Water Allergy (Aquagenic Urticaria)

For someone suffering from a water allergy, contact with any form of water can lead to an outbreak of painful hives and welts on the skin.

This is an exceedingly difficult condition to deal with - imagine not being able to take a shower or risk going out in the rain. In some cases antihistamines help reduce the severity of the symptoms but not in all cases. Like most allergies, the best treatment is avoidance.

Some of the studies dealing with water allergy are given below:

Frances et al describe the case of a child with the condition. Treatment with an anti histamine reduced the wheals and skin redness but itching persisted after contact with water. [2]

A 30-year-old woman with aquagenic urticaria developed hives every time she came in contact with a water source such as tap water, snow or sweat. [6]

In one case, contact with water led to severe itching and wheals within five minutes. The severity of the symptoms was not affected by water temperature or type of water. [3]

One study reports on aquagenic urticaria occurring over 3 generations in one family. A young man and his mother were found to develop itching hives 5 to 10 minutes after contact with water of any temperature. Their symptoms did not respond to antihistamines or UV-radiation therapy. Four other members of the family also developed wheals from water contact. [5]

A healthy 3-year-old boy developed acute urticaria five minutes after exposure to tap water in different areas of Jerusalem.[7]

Other symptoms such as migraine like headaches have also been linked with the condition. [1] A different study concluded that water should be added to the list of physical agents that cause angioedema. [4]

REFERENCES
1. Baptist AP, Baldwin JL.
Aquagenic urticaria with extracutaneous manifestations.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2005 May-Jun;26(3):217-20.
2. Frances AM, Fiorenza G, Frances RJ.
Aquagenic urticaria: report of a case.
Allergy Asthma Proc. 2004 May-Jun;25(3):195-7.
3. Luong KV, Nguyen LT.
Aquagenic urticaria: report of a case and review of the literature.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1998 Jun;80(6):483-5.
4. Parks A, Camisa C.
Aquagenic angioedema.
Cutis. 1986 Jun;37(6):465-6.
5.Tebbe B, Steinhoff M, Treudler R, Orfanos CE.
Familial aquagenic urticaria associated with familial lactose intolerance.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2002 Oct;47(4):611-3.
6. Tkach JR.
Aquagenic urticaria.
Cutis. 1981 Oct;28(4):454, 463.
7. Wasserman D, Preminger A, Zlotogorski A.
Aquagenic urticaria in a child. Pediatr Dermatol.
1994 Mar;11(1):29-30.