Woman who is allergic to water explains how she bathes

A woman who has a water allergy has shared her shower routine to demonstrate the kind of pain she endures just doing this simple task.

Niah Selway, from the UK, suffers from a rare skin condition called Aquagenic Pruritus, where any skin contact with water causes her to have an allergic reaction.

So an everyday task we take for granted, like taking a shower, is a painfully difficult task for the 23-year-old.

Niah has detailed how she prepares for her showers to her followers on TikTok. You can watch her TikTok in full here.

She begins by saying: “With an allergy to water, having a wash is really difficult. I’m starting out by taking my blood pressure and temperature, and then selecting my sensitive skin-friendly products.”

Niah takes her followers through her step-by-step shower routineTikTok/niahselway

“I’m taking this dry brush and rubbing it over my skin to exfoliate and get rid of some of the dead skin that builds up on my skin. Then I’m jumping in the shower – it usually takes around 5-10 minutes before the pain starts, but once it does, it can last anywhere up to three hours after the initial contact with water. When I jump out the shower, I’m in a lot of pain.”

Though this isn’t the end of Niah’s shower routine as her allergies continue to cause her a “lot of pain” after her wash.

In a follow-up video, she explains what happens after drying off and moisturising her skin.

“I literally just writhe around in my bed until the pain stops and I start to feel exhausted,” she said.

You can watch her TikTok in full here.

She adds that she “always feels sick” during an allergic reaction and, in really bad cases, Niah takes painkillers and anti-sickness medicine.

Niah then films herself eating a bag of crisps “to keep her energy levels up” and adds that “food tastes like cardboard” to her when she’s in pain.

Although there wasn’t a huge difference between Niah’s blood pressure and heart rate before and after her shower, her temperature however rose to 41°C - the level of a fever.

Both of her videos have gone viral, with a combined total of over 5.8 million views on the app.

After her shower, Niah lies in his bed until the pain stops, and takes painkillers and anti-sickness medicine if neededTikTok/niahselway

Recently, Niah has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to fund her private medical treatment at the University of Munster in Germany.

She explained how itching, moisturising, antihistamines, painkillers and all of the treatments given to her by doctors on the NHS haven’t eased her symptoms.

“So far, my treatment has been entirely provided by the NHS, which I am so eternally grateful for. I am, however, reaching the point where they have exhausted their treatment options for my situation and quite honestly, it doesn’t feel like they have much belief that they can help me,” Niah wrote.

Currently, Niah has received almost £16,000 in donations, though she is still a fair bit away from reaching her fundraising goal of £250,000.