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Meet The 9-Year-Old Schoolgirl Who's Allergic To The Sun

Meet The 9-Year-Old Schoolgirl Who's Allergic To The Sun

Nine-year-old Caitlin McCabe has a very rare condition that means she can't be in direct sunlight or she'll get burned immediately

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa Pearlmen

Allergies are a right pain in the arse - whether it's hayfever or cats, they can really restrict you in terms of what you want to do and where you want to go. After all, constantly sneezing and having red, irritated, itchy eyes is no fun whatsoever.

So imagine what life must be like for nine-year-old Caitlin McCabe, from East Taunton, Massachusetts, who suffers from the genetic disorder Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP). What that means is that her body is unable to repair DNA damage caused by UV light, effectively making her allergic to the sun and sunlight.


In order for Caitlin to go outside, her mother Ann-Marie - a nurse practitioner - must apply layers of SPF 50 sun cream to her daughter, who also has to wear a UV-blocking shield, gloves and protective clothing to ensure that not even one tiny part of her skin is exposed.

And for very good reason - if she went outside without protection she'd be severely burned within 90 seconds.

XP patients are up to 10,000 times more likely to develop skin cancer. The disorder has also started to affect Caitlin's balance and reflexes, though doctors are unsure if the symptoms will get progressively worse or not.

Ann-Marie McCabe/SWNS

We think she looks really cool, but it's obviously incredibly frustrating for he - and her mum - to have to wear that get up all the time just to get out of the house because of how susceptible Caitlin is to being burned.

"She needs protection from bounce off the pavement otherwise she could burn her chin and in the winter she could be burned by the reflection from the snow," her mum said.

"She puts on her gloves up under her jacket and there are no areas of the skin exposed. Then we plop her shield on her head


Ann-Marie McCabe/SWNS

"We replaced all the lights in the house with LED and we are hyper-vigilant when we go to theme parks because there is a lot of 'black lighting'."

Her father, 55-year-old Robert McCabe, first noticed Caitlin's extreme reaction to the sun when she was just one month old, after Ann-Marie took her out of her stroller for five minutes in the sun while giving her a bottle.

"I didn't think anything of it, but at 2.30am I woke up to her screaming and thought she needed to be fed, but she was one massive scab," said Ann-Marie.

Ann-Marie McCabe/SWNS

"She couldn't open her eyes so we took her to the ER and they were looking at her like, "Oh my God.'" She was finally diagnosed with XP in 2009.

Caitlin herself seems philosophical about her condition - and she even has a teddy bear that wears protective headgear to make her more comfortable about it all.

"I get really, really bad sunburn and I have a shield, a coat and gloves to protect me. My whole body is covered," she said. "I'm kind of hot in it but it is my shield. It has a fan on it so I can keep cool.

Ann-Marie McCabe/SWNS

"At nighttime I can play outside without my gear on. I like going outside without it on because I get to enjoy things that other people do, like playing on my swing set and driving my truck."

Here's hoping there's some kind of breakthrough in the future that will allow her to enjoy the sun directly.

Featured Image Credit: Ann-Marie McCabe/SWNS

Topics: Inspirational