How long would someone be able to live if they suddenly became allergic to water?
Inspired by this tale - www.thefreelibrary.com/JUST+ONE+CUP+OF+WATER+COULD+KILL+LITTLE+HEIDI%3B+Girl%27s+deadly+allergy...-a061152595
Let's say someone is so allergic to H2O that a sip of water will send them into anaphylactic shock, (requiring a shot of adrenaline every time they take a sip of water) and if they get IV'd with a drip, they react to the water being injected into their body (such as is the case with the link I posted above).
I'm not talking about a mere skin irritation that isn't actually an allergy (Aquagenic Urticaria - which doesn't affect drinking as it's a skin condition only), I'm talking a full on potentially life threatening allergy to the H2O molecule when it is ingested as well like in the story above.
Basically, every time the mast cell immunoglobulins (located outside of the cell, along its surface) saw H2O molecules, it'd cause the mast cells to degranulate and release histamine.
Is it plausible that a person would live so long as to get a news article made about them?
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Due to the rarity of the condition, pathogenesis is poorly understood. According to Aung, Montelibano, & Zin (2017), water may act as a solvent in aquagenic urticaria, solubilizing an antigen that permeates the skin and activates dermal mast cells. It is also possible that water may interact with sebum to form a substance capable of acting as a direct mast cell degranulator.
Is it plausible that a person would live so long as to get a news article made about them?
There is a recent paper I found (Fukumoto, et al. 2018) which might shed some light on the subject.
The paper discussed an 8-year-old girl who suffered a history of shortness of breath, syncope and urticaria induced by cold water.
Treatment of AU remains a discussion. Although AU has been reportedly mediated in both a histamine-dependent and independent manner, antihistamines have been recommended as the first-line treatment. Barrier creams, ultraviolet radiation monotherapy, and ultraviolet therapy in combination with anti-histamines are also reported treatments for AU. The patient's condition has been successfully controlled with loratadine. This result supports the hypothesis that histamine is involved in AU.
References
Aung, T., Montelibano, L., & Zin, K. (2017). P184 Aquagenic urticaria. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 119(5), S49.DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2017.08.237
Fukumoto, T., Ogura, K., Fukunaga, A., & Nishigori, C. (2018). Aquagenic urticaria: Severe extra-cutaneous symptoms following cold water exposure. Allergology International, 67(2), 295-297.DOI: 10.1016/j.alit.2017.10.007Free PDF: www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/allergolint/67/2/67_295/_pdf
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