Listen to Story A 28-year-old woman from London, UK revealed she has a rare and "painful" condition that makes her allergic to her own periods. Georgina Jelley began experiencing rashes, itchy and burning eyes, and headaches, after she got an intrauterine device (IUD) fitted in her uterus in April. Initially, doctors believed she was having an allergic reaction and prescribed oral steroids and antihistamines, which temporarily relieved her symptoms.
"It felt like a strange burning sensation in my eyes. They were constantly watering, and my cheeks were red too," Jelley told British news agency SWNS. "I thought it might be a reaction to something like my fabric conditioner.
My GP prescribed steroids, and it seemed to calm down," she added. However, the symptoms returned three weeks later, more intense than before, affecting her vision and causing severe headaches. Despite undergoing an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) at St.
Mary's Hospital, which came back clear, doctors diagnosed her with eczema . "But I knew it wasn't that," Jelley said, adding, "I felt dismissed. The doctors kept saying it was just eczema and tried to give me topical steroids, but I knew something else was wrong.
" When her symptoms flared up again three weeks later, Jelley noticed it coincided with her menstrual cycle. After researching on her own, she suspected she had a rare condition called progesterone hypersensitivity and sought a formal diagnosis. ALL ABOUT PROGESTERONE HYPERSENSITIVITY Progesterone h.