A “REAL-life vampire” says the sun could “actually kill her”, as her skin breaks out in oozing third-degree burns and blisters from just 30 seconds of exposure.
Emily Richardson lives as a mythical vampire would, rarely leaving the house and avoiding sunlight at all costs, for fear of suffering extreme allergic reactions that require urgent hospital treatment.
Emily Richardson, 36, in hospital after suffering an allergic reaction to sun exposureCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
Her reactions also cause painful mouth ulcersCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
She lives as a ‘vampire’, avoiding the sunlight and only leaving the house in protective clothingCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
The 36-year-old claims she’s so sensitive to UV rays that even fluorescent lights can trigger a reaction, leaving her with swollen eyes, a puffy face and scorched skin.
Emily’s symptoms started 16 years ago, when she began getting a swollen and itchy face after spending time in the sun.
The former real estate agent said the reactions steadily got worse over the years, but became life-threatening after a bout of in 2021.
Now Emily says her controls her life, as she’s forced to live most of her life indoors.
She had to quit her job and rarely leaves the house, unless covered top-to-toe in protective UV clothing.
In 2024, Emily was diagnosed with (SJS), a rare skin reaction usually caused by taking certain medicines.
But in her case, it’s believed to have also been triggered by her allergy to UV rays.
Emily, who’s “completely covered” in scars from and burns, hasn’t had a severe reaction since February 2024 and hopes this will have given her immune system a chance to recover.
She now wants to spread awareness about her rare allergy and encourages others to “advocate for themselves” – claiming most doctors still don’t believe she’s allergic to the sun.
Emily, who lives in Murfreesboro, , US, said: “Every single day of my life I have to live as a vampire because the sun could actually kill me.
“It just completely controls my life. Every second of every day I have to stay vigilant of what I’m doing in relation to where the sun is.
“One minute [of sunlight] could probably kill me, I rarely leave the house.
“I have to make sure I have my gloves on, my hood on, my mask on and make sure not only I’m wearing all my UV clothes but that one of my cats hasn’t accidentally snagged one of my leggings with their claws [leaving] a hole in my clothes.
“My back windows have coverings on them and my back door because it gets the most sunlight.
Emily’s allergic reactions because worse after she contracted long CovidCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
But she says nobody believed she was allergic to the sunCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
A painful blister after an allergic reactionCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
“Now my whole career as a real estate agent is done, my life came to a screeching halt.
“My job was socialising with other people so it was a big shift to go to being so isolated and I’m completely alone. I never imagined this would be my life.”
Emily suffered with mild symptoms for years, which ramped up after she contracted long Covid.
She was first hospitalised in 2023 for a week after suffering from an allergic reaction to amoxicillin to treat a sinus infection, coupled with exposure to sunlight.
Since then, she’s been hospitalised three more times from just 30 seconds of sun exposure.
Emily said: “If I get a tiny bit of sun exposure it creates small lesions or an ulcer inside my mouth and that tells me I got a little bit of sun exposure, but 30 seconds would probably put me in the hospital.
Your skin burns from the inside out. This is like third-degree burns that just spontaneously combust on your body out of nowhere
Emily Richardson
“Essentially your skin burns from the inside out. This is like third-degree burns that just spontaneously combust on your body out of nowhere.
“My skin swells with fluid and it gets to a certain point where the fluid comes out of my skin and oozes through the pores and forms blisters all over my face.
“First it was my mouth and then it was my mouth and on my lips, and then it was under my armpits, on my back and my genitals.
“I’ve got permanent scar tissue in my tear glands so I don’t produce tears anymore.
“I’m left with permanent scarring and I have scars all over my body.”
What is Stevens-Johnson syndrome?
Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a rare but serious skin reaction, usually caused by taking certain medicines - often epilepsy drugs, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory painkillers.
It is named after the two doctors who described it in the early 20th century.
It can be life-threatening so requires immediate hospital treatment.
Symptoms usually start with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, sore throat, cough and joint pain.
A rash usually then appears a few days later – spreading from the upper body to the face, arms, legs and genitals.
You can also get blisters and sores on your lips, inside your mouth and on your eyes.
Hospital treatment usually involves fluids to prevent dehydration, creams and dressings to moisturise the skin, strong painkillers to ease discomfort and medicines to control inflammation and prevent infection.
It can take several weeks or months to fully recover.
Source: NHS
‘Nobody believed me’
Despite the Undiagnosed Disease Network – a research study funded by the National Institutes of Health that aims to solve medical – diagnosing her with SJS in August 2024, she says most doctors still don’t believe her.
Emily said: “My ex-husband’s family had property in Alabama where we’d go fishing a lot on the lake.
“We’d go out for a whole day and by that evening my face and ears would be really itchy and red and bumpy.
“Something was happening and it went on for years. I knew it had something to do with going down there [the lake].
“I even said a couple of years later ‘I think I’m having this reaction to the sun’ and the allergist flat out said to me ‘you can’t be allergic to the sun’.
“Nobody believed me. It hurt because I was like ‘I really think something’s wrong’.
“[I was working at a bar] and bars have fluorescent lights hanging over every table and they put off UV rays.
“After a couple of hours of sitting under these lights with all my friends my face was so red and puffy.
“My eyes were swollen and my face was puffy. I was burning up and so hot. I thought ‘maybe it’s the alcohol’ but it was the light bulbs.
Emily was forced to quit her job and barely leaved the houseCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
She says the allergy controls her lifeCredit: Kennedy Newsand Media
“The doctors think I was born with an auto-inflammatory disease and they think it’s the underlying cause of all of my health problems.
“They think my body was fighting it, but in 2021 I got Covid. The doctors think Covid destroyed whatever was left of my immune system and released the Kraken, so to speak.”
Doctors treating Emily believe her autoimmune disease, exacerbated by long Covid, makes her body ultra-sensitive to everything, including the sun.
Despite going 18 months without a severe reaction, Emily says the allergy “controls her life” as she was forced to quit her job and now relies on hospital funding to support her.
Emily, who’s set up a page to help cover her living costs, now wants to spread awareness about her rare allergy and encourages others to “advocate for themselves”.
Emily said: “It’s extremely under-researched and underdiagnosed. A lot of doctors don’t know a whole lot about it.
“You have to advocate for yourself. When you’re having the same symptoms for years and they’re just getting worse the doctor is wrong and not the patient. You know your body better than anyone else.
“If a doctor tells you that you’re just wrong, walk out and get another doctor.
“The goal between me and my doctors is hopefully it’s given my immune system some time to heal, but then even 30 seconds will ruin that.”
You can donate to Emily’s GoFundMe page here .
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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