Tessa Hansen-Smith a 25-year-old woman has opened up about her illness, a rare condition known as Aquagenic Urticaria [ water allergy] .
According to Tessa, she developed the “water allergy” when she was around eight years old, and it has worsened over the years.
She would come out of showers and have huge welts on my skin, and her scalp would be bleeding after showering.
As a growing child, she played, swam, took baths and drank lots of water like other kid until she began developing mysterious symptoms.
Fast forward to adulthood, water now causes itching, rashes and hives on her skin. If she drinks it, she can feel a burning sensation in her throat and body.
Tessa reportedly spent 12 days at Community Regional Medical Center after suffering severe dehydrated that she developed ischemic colitis, in which blood flow is blocked to the colon, resulting in serious illness.
She is still recovering with physical therapy.
After that setback, Tessa is pouring out her story to help others with rare and often misunderstood conditions by being part of a book entitled “Chronically Empowered” and even appeared on the Dr. Oz show.