I’m allergic to the cold and I have to heat my home above 23C – I’m dreading a huge energy bill hike

A MUM who is allergic to the cold fears the proposed energy bill price hike may turn her life upside down.

Robyn Harrison, from South Shore, Blackpool, suffers from painful rashes all over her body and breathing difficulties when temperatures plunge because of a rare condition.

SWNS

Robyn Harrison suffers from a rare condition known as Severe Idiopathic Cold Urticaria[/caption]

SWNS

She, like others living with the condition, breaks out in painful rashes when temperatures plunge[/caption]

The mum-of-two, who has suffered from Severe Idiopathic Cold Urticaria for five years, needs to keep her home above 23C to prevent her from breaking out into hives.

She and her partner, Andrew Temple, 37, are already struggling to pay their fixed-rate energy tariff costing £250 per month – which has risen more than £80 over the past three years.

But the deal is set to expire in March, with their new tariff expected to double in the new year, costing Robyn and her family up to £500 a year.

Robyn said: “We have the heating on for at least eight months in the year.

“After March that’ll cost us the same as our mortgage. We’re definitely worrying about what we’ll do after March.

“There will be more outgoing costs in petrol when winter comes as well, because I can’t walk anywhere in the cold without having an allergic reaction.

“When I’m cold, my whole body becomes insanely itchy and my eyes get so swollen that I can barely open them, so reducing the heating isn’t an option.

“We’re getting to the point where we’re just about managing. We have no idea what to do.”

Robyn, a housekeeper on a hospital ward from Plymouth, said she first found out she had the chronic condition in 2017 following the birth of her son, Zachary.

The mum initially put it down to her hormones from her pregnancy, but soon noticed the crippling symptoms during a trip to an air show on a windy day.

At the time, her eyes and cheeks swelled up so much that she could barely see.

She said: “It started with coming out in hives whenever I’d been somewhere windy or cold. After a shower I’d come out in hives whenever I got out and the water cooled on my skin.

“Even spraying deodorant on my underarms would make my skin crawl. It’s itchy, it doesn’t hurt but it makes your whole body really itchy and you can’t get rid of it. It makes me so stressed.

We have no idea what to do

Robyn Harrison

“It can last a couple of days if it’s a particularly bad reaction.

“I wrap up, but it’s not possible to completely cover yourself. Even if just my eyes are showing, or the tiny gap at your wrist between your coat and gloves, I’ll react.”

The mum said she is prescribed antibiotics to fight the condition, but still experiences reactions on a regular basis.

The family bought an extra car to avoid her having to walk anywhere, and they have automatic heating installed at home whenever the temperature drops below 23C.

But with their monthly costs expected to double in the new year, Robyn and her partner Andrew fear the worst.

She said: “It’s a massive concern, not just with gas and electric, but with everything. It’s getting to the point where we’re just about managing.

“We do both have jobs so we’re in a better position than some, but we are worrying what we will do after March. Everyone else must be feeling the same – but what do we do?”

It comes as many households have been warned by experts that energy bills could top £5,000 next year.

Regulator Ofgem could be forced to set the energy price cap at £5,038 for the average household from next April, experts say.

It is more than £2,500 higher than previous forecasts, which were already grim, and heaps extra pressure on households across Britain.

SWNS

Robyn says her face swells when she has a bad reaction to the cold weather[/caption]

SWNS

The mum says she fears the worst amid the proposed rise in energy bills next year[/caption]