Am I Allergic To Water?
Over the years we have had people come into our store and tell us they think they are allergic to water. They complain of redness, rashes, dry skin, itching or burning skin and it only happens when they bathe or swim.
The truth is that there have been very few cases of someone actually being allergic to water. In fact there have been fewer than 30 reported cases of “Aquagenous Urticara” world wide. We explain that more than likely they are having an allergic reaction to something in the water and not the water itself.
Alfie
Lipshultz, a good friend and CEO of the Aquathin, Corp.,
likes to refer to our water sources as “chemical
cocktails”. The water we drink, cook with and bathe in
contains hundreds of chemicals including heavy metals,
minerals, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals,
organic waste, illegal drugs, salts, cleaning products
and personal care products just to mention a few. The
local water treatment plants attempt to clean up the
water but unfortunately that includes adding even more
potentially irritating chemicals like chlorine, aluminum
chloride, and ammonia. It is not their fault the water
they start with is not as good as it once was.
So what is causing our customer to have their allergic
reaction to water? The majority of them are finding that
they are sensitive to the chlorine and chloramines used
by the local treatment plants to disinfect the water. We
need these chemicals in the water to kill bacteria while
it is in the water mains being delivered to our home but
they should be removed before they get in the house. I
have yet to read a study that suggests chlorine or
chloramines are good for our skin, to breathe while
taking a shower or ingest.
If you believe you are having any type of an allergic
reaction you should see your doctor as soon as possible.
However, we believe that everyone should use quality
water filtration systems to protect themselves and their
families from the “chemical cocktail” that is in water.
There is no reason to take the risk.
Remember, it’s not the water that bothers you but what is in it.
Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
We live in S. Florida and the water always has a yellow tint to it. What causes that.
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Your water may have a yellow tint for several reasons depending on your water source.
Water from municipal water systems contain volatile organic chemicals (VOC), pesticides and herbicides, as well as chlorine, chloramines, benzene, trihalomethane (THM) compounds, solvents and hundreds of other man-made chemicals.
Well systems are contaminated naturally and by man-made chemicals introduced to the water table through industry, agriculture, leaking or poorly-constructed septic systems, or other means. This is particularly a problem for shallow water wells.
In both cases, if the water is properly filtered, contaminates can be removed and your water will be crystal clear.
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We live in Tennessee. We vacationed in Florida. While in Florida our daughters rashes disappeared. When we returned to Tennessee they came back within two days. Is it the water?
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It could be the water. It most certainly is environmental, because you changed her environment and the rash disappeared. At home in TN are you on a well or municipal water? Where in FL did you visit? Were you at a hotel or in a home? How long has she had this rash? Is she old enough for skin testing for allergies? If so, have you had it done? If she is not old enough for skin testing, or if her skin is in poor shape, a simple blood test called the RAST test could rule out things like dust mite, mold, pollen foods, etc. Its hard to say without some more info.
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I have allergy-type skin reactions (redness, inflammation, itchiness) when I shower in fluoridated Sydney, Australia. In fact, just being in the shower causes me great pain and when I get out my skin is usually pretty raw. Over the last two years, I have been on three trips to non-fluoridated Brisbane. On each trip, I am in agony for the first week with a lot of fluid coming out of my skin. In the second week I clear up as if for no reason at all and showers actually become a pleasureable experience. When I return to Sydney, my first shower stings and over a couple of days my skin becomes inflamed and damaged. I am now avoiding showers and am much improved, but you can't avoid fluoride (at the moment I have a couple of brands of rice milk and one type of fruit juice - all are made with fluoridated water. When I ingest fluoridated water, it is as if I become allergic to all foods - I suspect fluoride inhibits my digestive enzymes and/or kills my beneficial bacteria - as indicated by Scientific Research Papers). I don't believe it is an allergic reaction because my immune system correctly identifies fluoride as a toxin (water is generally fluoridated using the toxic waste from the phosphate fertiliser industry). Fluoride is basically impossible to avoid in a fluoridated town, so the best way to find out if fluoride is your problem is to spend a couple of weeks in a non-fluoridated area - but beware that you might be in for an agonising healing crisis (as I said before, my healing crisis takes about one week for my body to be able to eliminate all of the absorbed fluoride).
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Hi!
Im insanely desperate for some sort of answer. I recently moved to Kansas City Missouri from the East coast. I've been experiencing VIOLENT UTI episodes that cannot be explained by any of the normal UTI triggers.
