Brother and sister from the U.S. allergic to the air cold which is rare

(Photo: ABC News)

There are some people who claim to not stand the cold, there is also a hot and can not stand the heat. But that only applies to certain seasons only.

Different again to those experienced by brothers from the U.S. because they are actually allergic to the cold low temperatures or relatively rare. Initially, his brother, a boy named Connor Frankenfeld suffered strange rashes when she was three years old.

Connor's parents and doctor that was confused and did not know where the rash came from. However, when left unchecked, the rash was getting worse from time to time.

It was not until a year later doctors could diagnose allergic conditions with cold Connor called cold urticaria.

Cold urticaria is a condition that is very rare and only affects one in 100,000 people. In fact, doctors who deal with Connor, William Lanting of Asthma and Allergy Center of the Rockies, Colorado claimed to have only ever seen 4-5 cases of this kind in three decades.

Patients with this rare disorder experience symptoms such as redness, itching and swelling after contact with cold temperatures. Worse normal activities that people do in fact potentially fatal, such as swimming in cold water.

Even swimming is said to be the causes of the worst reactions and most often found in patients and lead to fainting, shock, until death.

Through his study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers Joshua Milner and his colleagues found a genetic mutation in 27 people from three families who all suffered from cold urticaria as well as immune system disorders and other abnormalities.

"To understand the relationship between these disorders group; autoimmunity, chronic infections and cold urticaria, we not only identify disease causing mutations but also uncovers the genetic mechanisms that are unique and interesting related to the emergence of allergies, the immune defense system and the body's tolerance to various disturbances," Milner explained as quoted from huffingtonpost, Tuesday (11/20/2012).

Of more concern, Connor's sister is 8 years old, Taylor has also been diagnosed with the same condition, even the conditions are much worse than his brother. Because Taylor had nearly suffered anaphylactic shock just because the exposed AC's in school.

Now they are never reported to leave the house without gloves, scarves and jackets. If the temperature outside reached single digits, they are not allowed out at all.

Unfortunately, until now there is no cure for cold urticaria patients although some therapies may help reduce symptoms, including cold temperatures and avoid eating certain antihistamine prior to exposure to the cold.

Source:  huffingtonpost