24 May 2023 , 11:07
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A woman left unable to sweat after surgery for a painful skin condition says she was “infuriated” by Prince Andrew’s infamous claims.
Amy O’Connell, 38, went under the knife after being diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa and had her lymph nodes, hair follicles and sweat glands removed.
As a result she now doesn't sweat from the neck down and finds hot weather intolerable as it can make her faint in the heat.
Disgraced royal Andrew had told Newsnight in 2019 it was “almost impossible” for him to perspire after an “overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War”.
It came in response to claims by Virginia Giuffre who said they had sex in 2001 when she was 17 years old and said the Duke of York sweated heavily during an alleged encounter.
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The angry-looking lumps caused by the rare skin condition (Courtesy Amy O’Connel / SWNS)
The sweat glands under her arms have been removed (Courtesy Amy O’Connel / SWNS)Andrew vehemently denies the allegations.
Mum Amy blasted Prince Andrew's claims, adding: “Your body has to sweat or you die – we were laughing at the audacity of Prince Andrew.
"It was so infuriating - it’s like saying, 'My body forgot how to breathe'.
“Sweating is such an issue that I can’t be out when it’s too hot as my body can’t function and I black out.
“It’s a lifelong journey with no end to this, it’s a battle of finding new ways to cope and deal with it.
“While I was getting used to it there were times when I blacked out in the street - my daughter is a young carer and as a family we’ve had to figure out ways to deal with this.”
Amy says the condition first started to show itself when she hit puberty as a teenager but she wasn’t diagnosed until 2009.
She was prescribed the strong acne medication Roaccutane to try and treat the problem areas but found it didn’t work.
The disgraced royal told Newsnight he was unable to sweat due to his Falklands War experience (BBC)With 30-40 clusters of pus-filled boils across her body, Amy says her mental health was heavily affected by the condition.
After giving birth to her son in 2012 she experienced a flare-up and a dermatologist suggested they remove the source of the problem.
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In 2013, she underwent painful surgery on her left armpit to remove lymph nodes, sweat glands and hair follicles.
This was followed by similar surgery under her breasts in 2014 and again on her right arm in 2017.
Her sweating problem then followed - and she says she is still adjusting to life now.
Amy said: “There’s not any rhyme or reason to the flare-ups.
Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre, and Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2001 (US District Court - Southern Dis)"After another year of going through different specialists, a dermatologist said in Europe the treatment is just to cut it out and asked if I wanted surgery.
“I had operations on my arms first and had to have therapy as the scarring was dramatic.
“I had an operation on my left arm and it changed my life – they cut out whole lymph nodes, sweat glands and hair follicles.
“But my children couldn’t look at me when I came back, I looked like I’d been put together in a Saw movie, it was very graphic for how small the procedure should have been.
“My body took a long time to adjust, I’d say I’m still adjusting now - I go from alright to really really hot really fast.
“It’s not actually that rare but when you have them on your boobs, groin and armpits, no one wants to talk about it.
“My mental health is the main thing, but it’s so physically painful because it’s in all the places you have high levels of movement.