I've been to 7 doctors and a Urologist and have had several tests run. Nothing comes up.
The only thing thats changed is my enviroment and water.
Ive never had any problems before until I moved here.
Recently had my water tested and there are several carcnogenics and solvents in the water.
Could I be allergic to one of these that are causing kidney and bladder infections?
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Hi Anya:
I'm very sorry to hear to hear about your problems. To answer your question, yes you could be allergic to something in the water. What type of contaminates did you find? have you contacted the local water board? Your local water source can have all sorts of heavy metals, salts, solvents, and other water-borne contaminates that may be below "acceptable" levels but they still can cause a person to have problems. I know that I do everything possible to avoid drinking any water other than what I get from my water purification system. Try drinking only purified water like aquafina for awhile. If you don't have a relapse then you know it is the water. Then get a good purification system, Aquathin, to make sure you don't have to drink the local water.
I found a pretty good article on UTI that you may want to look at. http://www.ehow.com/how_2151888_avoid-relief-urinary-tract-infections.html
Let me know how your doing.
Wishing you the best of health
Mike
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HELP ... what about drinking it ?? I have not been able to find any info on the net about allergy to DRINKING water and i know it exsists because every single time i drink any water at all it makes me immediately start coughing and my throat itches . I can bathe just fine etc. ... is this possible ? anyone know anything about it ?
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Diane
I've not heard of reactions to water but I have heard of people being allergic to what is in the water. Have you tried drinking purified and or distilled water?
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I have the same problem as you do. Did you find any info on this? I went to allergy doctor and he could not agree that any one can have allergy by drinking water.
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Hi Olga:
Since you can take a bath in water it sounds like you not allergic water but to something in it. Can you drink purified water or distilled? When I say purified I don't mean the stuff the stuff the stores have for house brands. I use Aquathin purification at home and here at the office but when I need some when I'm out I drink Aquafina.
Mike
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I went to 4 doctors. No help. Then I soaked in Epson Salt every night and problem went away. Magnesium Sulfate soakes out toxins in skin. After four yrs. of pain it was cured with a $3.00 bag of Epson Salt.
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I love my water. It goes through so many levels of purification. When I take a bath it is just pure H2O and my Vanicream soap. I don't want extra chemicals anywhere. That is why I make sure my soap has no formaldehyde, toulene, or formaldehyde releasers.
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We live in florida and they are replacing our water lines we have not been told to boil our water. However my husband who all he drinks is tap water is finding out whenever he does he gets a burning tightness in his chest. I don't see why you cannot be allergic to drinking tap water. I am sure it is possible he also gets a rusty acid taste.Anyone else have any info on this.
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If he never had a problem before they started replacing the old pipes I would think the problem is the new pipes are being contaminated by someting in the dirt, always gets in the pipes when they replace them, there may be some kind of coating on the new pipes or they have dumped extra chlorine to sanitize the pipes. Call you water co and see if they super chlorinated. He may also be reacting to the pipes itself. I'm guessing the old ones were concrete or metal. New ones are some sort of plastic. Does he get sick if he drinks bottled water?
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I have been dealing with burning, itchy rashes from water for about 14 years now. And in those years I have lived in Tennesseee, North Carolina, and different parts of Colorado and Arizona. I experience the itching in showers, pools, oceans, lakes, rivers, and every other body of water. I use to get it when I sweated or when it rained and I didn't even have to come in contact with the rain itself. Could this still just be an allergy to something in the water rather than the water itself? Luckily, as the years pass I seem to get it less, although it is still very painful when I do get it. One doctor told me I had a hypersensitivity to water. Is that the same as aquagenic urticaria?
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I think I will agree with your doctor. Since you say all water has an effect on you. City water, pools, showers usually have chemicals like chlorine that cause problems. Lakes and rivers have different problems based on where they are at. Sweat and oceans have salt.
You said "when you get it". What do you mean by that?
Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
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hi i desperately need some answers to the condition of my husband.he has been dealing with burning and intchy rashes from water for the past few month. the docttor has prescribe him zyrtec but everytime he stop taking it- he starts getting the burning again.it`s only when he finished taking his bath that he gets all this.
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Hi,
I have seen this problem many times over the years. It usually is caused by just a few things.
Chlorine - this is the most common cause of skin rashes after taking a bath. Many people are sensitive to chlorine which the water companies use to keep the water clean. Several times a year they will super chlorinate the water.
Hardness - Hard water will cause some peoples skin to dry out. Problem for people who use well water
This is my first choice.
pH - Some people react to water that has a low pH, acidic.
Soap - Changes in soap.
You said the problems started a couple months ago. What has changed? What part of the country do you live in?
The good news is you can easily test your water. We carry a water test kit, 9.99 that will test pH, hardness, chlorine, iron & nitrates. You can also contact your local company for a copy of their test results.
Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
AllergyStore.com
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Good evening ! Since last September I experience severe rashes after the shower - armpits, inner arms, inner legs, neck, eyelids. It starts as soon as I dry, and lasts for 10-15 minutes, worsening every day. I know it's coming from the water as when travelling to other places (NY, Paris, LA, Mexico), my skin heals in 2 days ! Also, I don't use the same products on my face and body and the rashes are on both. I use only organic / natural products. I have put a shower filter on the shower (Aqua Sana) but it does nothing. I also started to drink again spring water instead or the reverse osmosis we have. I take anti-histamines. The condition is still there. I'm not sure what to do next - what types of chemicals or substances could be left in the filtered water and how to test it ? Note that the rashes started after we got Ike and the water was cut twice in our apartment complex. Thanks in advance for all your help !
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Hi Muriel,
I'm sorry to hear about your problem. You mentioned Ike I'm guessing your in Texas. When an area gets hit as hard as you did they have a tendency to super chlorinate the water systems to try and keep the water safe. In your case that is what be making you sick. If the water mains that lead to your apartment were damaged by trees that were uprooted that could be causing some comtamination.
It does not surprise me that the Aquasana filter you installed has not helped. They use a 2 stage process to remove chlorine, VOC's and THM's from the water. The first stage is copper/zinc and the second stage is activated carbon. The problem with this shower filter as well as all other shower filters is there is not enough filter media to actually remove the contaminates. We never found one that we would recommed. You should be able to drink the water from your RO system as long as the filters have been maintained. have you tried washing your face with the RO water?
You need to have your water tested. Look in yellow pages for a testing company. They need to test your water for hardness, TDS (total disolved solids), pH, Chlorine and iron. If you want you can send a quart of water to Aquathin Corp and they can test it for you. I believe the cost to do that is 15.00 plus whatever it costs to ship it to thier office.
Aquathin Corp
950 S. Andrews Ave
Pompano Beach, FL 33069
Please let me know if I can help
Wishing you the best of health
Mike Karuse
Allergystore.com
PS Is anyone else in the complex having problems?
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Hi Mike,
first of all Merry Christmas ! Thanks so much for your detailed answer. Yes, I tried to wash with the RO water but still itching. I'm not aware of anyone having the same issue in the complex, but I actually met somebody who had the same problem.... she lives in Toronto, though, so not helping !
Anyway, I think I identified the root cause of the problem. Last Sunday I was back from travelling (healed in 3 days as usual) and I noticed that I started feeling a little bit itchy after drinking (even though I had not washed). I went on Ozarka starting Monday night. Today was my first shower without a rash ! So I guess I'm allergic to something in the filter, or something in the water not eliminated by the filter, and that the shower was only triggering something... I hope it does continue like this, I feel so relieved ! I'll still test the RO water to try and determine what's in there...
Thanks again for all your help. Talking about it actually helps identifying the potential causes...
I'll let you know the test results.
Muriel
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Is it possible to be allergic to a water filtration system. My husband bought me a Brita pitcher for Chistmas. In the 2 days since then I have had an allergic reaction. Swollen and itchy eyes, hands, and feet. Nothing has changed in my routine except the Brita water filter. Just wondering if this is a possible cause. I plan on staying away from the Brita water for a few days to see if there is a notable change.
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Hi
Sorry I did not respond quicker. We have been in a place where computers and cell phones don't work.
You may be allergic to the carbon they use in the filter. Have you ever had a water filter that uses carbon as a filtration method? The other thing it may be, slim but possible, is your having a reaction to the pitcher. Try washing it using hot water and baking soda.
Wishing you the best of health and a great 2009.
Mike Krause
Allergystore.com
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Yes, I believe it is possible to be allergic to a water filter. I also experience itchy hives on my face when I drink water on an empty stomach, and the water is from a Brita water pither. I would like to find out where the filters are made and what their composition is.
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I have never used a water filter before. I was just buying water from the store. I'll try the hot water and baking soda. Thanks for the help!
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I would just like to point out that there are many more than 30 documented cases of aquagenic urticaria, and any site that says otherwise is hopelessly outdated in it's information. So to say that "It is not the water that bothers you but what is in it" is very misleading to people who are seeking information for this potentially severe and very uncomfortable condition.
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Hi Cheryl,
Thank you for your comment. I am not trying to mislead anybody. Based on the information I was using in 07, I could not find anything that showed more "documented" cases. The majority of the problems we have found with people and water are directly related to chlorine and or calcium. We have also run into a couple of cases where iron was the problem.
I will do some additional research and would appreciate any additional information you have on aquagenic urticaria.
Thanks
Mike Krause
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Could it be the Ph level of the water that causes some people to have a reaction? I wonder......
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Maybe their is something in the water that causes the allergy.
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I have one question. I was wondering what is the chances of someone being allergic to drinking water? My 9 year old has been having stomach problems and we are unable to find out what is wrong. We have done many test on her and everything comes back good. I just want to know what the chances is of someone being allergic to drinking water and giving them stomach problems. i have not yet talked to the doctor about this, I just find this site and decided to give this a shot to ask.
Someone please help, if you can. It is so upsettig to see your child in so much pain.
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Have you tried a GF/CF diet? Has the doctor ruled out Celiac/Sprue? That can cause terrible pain to your child's stomach area. It would not hurt to go GF/CF for two weeks and see if it helps her.
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Hi- I
I have been suffering from am itchy rash on my face, neck and nipples for the past year since moving to CA. The rash also has small bumps and really dry flaky patches. It intensifies greatly during and after my showers. If I go to our home in AZ the rash disappears after a few days. We are on a well with a water softner in both places. We had our water tested at the CA home and it has high nitrates. Any advice would be great! I would also like to try a shower water filter if anybody has any suggestions? Thank you!
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I don't think those shower filters work. Do you use the same soap in both CA and AZ? I use that Vanicream on my skin when I have rashes from my allergies and it heals the skin pretty quick. I got a sample when I ordered something else from this place. http://allergystore.com/skin_care.htm
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Hey-
i have never suffered from any allergies or almost anything. This one day i used body lotion and right after that my skin turned red and started itching. When it started to hurt a lot, i went to wash my hands and my neck. It started to hurt much much more. And now these past 2 weeks my skin is very sensitive to water. it's just temporary, right?
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Please help!!
I am one of these people that have become allergic to drinking water. It is water of any kind, tap, bottled, distilled, filtered. I was able to drink Smart water for a period of about 1 year, now all of a sudden I have reaction to it was well. I have been to 3 allergist and not one has any idea. EVERYTHING from my throat up swells shut. It is terrible. I want so badly to be able to drink it. I know people say it must be something in the water, Yes, I'm sure it is, but how can I find out what and what can be done about it. I need the name a a doctor or someone that can help me.
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Hi,
You need to have your water tested. You can send a sample of water to Aquathin Corp. Their phone number is 800 462-7634 or depending where you live they may have a local rep who can come to you and test your water. Give them a call, ask for Mitch or Debbie. Dr. Albert Robbins is one of the best , if not the best, environmental medicine doctors in the country. He specializes in helping those that suffer from chemical sensitivity. His office contact number is 954 421-1929.
Let me know if you need anymore information.
Wishing you the best of health
Mike Krause
AllergyStore.Com
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For at least the past 15 to 20 years I have had a sinus problem. I have had two sinus surgeries, I have been to allergists, "top of their field" ENT doctors and no-one could figure out what the problem was. I would constantly have a post nasal drip and would make that horrible snorting to get it down my throat. I have tried eliminating everything from my diet with no change until recently I eliminated bottled water. I've been drinking filtered well water and my problem is nearly gone. I'm certain it's something in the water and sure would like to find out what it is but, the bottled water companies are not regulated or required to put on the bottle what's in it or what their process was for the water so, it's difficult to know. Some waters have a much worse effect than other. Have you ever heard of such a thing?
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During the past two years I have developed a very bad reaction to tap water, bottled & filtered waters, my throat is irritated and closes up a bit, feels like Im choking! makes me cough, sometimes vomit just clear water. I have reacted to nuts for the past few years, even soya milk makes me react.
My doctors just disregard everything when I tell them, saying I may be having panic attacks.
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Get a new doctor that specializes in allergies.
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Great post, I look forward to reading more.
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