How long would somebody live if their body became severely allergic to the H20 molecule?

[MeredithLesly]

I just read an article where this woman says she is allergic to H20 in her bloodstream and literally everywhere inside her body and that a sip of water sent her into anaphylactic shock (she says IV saline does too because of the H20 component). She also says this immunologist diagnosed her as being allergic to the H20 molecule.

She is 32 years old, appeared on Montrel, and a series of other shows since she was little. She gets into the news a lot, including this time when it was her 21st birthday. 

But is this feasible? She literally claims that immunologists have said she is allergic to the H2O molecule by itself, not to any contaminants in water. I have seen photos of her and she looks completely healthy. She says she drinks milk mixed with orange juice and she explains this is OK for her because it's water mixed with other stuff.

I am aware of a condition called Aquagenic Urticaria, which is not an allergy and it only affects the skin, but anaphylaxis from water being present anywhere inside of the body, and having actual antibodies against the H2O molecule is another beast entirely.

Edited March 18, 2019 by MeredithLesly

[Bufofrog]

This really interests you, doesn't it?  You have asked this before and now you asking the same question on multiple forums.

 

[MeredithLesly]

3 minutes ago, Bufofrog said:

This really interests you, doesn't it?  You have asked this before and now you asking the same question on multiple forums.

 

Well, it'd be helpful if I actually got an answer to this, I keep seeing this person in the news like every month. It's insane.

[Bufofrog]

1 hour ago, MeredithLesly said:

Well, it'd be helpful if I actually got an answer to this, I keep seeing this person in the news like every month. It's insane.

You have got answers.  You keep seeing this because you keep seeking it out.

Your intense fascination with this does indeed seem a bit unhinged.

[swansont]

1 hour ago, Bufofrog said:

 Your intense fascination with this does indeed seem a bit unhinged.

!

Moderator Note

This is irrelevant to the discussion. Please stick to the topic.

 

[MeredithLesly]

2 hours ago, Bufofrog said:

You have got answers.  You keep seeing this because you keep seeking it out.

Your intense fascination with this does indeed seem a bit unhinged.

Blame the news sources which constantly put out these articles, not me. Also, a H2O allergy would mean we would need to re write the textbooks. So it is well worthy of discussion and debunking where possible.

[Bufofrog]

46 minutes ago, MeredithLesly said:

Blame the news sources which constantly put out these articles.....  Also, a H2O allergy would mean we would need to re write the textbooks.

I have never seen an article on this, other than the one you quoted a few months ago.  No textbooks will need to be rewritten, this is a known condition that is extremely rare , as you have been told many times.

[CharonY]

It cannot be a true allergy (as in an immunogenic response) as water is the literal matrix in which biochemical reactions occur. 

[MeredithLesly]

3 hours ago, Bufofrog said:

I have never seen an article on this, other than the one you quoted a few months ago.  No textbooks will need to be rewritten, this is a known condition that is extremely rare , as you have been told many times.

I live in the UK. If you read UK news sources they're all over the place. Googling ''water allergy'' brings lots of UK news sources eg Daily Mail 

[Strange]

1 hour ago, MeredithLesly said:

Googling ''water allergy'' brings lots of UK news sources eg Daily Mail 

The Daily Mail is not a "news source". It is a far-right rag that mainly publishes fiction. I would not be surprised if they published something as idiotic as a "water allergy" story.

But I am not surprised you are unable to provide a reputable reference to this case.

[MeredithLesly]

36 minutes ago, Strange said:

The Daily Mail is not a "news source". It is a far-right rag that mainly publishes fiction. I would not be surprised if they published something as idiotic as a "water allergy" story.

But I am not surprised you are unable to provide a reputable reference to this case.

This girl appeared on Montrel and here's a detailed article here - https://www.thefreelibrary.com/JUST+ONE+CUP+OF+WATER+COULD+KILL+LITTLE+HEIDI%3B+Girl's+deadly+allergy...-a061152595

 

Note it says she goes into shock if she drinks just a ''mouth full'' of water.. 

 

so how come she is not reacting to swallowing her own saliva?

[John Cuthber]

3 hours ago, MeredithLesly said:

I live in the UK. If you read UK news sources they're all over the place. Googling ''water allergy'' brings lots of UK news sources eg Daily Mail 

I also live in the UK, but the only time I see this tosh is when you post it.

 

1 hour ago, MeredithLesly said:

so how come she is not reacting to swallowing her own saliva?

One reasonable answer is that her symptoms are psychosomatic.

[Bufofrog]

1 hour ago, MeredithLesly said:

so how come she is not reacting to swallowing her own saliva?

Because it is not water?

