A rare, post-Covid condition means this woman is allergic to the cold
A 27-year-old has been left unable to drink chilled beverages or exercise outdoors in winter after developing a rare cold allergy post-Covid.
Hanna Newnham, from Brighton, first noticed symptoms of cold urticaria – hives that appear after cold temperature exposure – after recovering from Covid-19 in 2020.
The hives first appeared in April after swimming in the sea but in December, she suffered her first anaphylaxis attack triggered by a McDonald’s milkshake and a McFlurry – both of which are now off-limits along with coconut Little Moons, which she misses.
At the time, she had an itchy throat and cough, but didn’t know what it was.
Hannah’s cold-exposure symptoms became progressively worse and she began experiencing angioedema (facial swelling) and more frequent anaphylaxis, which causes her throat to constrict, leaving her struggling to breathe.
Despite high-dose antihistamines, steroids and an EpiPen, Hanna’s attacks also became more severe.
Her experience isn’t unheard of – a study published in open-access journal Nature Communications in April 2024 claims to show “comprehensive evidence for the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent incident allergic outcomes”.
Hannah is waiting to see an immunologist through the NHS and hopes to be prescribed XOLAIR (omalizumab), which would cost £6,000 every six weeks.
“I’m thinking all the time about what I can and can’t eat which is annoying,” she said.
Hanna sought an official cold urticaria diagnosis in February 2021 and was prescribed fexofenadine (antihistamine medication).
Over the last four years, Hanna’s reaction to the cold has worsened – with cold air from treadmills, cold water from the fridge, and even her own sweat triggering attacks.
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.
Her antihistamine medication has become less effective, so she was recently put on steroids and given an EpiPen for severe reactions.
Steroids have increased her appetite, which worries her given her reduced ability to exercise.
She has been deemed unsafe to work in winter by the agency that was previously employing her, after being forced to use her EpiPen last October while playing with kids outdoors at a forest nursery school.
She does not pay rent as she lives with her grandmother, and manages her condition by using a kettle in her room, keeping the heating on, and using a heated blanket.
Hanna can also not hike or run outdoors if it is too cold which she learned the hard way after a recent anaphylaxis attack while hiking to Seven Sisters on a sunny winter’s day in February.
“I got on the bus back, and I 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 then administered my EpiPen to myself as I walked in.”
Hanna has to be monitored by hospital staff for eight hours after each time she uses an EpiPen, so is keen to avoid “boring” hospital trips as much as possible.
She speaks to her GP weekly, and was recently prescribed asthma medication to see if that helps her breathe better.
“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 the obstacles, Hanna remains determined to live as normally as possible.
She has adapted her exercise routine to include more at-home workouts like yoga, gymnastics and 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.”
While she waits for a specialist appointment, Hanna is holding out for warmer weather.
She is ultimately hoping to be prescribed XOLAIR on the NHS, an injectable prescription medicine used to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria.
