Most people look forward to sunny weather, but for California woman Chelsea Madore, a bright day is a headache…literally.
Madore has an allergy to the sun called polymorphous light eruption (PMLE), a rare condition that only affects about 5 to 20 percent of the global population. After just a few minutes in the sunshine, she gets headache-like pain and a rash spreads across her neck, chest, forearms, and hands, sometimes even turning into angry red blisters.
Though the symptoms aren't usually life-threatening, Madore says the condition does make it extremely difficult to ever enjoy a walk through the park or even a ride in the car, as sunlight pouring through the window can kickstart the allergy. Wow…can you even imagine what that must be like?
Unfortunately, while kids normally grow out any sun allergies as they get older, adults who develop them later in life, like Madore, have it much harder. Madore told ABC News that there is no real treatment except to try and prevent the symptoms from coming up in the first place, which she does by wearing sunscreen and carrying an umbrella.
"I can't stay out in the sun for more than 10 minutes at a time without having a reaction," she said. "It's hard not to feel like a vampire."
I've heard of people being allergic to the sun before, but having grown up and lived in a beach town for my entire life, I personally can't fathom not being able to simply enjoy a nice day. It must be so hard, not to mention completely disruptive to your everyday, to have to think twice before stepping outside.
But crazily enough, PMLE isn't the only weird allergy out there. Below, check out 5 more things you never knew you could be allergic to:
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