MATT LAUER, co-host:
We are back now at 8:37 with
TODAY'S HEALTH
. Imagine not being able to play in the snow, eat an
ice cream cone
or jump into a cool
swimming pool
. Well, nine-year-old
Priscilla Pomerantz
can't enjoy those pleasures because she is literally allergic to cold. We'll talk to her in a moment, but first here's
NBC
's
Mara Schiavocampo
.
MARA SCHIAVOCAMPO reporting:
For nine-year-old
Priscilla Pomerantz
, winter's chill is downright dangerous.
Ms. PRISCILLA POMERANTZ:
I have to check the weather a lot. I have to always bundle up.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
The fourth grader from
upstate New York
must stay warm to stay healthy. That's because she suffers from a rare condition called
cold urticaria
. Simply put,
Priscilla
is allergic to cold.
Ms. COLLEEN LYNCH (Mother of Nine-year-old Girl Allergic to the Cold):
She has swelling of her ankles with joint pain. She gets nauseous with it and she's fatigued and lethargic.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
Almost two years ago,
Priscilla
started breaking out in hives after swimming. Her mother thought she might be allergic to sunscreen. But weeks later, using an
ice cube
as a tester, doctors determined the culprit was cold.
Ms. POMERANTZ:
I was really disappointed, but I didn't cry. Inside I felt horrible.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
Too much exposure to low temperatures and
Priscilla
could break out into hives or even go into anaphylactic shock, shutting down her airways.
Mr. CRAIG POMERANTZ (Father of Nine-Year-Old Girl Allergic to the Cold):
I do worry about it. It's something we worry about every day.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
Now
Priscilla
has to make sure she doesn't go anywhere with temperatures below 70 degrees.
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Usually we keep it higher for the winter to keep me safe.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
It's not just room temperature.
Priscilla
has to keep everything around her warm, from what she eats and drinks to bathwater to the clothes she puts on after showering. And she has to give up some of the things kids love most, like
ice cream
and swimming.
Priscilla
takes antihistamines twice a day and carries an
EpiPen
everywhere. So this is kind of your emergency kit?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Yes.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
For now
Priscilla
's getting used to living with the condition and even manages to see a silver lining.
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Like in the wintertime, some of it's good because I don't have to walk the dog, I don't have to shovel snow.
SCHIAVOCAMPO:
A
little girl
warmed by a positive outlook in the face of a
cold world
. For TODAY, Mara Schiavocampo,
NBC
News, New
York
.
LAUER:
Priscilla
is here with her parents,
Colleen Lynch
and
Craig Pomerantz
, and her sister
Paige
and
NBC
's chief medical editor, Dr.
Nancy Snyderman
, joins us as well.
Good morning to all
of you.
Dr. NANCY SNYDERMAN reporting:
Hey, Matt.
Ms. LYNCH:
Good morning.
LAUER:
You figured it out, right? You decided to put the best spin on this. No walking the dog, no shoveling the snow. Way to go. How are you?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Good.
LAUER:
Yeah? The serious side is this is a little tough, isn't it?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Mm-hmm.
LAUER:
Yeah, you've had to adapt to a lot. How's it going?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
OK.
LAUER:
Yeah? Still a lot to get used to?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Right.
LAUER:
I want people to know what it's like for you to go out on a day like this, for example. It's about 38, 39 degrees here in
New York
. And before you -- I ask you to tell me what it feels like, can we just make sure people know we did not endanger her in any way bringing her here, correct?
Ms. LYNCH:
No, not at all.
Mr. POMERANTZ:
Not at all.
LAUER:
Right. So she can go out if she's bundled up and she's OK, even though it's chilly in the studio. You feel OK now?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Right.
Ms. LYNCH:
I think she actually got a little hot, but you overcompensated you did such a great job.
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Yeah.
LAUER:
We put the heat up too much in here. What does it feel like if you do go out and you forget a sweater or you don't have the proper coat, what immediately does it feel like?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Well, it usually doesn't happen, but it feels cold on a day like this. But if it was a day like this it doesn't feel as cold as a day like in the 20s.
