Mental Health

Woman Allergic To Own Tears, Sweat Shares 'Torture,' Reveals 'Depression Over Sickness

By George Houston | Update Date: Apr 15, 2016 05:13 AM EDT

A 28-year-old former gym employee from Florida was a face of total dejection as her bizarre skin condition has made her a social pariah.

Julie Reid is suffering from a bizarre skin condition known as Cholinergic Urticaria which makes her allergic to her own sweat and tears as skin rash commonly referred to as "hives" which are red, raised, and itchy bumps, according to ABC News.

The devastating immunological situation out of nowhere appeared two years ago. The said rash can remain for less than an hour to even worst a few days. Due to her now sedentary lifestyle the once health buff has ballooned up as she added 100 pounds during the last three years.

"It's torture living like this, it's torture. I just feel like a monster now," Reid revealed to an ABC News affiliate of the condition she is in which she describes as "having destroyed her life completely."

She told WFTS she doesn't leave the house during the day over fear she could sweat and break out into hives. "I cannot describe to you the depths of depression that exist when your life is just, taken from you. And you may think, 'oh big deal' but you dont realize how much your body sweats until you become allergic to it," she added.

Reid who also was an active dancer has now been a recluse in her own community for fear of "breaking out into hives" and for the reason that people will stare at her. She only goes out during the night time period wherein the temperature is not warm and the dusk somehow helps in concealing her condition.

Due to the state that she is in, Reid has been jobless and unfortunately has been deprived for social security disability benefits whenever she applies. The judiciary, however, declared that her current situation does not affect her daily life in which she furiously retorted on her Living with CU website: "Are you kidding me? This has DESTROYED my life! It has destroyed me too. I stopped living three years ago."

© 2024 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics