Hives and numbness and hotness of hands and feet

[angelsway]

My daughter is now 12 years old and she just now began to get a rash every time she touches water. She says that her feet and hands start burning and get numb.  She gets a rash all over her entire body.  She also feels kinda cold as well when it happens. She has never had problems with water until now. We took her to the doctor and they said an allergic reaction and sent her home. Well it would be nice to know what from and if its possible to become allergic the same water you have been using for years with no problem.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Your daughter may be having water urticaria. It occurs due to hypersensitivity of the skin either to the water or to some other constituent present in the water (such as fluoride, chloride, other minerals etc). Treatment options include application of skin creams (such as capsaicin cream), phototherapy with UV light, antihistaminics, and other drugs (such as leukotriene-receptor antagonists, beta blockers etc).

I hope it helps. Take care and regards.

[ChristineMP]

You will probably need to take her to an allergy specialist for testing to get a more definitive answer as to "what from".

Is it any water? I am wondering if maybe your water company changed what treatments they use to make the water drinkable. I remember a news story a while back about some water treatment facilities switching to chlorine alternatives to treat water.

Does she have the same reaction if she touches distilled or purified (NOT just filtered) water?