A woman was left shocked after her face “started to burn” following her morning run.
When Demi Dorsey arrived back home, she rushed to the mirror to discover her face covered in “crazy” raised hives.
Horrified, the 25-year-old first thought bugs had “attacked her face” and panic began to set in as she considered rushing to the hospital.
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The bizarre allergic reaction actually turned out to be a sign of a rare disorder.
“I was honestly shocked but more confused than anything, Demi, from Chicago, Illinois, USA, told Need To Know.
“I was thinking bugs had attacked my face and I had no idea. ”
Demi uploaded a video of her skin to TikTok, where confused viewers shared a myriad of guesses for the mystery breakout. The video has over 1.2m views and 121,000 likes so far.
“My face started to burn like blood rushing to my face all at once when it started to tingle and itch so bad,” part of the caption reads, with Demi adding that this is “really crazy”.
Some people believed it was a pollen reaction, while other suggested she has a sun allergy or caused by the “cold air”.
Demi decided to give her face and body an ice bath.Miraculously , when she woke up the next day, her skin was “perfectly normal”.
Later seeking medical assistance, she finally got an answer to what had happened to her face: exercise-induced anaphylaxis (EIA). This is a rare disorder in which the body has an allergic reaction to physical activity. Demi also realised this had happened before, while in college.
She was a rower and one day noticed her legs and back breaking out in hives – but didn’t think much of it.
Demi said: “There’s really no telling when it could come back but at least I know what to do and what it is when it does occur.“
I have sensitive skin so I know anything can just set my body off. “It was a relief that it wasn’t bugs that attacked my face and it was just me running too fast.”
Demi finds that allergy tablets, ice cold water and using cleanser helps to ease her symptoms when she has a bad reaction.
Currently, she is training for a half marathon which takes place next month.
She added: “I was honestly quite shocked about how many people were in my comments saying how they or someone they know has experienced this after working out.
“It was slightly comforting to know I wasn’t the odd one out however, I hope this post doesn’t discourage people from working out or pushing themselves physically (within their level of experience of course).”
Viewers shared their thoughts on the TikTok, which was shared at the end of April. One person said: “Omg This happen to my legs last week. I literally couldn’t walk because my legs tingled so bad and I couldn’t stop scratching.”
Someone else added: “This would make me never run again.”
Another person said: “THIS HAPPENS TO ME EVERYTIME I GET HOT.”
“And then I would call an Uber back home”, added someone else.
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