Aquagenic Pruritis: I'm Allergic to Water

When I was about ten, I started having itching attacks after my skin became wet. After every shower or bath, I would itch all over -- mainly my arms and legs. I would lie on my bed, practically clawing at myself trying to make it stop. Online research suggested aquagenic urticaria, or water reactant hives, but I had no marks on my skin. I eventually discovered the name for this affliction was aquagenic pruritis. It is an awful skin condition that affects many.

I didn't want to tell my parents. I didn't think they would believe that I was allergic to water. Instead, I would go days without bathing. My mother would eventually insist that I wash my hair, but I delayed as long as I could. After my bath, I would spend up to an hour writhing on my bed, practically clawing at my skin. I always loved going swimming, but now I had to pay the price if I wanted to enjoy that.

Eventually my mother found out. She insisted to my father that we see a doctor, but he refused. He thought perhaps we had hard water, but he also has sensitive skin and wasn't having any issues. He didn't believe me, so I had to deal with it on my own. I eventually learned not to scratch, which would make it worse, and other ways of lessening the ordeal.

The attacks came nearly every time I got wet for so long. My skin would itch like crazy, mostly my limbs. Looking at my skin, though, you'd have no idea anything was wrong. There were no marks of any kind, not bumps, not a rash, not even redness to indicate a problem. It was invisible to everyone else. It baffled me and my family.

I also would sometimes have nighttime itching in my thighs. I would wake with my thighs itching as though I'd just had a shower. Nothing could make it stop. I'd have to stay awake until the itching subsided, which would take 2-3 hours. Then I'd be tired at school the next day. I later learned that many with aquagenic pruritis have the same problem.