The woman’s body is covered with huge blisters from the slightest cold snap.
Kelly Poe is twenty-six years old and lives in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The young woman has three small children who adore snow, ice rinks and all winter fun. But for five years now, Kelly has not been able to share this joy with them. To put the child on the bus near the house, Kelly has to put on three pairs of pants, four shirts, the warmest jacket, socks, a hat, and completely cover her face with a scarf. Otherwise, she may have anaphylactic shock, from which a mother with many children will die …
The woman decided to tell her story and show shocking pictures of a body covered with red blisters from head to toe, only because many do not take her word for it and think that the severity of her illness is greatly exaggerated. Kelly has proven that this is not the case. A young mother is afraid of winter like fire and admits that she literally has to hibernate for several months. What upsets a woman most of all is the fact that she cannot do anything without her husband, the children ask for a walk, and Kelly has to wait for her husband.
Kelly with her husband and children
Cold allergies, or cold urticaria, appear as a reaction to cool air, water, and even ice-cold drinks. It manifests itself in open areas of the body, most often on the hands and face. First, itching occurs, then redness, in especially severe cases, Quincke’s edema (that is, the affected areas become swollen) and anaphylactic shock may develop. Alas, but Kelly is talking about just such a serious degree.
Pou believes that allergies have ruined her life as she is trapped in her own home because of her! And if five years ago hives appeared only on the face, neck and arms, now after going out into the street, literally for a minute, Kelly’s entire body, including even her tongue, becomes blistered, as if a woman had been bitten by a bee swarm. The worst thing in a situation is that such an allergy is not treated.
Winter is real in Ontario. On average, the temperature does not drop below fourteen degrees, but there are records, as, for example, in 1935, when in the northeast of the province the thermometer showed -58,3 ° C. So Kelly from the frost, alas, cannot be avoided, only if the whole family moves to a warmer region.
After another bout of allergy, traces remain on Kelly’s body for a long time.
True, there is hope that over the years the woman will still feel better. At least such cases are known. For example, singer Nina Shatskaya, a participant in the Voice show, also suffered from a similar misfortune.
– For the first time I had a cold allergy about 20 years ago, – Nina told Woman’s Day. – I then lived in America for six months, and when I returned to Russia in June, I went to a film festival on the Black Sea. Every evening it seemed like a horde of mosquitoes were attacking me. Hands and feet were constantly covered with small itchy spots. All the time she was complaining to friends and could not understand why nobody was being bitten, but me – yes! I went to the doctor and found out that the bloodsuckers are not to blame for everything, but I suffer from cold allergies. But not so much on the frost itself as on the temperature difference. For example, as soon as I pick up a drink from the refrigerator in an iron can, and immediately a rash like hives appeared. If she went outside in winter, when an icy wind blew, her face turned red and swollen. I went into the warmth, and it got even worse. As a person who loves to walk, this was insanely upsetting for me. And no super moisturizer helped. The only effective way turned out to be a change in lifestyle, that is, in the cold season, I had to leave the house and immediately jump into the car. Over the years, the symptoms subsided by themselves, I even started cross-country skiing in the winter. Now the allergy makes itself felt only when it is very cold outside.
Judging by the experience of Nina, Kelly should not give up, perhaps soon she will be able to go skiing with the children and play snowballs.