Julie Reid, a Florida citizen, suffers from an extreme allergy condition that makes her allergic to her sweat and tears. Reid has been diagnosed with cholinergic urticaria, a condition that remains without a cure.

Allergic-to-Sweat
Julie Reid developed a rare condition which makes her allergic to her own sweat and tears. Credit: KRMG

Cholinergic Urticaria (CU) is a rare type of allergy that causes the patient to suffer from extreme hives when the person is sweating. The disease normally presents as small and short-lasting hives, but some cases like Reid’s last for days.

A sudden lifestyle change

Julie Reid used to work as a gymnastic gym teacher three years ago when she started to notice rare hives in her body.

Since the diagnose, Reid was forced to quit her job thanks to the amount of sweat and hives generated from it.

Doctors are still unsure what caused Julie Ried to develop this rare condition that is only present in about 1 percent of the entire world population. In more common cases, CU presents as a short-term reaction, normally linked to anxiety and stress in patients between 20 and 39 years old.

What is more troubling for Reid is the weather she faces in her home state Florida. Thanks to the high and humid temperatures, Julie Ried has been forced to stay most of the time in her apartment.

Not being able to work, the patient has been forced to sell all the furniture in her apartment to afford health appointments. She has lost her health insurance and is currently submitting for disability assistance.

“I am allergic to my own sweat and tears, me of all people, someone who was physically active every day. I have no money to continue living like this, nor to pay my medical bills. I cannot work and I am still fighting for disability assistance,” said Julie Reid in a GoFundMe page she has created for herself.

Doctors are now warning the patient she could suffer from anaphylactic shock and will require her Epipen treatment, which seems out of her financial possibilities.

Reid has created her own website to share her story and how it has changed her life.

Source: Digital Journal