Why Does This Woman Fear the Sunlight? San Diego Latina Details How She Manages Rare Medical Condition
- comments
-
San Diego resident Andrea Monroy, 23, hardly goes out of the house during daytime and have not enjoyed what it's like to be in the beach. The young Latina suffers from a rare medical condition that affects her skin. The severity of it could even kill her.
Mirror reported that Andrea was born with a condition called Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). If she's exposed to sunlight, freckles would erupt and cover her skin. Doctors diagnosed her when she was just five, which meant that she was not able to go to school like any other normal child.
Andrea's mother homeschooled her and even tinted their house's windows to protect her daughter. However, XP is a challenging affliction to manage. If Andrea has to leave the house during the day, she has to wear protective clothing like hat, gloves, jacket, pants and boots, per Daily Mail. Otherwise, the young girl completely avoids going out when the sun is still bright. "Everything I do is at night. When I go out, the sun must not touch my skin," she said.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine stated that XP is a genetic DNA disorder with the body having no ability to protect itself from ultraviolet light. The condition can also lead to telangiectasia or "spidery blood vessels" and, if not managed, it might also lead to skin cancer even if the child is as young as 5-year old.
A person with XP gets sunburned easily and may experience skin blisters, patches, crusting and scaling often. Using a sunscreen with SPF 70 or higher could serve as protection and there are medicines that can prevent the growth of cancer cells. However, it is a life-long condition. There are over one million people who suffer from XP in the United States, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
On top of the hardships, Andrea also deals with bullies. However, she says she doesn't let this affect her now that she's a grown-up. "I love my freckles and my scars, I've learnt to love myself. I wish the world was more open," she said, per Daily Star.
Andrea continues to enjoy life as young adult by reading, painting and taking photographs at night. She also keeps a blog about her experience in managing XP. "I live each day, day by day. I don't want to think about the future I just want people in general to live and love life to fullest. Life is hard but there is always a way to make the most of it," she said per Daily Star.
A photo posted by Andrea Ivonne Monroy (@nightlensblog) on Dec 24, 2015 at 3:11pm PST
