HANNA Newnham developed a life-threatening allergy to the cold after catching Covid-19.
Now, she can’t exercise outdoors in winter or even enjoy a cold drink.
She was recently put on steroids and given an EpiPen for severe reactions[/caption]
“Even if my throat closes, I’ll keep working out – no one can stop me,” said the 27-year-old from Brighton.
Hanna first noticed a red, bumpy rash – hives – after swimming in the sea in the summer of 2020, just two months after recovering from Covid.
By winter, things had escalated.
A McDonald’s milkshake and McFlurry triggered her first major reaction, which caused her throat to itch and close up.
She didn’t realise what was happening at the time.
Both foods are now off-limits, along with coconut Little Moons, which she misses.
“I’m thinking all the time about what I can and can’t eat, which is annoying,” she said.
In February 2021, she was officially diagnosed with cold urticaria, an allergy to the cold, and prescribed antihistamines.
Over the last four years, her condition has worsened.
Cold air from treadmills, water from the fridge, and even her own sweat can now trigger a reaction.
Hanna can experience symptoms such as facial swelling or hives daily, particularly during winter months, if she does not carefully control her core temperature and her environment.
If an attack is severe, her reactions can progress to anaphylaxis – with her throat threatening to close up.
Now on steroids and carrying an EpiPen, she has to carefully control her body temperature. But her medication is becoming less effective.
I started feeling really faint, and my whole face was so swollen
Hanna Newnham
The steroids have increased her appetite, but her allergy limits how much she can exercise.
Last October, she suffered an attack while working at a forest nursery, where she works as a playworker.
Forced to use her EpiPen, she was later deemed unsafe to work outdoors in winter.
Over the last four years, Hanna’s reaction to the cold has worsened[/caption]
She now lives with her grandmother, keeping the heating on and using a heated blanket. No rent, but her life is full of restrictions.
Hanna loves hiking and running outdoors, but both are now risky for her.
In February, she had an anaphylaxis attack while hiking to Seven Sisters.
“I got on the bus back and thought I could make it home, but I started feeling really faint, and my whole face was so swollen,” she said.
“It was something special, so I just got off at the hospital and administered my EpiPen as I walked in.”
Each time she uses an EpiPen, she must be monitored in hospital for eight hours.
The six signs you could be allergic to the cold
THE cold weather can trigger a range of symptoms, with the most common being shivering.
But if certain symptoms seem out of the ordinary when you step outside in winter, it could be you’re allergic to the cold.
eing allergic to the cold is a condition known as cold urticaria.
While it’s considered rare, only affecting about 0.05 per cent of the population, cold urticaria can occur when the skin is exposed to cold air, water, food, or drink.
Carolina Goncalves, the Superintendent Pharmacist at Pharmica, explained: “This reaction occurs when the body releases histamine in response to cold stimuli, which can be considered a type of immune system response.
“While it is not a true allergy, cold urticaria is often referred to in everyday language as an allergic reaction to cold.
“It is a rare condition that results in rashes or hives.”
Symptoms can begin shortly after exposure and can last for about two hours.
According to Goncalves, the most common symptoms are:
- Hives – these are red, itchy bumps that appear on the skin following exposure to the cold. It can cause swelling under the affected skin.
- Burning sensation – this accompanies the hives.
Individuals may also experience:
- Swelling beneath the skin
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Fainting
But Goncalves warned: “Cold hives could also cause anaphylaxis (an allergic reaction that causes breathing difficulties), though this is quite rare.”
Anaphylaxis is considered life-threatening and can happen very quickly.
Symptoms usually start minutes after coming into contact with something you’re allergic to.
The NHS says symptoms include:
- swelling of your throat and tongue
- difficulty breathing or breathing very fast
- difficulty swallowing, tightness in your throat or a hoarse voice
- wheezing, coughing or noisy breathing
- feeling tired or confused
- feeling faint, dizzy or fainting
- skin that feels cold to the touch
- blue, grey or pale skin, lips or tongue – if you have brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet
When should you seek medical help for symptoms?
In the first instance, if symptoms are localised and not severe, you can get advice from a pharmacist, advised Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy.
But if you have symptoms of anaphylaxis, don’t wait, phone 999 without delay.
Keen to avoid these “boring” trips, she now speaks to her GP weekly and was recently prescribed asthma medication to help her breathe.
“I feel like they’re just throwing different meds at me because they’re not 100 per cent sure what to do,” she said.
Despite everything, she refuses to slow down.
She’s swapped outdoor workouts for home-based exercise – yoga, gymnastics, even Just Dance on an old Wii Fit.
“I’ve got so much energy, that’s why I work with kids,” she said.
“I’m always running about, and now I have nothing to put that energy into.”
She’s waiting to see an NHS immunologist and hopes to be prescribed XOLAIR, a £6,000-per-dose injection that could help.
For now, she’s holding out for warmer weather.
