in hives. When I was younger my finger tips would peel.
I too am allergic to dry erase markers and I break out in hives. It is a big problem as I am a teacher.
I am allergic to Dry erase markers as well, but my reaction is more with smell/fumes. I can handle touching them but the smell makes my throat close up, it start with itchy throat then it gets worse. I also feel dizzy as well.It is so weird.