[MeredithLesly]

11 minutes ago, Bufofrog said:

Because it is not water?

Saliva is 99.5% water..

 

Sea water is 94% water. 

 

 

[CharonY]

Again, the only known cases of reactions to water are not allergic reactions, though the cause is little understood from what I see. These conditions are associated with skin contact, but not ingestion. Hypotheses ranges from the reaction of waters with sebum or sebaceous glands with subsequent stimulation of mast cells, pressure changes in hair follicles in presence of water and a few others. But the basic idea is that water reacts with something in the epidermis which then causes the reaction. Which is why sweat and tears elicit a response but saliva swallowing does not.

 

[Strange]

3 hours ago, MeredithLesly said:

This girl appeared on Montrel and here's a detailed article here - https://www.thefreelibrary.com/JUST+ONE+CUP+OF+WATER+COULD+KILL+LITTLE+HEIDI%3B+Girl's+deadly+allergy...-a061152595

 

I have no idea what "Montrel" is. And that link could be a work of fiction for all I know. 

As you are unable to provide a reputable source, I am sceptical of the whole story. Maybe you have made it up.

1 hour ago, John Cuthber said:

One reasonable answer is that her symptoms are psychosomatic.

Quite. 

Or she is faking it for attention.

[Phi for All]

9 hours ago, MeredithLesly said:

Also, a H2O allergy would mean we would need to re write the textbooks. 

Many worldwide are pushing an anti-intellectual agenda, seemingly to make the average person mistrust educated people. Claiming the textbooks are wrong is one of the main themes to this propaganda, so I hope you aren't a part of this. Personally, I think it's part of a movement by the oil & gas industry to deny climate change by calling all our knowledge/expertise into question in order to delay phasing out fossil fuel use. 

[CharonY]

Perhaps for context, there are aquagenic ctuaneous disorders (urticaria, pruritus, acrokertoderma, depending on their manifestation). As they are so rare, they are quite understudied. However, claims of an "allergy" that do not fall into these categories are rather suspect. There are some studies suggesting that they could be the manifestation of systemic diseases, or at least associated with them.

[MeredithLesly]

1 hour ago, CharonY said:

Again, the only known cases of reactions to water are not allergic reactions, though the cause is little understood from what I see. These conditions are associated with skin contact, but not ingestion. Hypotheses ranges from the reaction of waters with sebum or sebaceous glands with subsequent stimulation of mast cells, pressure changes in hair follicles in presence of water and a few others. But the basic idea is that water reacts with something in the epidermis which then causes the reaction. Which is why sweat and tears elicit a response but saliva swallowing does not.

 

How do you explain this case where this girl went into anaphylactic shock from taking just a mouthful of water by accident? https://www.thefreelibrary.com/JUST+ONE+CUP+OF+WATER+COULD+KILL+LITTLE+HEIDI%3B+Girl's+deadly+allergy...-a061152595

 

She needed to be injected with adrenaline to prevent death.

[CharonY]

I' d request a case study before explaining anything.

[Dagl1]

Meredith, I have a question.... How would this person be alive and not be totally dehydrated...?

Like don't you think it is slightly more likely that this person has some type of mental disorder or is faking it (or of course that news you have heard is just fake?)? Because I personally fail to see how this person is alive, if she can't ingest WATER. She will become totally dehydrated, and she most certainly did not live her entire life while getting water through her blood right? Also shouldn't she be getting into shock the moment the air is a bit humid? I presume that doesn't happen?

-Dagl

[MeredithLesly]

4 hours ago, Dagl1 said:

Meredith, I have a question.... How would this person be alive and not be totally dehydrated...?

Like don't you think it is slightly more likely that this person has some type of mental disorder or is faking it (or of course that news you have heard is just fake?)? Because I personally fail to see how this person is alive, if she can't ingest WATER. She will become totally dehydrated, and she most certainly did not live her entire life while getting water through her blood right? Also shouldn't she be getting into shock the moment the air is a bit humid? I presume that doesn't happen?

-Dagl

She says she drinks orange juice and milk 

[Strange]

8 hours ago, MeredithLesly said:

How do you explain this case where this girl went into anaphylactic shock from taking just a mouthful of water

I have yet to see any evidence that (a) this person exists and (b) that this anecdote is true. 

I think you have invented this story. 

[Dagl1]

40 minutes ago, MeredithLesly said:

She says she drinks orange juice and milk 

Which is... consisting of what.... exactly;p? I think it is a little silly to not consider orange juice and milk to be H20 hahaha

[StringJunky]

3 minutes ago, Strange said:

I have yet to see any evidence that (a) this person exists and (b) that this anecdote is true. 

I think you have invented this story. 

It's total blks.