Water allergy, or "Aquagenous urticaria", is such a rare condition that there are less than thirty patients in the whole world that have been diagnosed with it. Fourteen year old Heidi Falconer is unique because she's the only person on record to have been born with this allergy. When water touches her skin or mucous membranes (like the inside of her mouth) she breaks out in a rash and often blisters, if she has a severe response it can lead to anaphylaxis — where her airways swell and close. It's like any other allergy - an over-reaction of the immune system — where production of histamine causes the symptoms. Doctors are still unsure as to why this happens with something as essential as water — one theory suggests that unusual proteins in Heidi's system react to the water. And because we're all made up of 80% water, Heidi is actually allergic to herself — her saliva, sweat blood and tears all blotch her skin. There is no cure for aquagenous urticaria. The only relief for Heidi is a special barrier foam developed in Sweden that stops water from touching her skin. Heidi has applied it religiously every four hours for the past couple of years and it gives her the freedom to do basic things — like having a shower.
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