Family of girl allergic to SUMMER cancel their holiday

Girl, 4, who is allergic to SUMMER: Parents are forced to cancel holiday to Tenerife over fears the trip could kill her

  • Carys Pickles will break out in hives if she spends more than 5 minutes in the sun
  • Swimming pools, sun tan lotion, grass and ice-cream can also trigger her hives
  • Her parents live in fear of Carys having another life-threatening reaction 
  • As a result, they have decided to cancel their plans to visit Tenerife this summer

The parents of a four-year-old girl who is allergic to summer have cancelled their holiday this year over fears it may have killed her.

Carys Pickles, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, will break out in itchy, red hives if she spends any longer than five minutes in the sun without being covered.

Chlorine in swimming pools, sun tan lotion, grass and even most ice-creams – all staples of summer – also play havoc on the toddler’s life.

Her parents, Sophie and Liam, live in fear of Carys having another life-threatening reaction, as she has been rushed to hospital several times already.

And, as a result, the couple have decided to abandon their plans to visit Tenerife this summer.

Doctors are baffled as to what is causing her to be a ‘walking allergy’ – and her family are desperately hoping they will soon get a diagnosis for her.

Now, the family are desperately searching for ways Carys can be pain-free over the next few months, as temperatures soar.

Carys Pickles, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, will break out in itchy, red hives if she spends any longer than five minutes in the sun without being covered

Ms Pickles, 25, said: ‘Summer is meant to be the most exciting time of year for kids, but for Carys it’s one of the most dangerous times.

‘Ever since she was born she’s been allergic to a lot of things, but over the past year it’s got even worse.

‘We’re dreading the summer because there’s so many precautions that we have to take to make sure she’s not in pain.

‘She’s even allergic to sun tan lotion, so we have to use a special one for her, and swimming pools, so she can’t go in there to cool down.’ 

Carys wasn’t even able to enjoy a family BBQ in the soaring heat this bank holiday weekend – because of an allergy to ketchup, smeared on burgers and hot dogs.

Ms Pickles added: ‘She can’t even lay on the grass and make daisy chains because the grass brings her out in painful hives.’

Chlorine in swimming pools, sun tan lotion, grass and even most ice-creams – all staples of summer – also play havoc on the toddler’s life

Her parents, Sophie (pictured) and Liam, live in fear of Carys having another life-threatening reaction, as she has been rushed to hospital several times already

WHAT ARE HIVES? 

Hives rashes usually settle down within a few minutes to a few days. You can often treat hives yourself.

Hives occur when something causes high levels of histamine and other chemicals to be released in the skin. This is known as a trigger.

Triggers can include:

  • food
  • pollen and plants
  • insect bites and stings
  • chemicals
  • latex
  • dust mites
  • heat – work and sleep in a cool room and wear loose, lightweight clothes
  • sunlight, exercise or water
  • medicines – speak to your GP if you have an allergic reaction
  • infections
  • emotional stress

Source: NHS Choices

‘And we have to be careful at BBQs in case Carys gets hold of tomato ketchup, as she will come out in a rash.’  

Despite Carys’ allergy to the sunshine only being identified last year, the four-year-old has suffered with reactions since she was born. 

But her long-list of allergies only seems to be growing, according to Ms Pickles. 

She added: ‘Every day it seems there’s something new that Carys reacts to, and it’s a constant fear of how bad the next reaction will be.

‘When she was five-days-old we had to call an ambulance because she had a reaction to milk, and they’ve just got worse since.

‘It started off as her just getting red patches across her body, but now she can get completely swollen from head-to-toe in five minutes.

‘When she’s in the sun she not only burns from the heat in minutes, but we also have to keep her at a constant temperature otherwise she will overheat and start to swell.’

Doctors are baffled as to what is causing her to be a ‘walking allergy’ – and her family are desperately hoping they will soon get a diagnosis for her

Ms Pickles, 25, said: ‘Summer is meant to be the most exciting time of year for kids, but for Carys it’s one of the most dangerous times’

Carys wasn’t even able to enjoy a family BBQ in the soaring heat this bank holiday weekend – because of an allergy to ketchup, smeared on burgers and hot dogs (pictured Carys, four, father Liam, 30, sisters Amelia five, and Phoebe nine-months-old and mother, Sophie 25)

Ms Pickles is now searching for answers from doctors as to why her Carys, who has two older sisters, is a ‘walking allergy’, and how to stop the pain (Carys pictured inside while her sister Amelia blows bubbles in the garden)

Ms Pickles explained they have to keep her covered by umbrellas, while she has a fan constantly on her to keep her ‘completely cool’.  

She is now searching for answers from doctors as to why her Carys, who has two older sisters, is a ‘walking allergy’, and how to stop the pain.

She said: ‘Her allergies are continually getting worse and she has become a walking allergy – there’s days where she will react to absolutely everything.

‘Despite taking her to numerous doctors, no one can tell us what is actually wrong with her.

‘Seeing her go through pain and having to have a cautioned life, without being able to enjoy what other children are doing, breaks my heart.

‘We hope that she will get a diagnosis soon so that this will be the last summer that she is intolerably allergic to!’ 

Ms Pickles said: ‘Her allergies are continually getting worse and she has become a walking allergy – there’s days where she will react to absolutely everything’

Despite taking her to numerous GPs, no-one can tell the family what is wrong with Carys (pictured having a reaction)

Ms Pickles said: ‘Seeing her go through pain and having to have a cautioned life, without being able to enjoy what other children are doing, breaks my heart’ (pictured with sister Amelia)

Now, the family are desperately searching for ways Carys can be pain-free over the next few months, as temperatures soar (pictured Carys under an umbrella with her sister Amelia)

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