We all look forward to the time we can leave our coats at home, but one young mother from Portsmouth has to wrap up warm even in summer.
Chelsea White, 19, is allergic to the cold and breaks out in itchy, blotchy hives if her skin is exposed to the slightest breeze.
The mother-of-one always wears gloves when she is outside and avoids downing chilled drinks and snacks that could cool her body temperature.
Chelsea said: 'When the rash breaks out, I look like a tomato. My arms and legs flare up into really itchy hives, and even after all these years, it's embarrassing.
'I was bullied a lot at school because I was always the one wearing a hat, scarf and gloves when all my friends were in summer dresses.
'I know what brings on my reaction, but sometimes I just can't avoid it. If I'm out and it starts raining, my wet clothes make me cold and I flare up.
'I can try and take precautions like dressing in warm clothing, but if it's a windy day, I either have to hide away at home or just put up with it.
'Sometimes the rashes have been so itchy that I've scratched them until they bleed.'
The former supermarket-worker can't even take her baby daughter, Faye, to the swimming pool or the seaside as she can't go near cold water in case it triggers a reaction.
She said when she worked at Tesco her colleagues didn't believe her at first when she explained she couldn't work in the freezer aisles.
She always wore a fleece and woolen gloves as chilling cabinets and air conditioning will bring her out in an itchy rash. Even scanning frozen food through the tills left her scratching like mad.
Her unusual condition can usually be kept under control with a heavy dose of anti-histamine - but if Chelsea relies on the medicine too often, it will become less effective.
The full-time mother has to predict when she thinks she will need to take her medication - but an unexpected cold snap will leave her covered head-to-toe in hives.
More... First-born children are 'more likely to suffer from allergies' Not-so-smart foods: Are 'natraceuticals' really as healthy as they claim to be?
Chelsea's mother, Sarah Durow, 38, added: 'Chelsea came down with the condition very suddenly.
'It had never bothered her until one day when she was 11, and we were out shopping It was quite windy, and her face started to get red and blotchy.
'Within a few minutes, it was covered in big red bubbles.
Painful: Chelsea breaks out in red, itchy hives if she becomes chilly'I rushed her to the nearest pharmacy, and was told she'd had an allergic reaction - but I'd never known her to be allergic to anything before.
'The doctor was completely baffled - it took months of tests before he finally managed to narrow the condition down to Cold Urticaria.
'Although Chelsea's condition wasn't life threatening, she was always breaking out in huge rashes.
'She couldn't go swimming, or play out when it was snowing - and we couldn't even let her have an ice cream in the summer, or she would start itching.
'As her mum, it was awful to watch her in so much pain.
'She has always just accepted her condition though - she never moans about it, she just gets on with life.'
Chelsea added: 'I don't know whether I will suffer with Cold Urticaria for the rest of my life or whether it is something I might hopefully grow out of.
'There are so few people who suffer from the condition that it's impossible to tell.
'I have learned to live with my allergy but my biggest fear is that it will be passed on to my daughter.
'For now, though, I will have to stick to keeping wrapped up warm.'
Muriel Summers, chair of Allergy UK, said: 'Cold Urticaria is a very rare condition, and so few people in the UK suffer from it that there is no national database indicating how many people are affected by it.
'We really don't understand the immune system well enough to have developed a cure for the condition.
'It is an awful condition and can cause the sufferer a lot of pain and distress.
'Often, allergies like this can disappear over time - hopefully this will be the case with Chelsea.'