LAUER:
In the 20s, you get itchy then immediately and you would start to see the hives pretty quickly?
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Mm-hmm.
Ms. LYNCH:
Yeah, within a few minutes. But that's a hard question because we're so aware of it we never put her in that situation. She's never unprepared in
cold weather
.
LAUER:
Well, then that brings up the next question. How hard has it been as a family to adapt to this condition?
Ms. LYNCH:
I think we're doing great.
Mr. POMERANTZ:
We are doing great.
Ms. LYNCH:
Right? We have lots of layers and...
Ms. POMERANTZ:
Layers.
Ms. LYNCH:
...we're always prepared. I think actually the question should go back to
Priscilla
of the adjustment that she's had to make. I think that some things that are difficult for her are obviously swimming.
LAUER:
Yeah.
Ms. LYNCH:
That's one of the extreme situations that could be potentially very dangerous. So we choose avoidance.
And I
think that's been difficult.
LAUER:
And I
know if my kids were watching right now they're probably saying, 'You don't get to eat
ice cream
?' That's a disaster for my kids.
Ms. POMERANTZ:
It is.
SNYDERMAN:
You know,
Matt
, it's interesting because a lot of times people look at parents and think, 'oh these must be cuckoo parents, overprotective, they've made it up or it's winter, your skin must just be dry.' And they don't understand it's real medical validity to this. I mean, this is a well-recognized medical problem.
LAUER:
And
Priscilla
's case it's triggered by cold...
SNYDERMAN:
Right.
LAUER:
...but it can be triggered -- the hives can be triggered in other people, you can have an
allergic reaction
to a lot of things.
SNYDERMAN:
Exactly.
Ms. LYNCH:
And...
SNYDERMAN:
I mean, urticaria just means hives and itching. So whether it's a
seafood allergy
or nylon...
Ms. LYNCH:
Right.
SNYDERMAN:
...or cold it's
variations on a theme
. This is just one that's not as well-known.
Ms. LYNCH:
I actually prefer this to a
nut allergy
, let's say. I feel that
cold urticaria
is much more manageable than if she did have a
nut allergy
.
LAUER:
Because you -- otherwise you have to figure out everywhere there's nuts in the diet...
Ms. LYNCH:
Right.
Mr. POMERANTZ:
Right.
LAUER:
...and things like that. You know what crossed my mind,
Craig
, is you guys live in
upstate New York
here.
Ms. LYNCH:
Yeah.
Mr. POMERANTZ:
Yes.
LAUER:
OK, and my first reaction is, is this something where you're going to have to relocate your family to someplace like
Florida
or
Arizona
or something like that?
Mr. POMERANTZ:
Well, we've discussed that, and it's actually almost worse because everything in
Florida
is
air conditioned
. So she'd be more limited there than here. You know, I mean, winters are hard, but it would be worse all year round in
Florida
.
LAUER:
Yeah.
Ms. LYNCH:
It's -- everything is
air conditioned
, so publicly she would be limited.
LAUER:
Paige
, have you, as a sister, become much more protective of your
little sister
?
PAIGE:
Yeah, sometimes.
LAUER:
You have to be.
SNYDERMAN:
Do you walk around in a T-shirt all the time that she's in a sweater?
PAIGE:
Yes.
Ms. LYNCH:
She is the hottest child. And, you know...
PAIGE:
Ms. LYNCH:
I don't think that I can tolerate the cold anymore. I'm so used to such a hot environment.
LAUER:
Right.
Ms. LYNCH:
So
Paige
is running around in shorts and a tank top and I've got her bundled up so it's...
PAIGE:
Which one do you not like?
Ms. LYNCH:
...we try to find a balance, right,
Paige
?
LAUER:
Nancy
, do patients often outgrow this?
SNYDERMAN:
They can. I mean, there's some -- there are some numbers of 15 to 25 percent of people suffer from some variation of this, some more severe. There's a possibility because this has sort of struck young that she might outgrow this as a young adult. No guarantees, though. The real question is are there are allergic things going on in the family, and
time will tell
.
“ ”