Tessa Hansen-Smith is allergic to water and breaks out in welts and hives when she comes into contact with it. Only about 250 people in the world have the condition.
Tessa Hansen-Smith breaks out in welts and hives from water — even from her own sweat and tears — due a condition that affects only about 250 people worldwide, a rare condition that causes her to break out in welts and hives — even from her own tears and sweat.
"I feel a little guilty as a mom for not having seen when she would get out of the shower that she had hives, and figuring it out way earlier that it was a water issue," she told ABC-30. to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Because it’s such a rare illness — it's estimated that less than 250 people worldwide have Aquagenic Urticaria according to the ABC report — Tessa says people are often skeptical, and try to test her allergy, as was the case when she was an undergrad at University of California’s Davis campus."When I did tell people about it in college, I would have people try to purposely splash water on me, or I would have people who would throw ice cubes at me," Tessa said.
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