Jumping right into it…..I was around 15 when I first noticed a reaction to cooler water and the start of my COLD URTICARIA (Cold Allergy). I had been a competitive swimmer since I was 6 years old so l noticed exactly when this started occurring. For years this really was a mild aggravation and very strange in how it manifested. I would mainly get it on my legs when in the water. My skin would get red and a little itchy and ONLY if I scratched them, would it weal up in the areas I scratched. If I left it alone, the itching would go away, but still would remain red. Now I remember even swimming in water that was 46 degrees Fahrenheit for a surf swim contest and I could still do that without it progressing further than my skin being a little itchy and red…NO swelling or wheals!!

Then later on in my life I was around 26 years old and when biking one day, it started to rain. It was pretty cold and hadn’t been out too long and got the typical reaction and hadn’t noticed that it had in fact worsened. I was coasting down a pretty steep road, cold and wet and started to feel somewhat funny/dizzy. I stopped and noticed that now my legs had become swollen and whealed up pretty bad. I felt worse upon standing still so decided to keep pedaling and felt better now that I was circulating my blood more, with the extra aerobic activity. From a physiological standpoint I guess this makes sense.

This had occurred to me a couple of other times after this, where I thought it was like old times and went into the water thinking all was okay, and started to feel "not right". In these instances it was also worse when I simply stopped and moving temporarily helped the situation and of course warming!

I grew up on the ocean and had been involved in water sports (surf lifesaving, surfing, swimming) all my life so you can imagine how devastating this was to me.

Anyway, at 45 years old today, it certainly has not gotten better and probably slightly worsened. But I have tried to not let this interfere with my activities I’m passionate about. Hopefully it will give hope to others who are afflicted by this allergy. I ski regularly and just ensure I have the right clothing. The warmth from my body seems to radiate up and keep my face warm enough that I can ski in any conditions, no problem.

As far as water temperature, I can tell you that my break-point is exactly around 83/84F. Anything below that will provoke a reaction. I swim laps in a heated pool and their pool temps are just above or around that. On the odd occasion it did drop below, I would have to abandon my workout. I’ve just started surfing again in 68F ocean water and have one of the best wetsuits on the market, to prevent as little as possible the water from getting in. So far works very well for me. My reaction is very specific to exposed physical locations and when I wear my wetsuit, my neckline, wrist line and ankle lines are clearly defined borders of where the urticaria starts at the wetsuit ends, as shown below on an ankle shot.

In my research, I pretty much will have this for the rest of my life and doesn’t appear to be much in terms of medication that appears to work for this kind of allergy. I’ve also read that in a few cases it cleared up for some people who went gluten free and I’ve been on a Paleo diet (for other reasons) that cuts out all grains and wheat, and it’s made absolutely no difference to me, except for my cholesterol, which was the original intent.

Here is a pic of me after a run in 70 degree weather and the cooling effect on my skin. However, this really doesnt bother me besides some slight itching.

So, whilst really a pain in my a**, it has not stopped me from pursuing the things I like to do and besides some embarrassment at walking into the ocean on a 80+ degree day in a full wetsuit, I can pretty much do it all. I thankfully can eat cold stuff without there being any reaction which I attribute to the fact that it doesn’t stay cold long enough else I know it would. In fact, I remember getting a saline drip in my wrist that was cold and I could see where in my vein for the first 8 inches travelling up my arm, I had this red thin line where I was having a reaction, until it obviously warmed up with my blood and stopped. Amazing!

Even in 70 degree water, I can go in with just my swimsuit on, but as long as I come back out after 5 minutes or so, I’m okay. The allergic reaction would have started but it’s not long enough to have any real adverse effect on me. Now, I know everyone who has this allergy has different types and severity levels, so I’m certainly not advocating diving into a lake, but I also read fear monger stories where people think they have to move to a warm state etc. However, I have no doubt that if I found myself in any situation where I was completely exposed that I could not remove myself from, that it would kill me.

Good luck!