Hives!!??!!!!!

[NeedforSpeedHM]

Ughhhhh bout a month now. Chronic hives.. Nothing is stopping them, not even steroids! Sick of the red welts, the horrible itching, uncomfortable.. Anyone ever deal with these??? No idea what is causing them. I never had allergic reactions to anything. I see an allergist on Monday. :(

[Jengelsnew1]

Chiggers maybe?

[NeedforSpeedHM]

Not chiggers. It's winter. Plus id see em:)

[Jengelsnew1]

Ok, maybe some kind of sexually transmitted allergy. Try more beer and more Racing...

[Colleen]

Yes, HM.  Had the same problem for months.  Scratched till I bled.  Went to my allergist, he ran blood tests and couldn't find anything wrong with me.  He might try you with some steroids.  Gave me meds that helped a little but made me dead on my feet.  I started to do my own little investigation.  I have super sensitive skin and am always careful with what I put on it.  I came up with the idea that I was intolerant to sulfites, an additive in a lot of foods.  Dried fruit has a very high concentration of this stuff as does a lot of white wines.  I eat a lot of dried apricots, found some at Trader Joe's that are sulfite free.  Fixed it, gone.  

 

I know it sucks.  Try looking at anything new added to your diet or anything with chemicals such as laundry detergent and lotions.  Hope you get it fixed quick.  

[joe]

I feel for you Cher...

 

I have had hives a few times..It seems i am allergic to tetanus!  As you know, working around old cars (rust!)  tetanus  is pretty common..well..about 20 (or more) years ago I had my first reaction to it...hives...and I thought i was going to go crazy!..anywhere that i got "warm"...around my belt...under my wallet...my under arms etc..i broke out in huge red welts...oh..and they ITCHED!!!

 

Mine were pretty simple to treat though..a few doses of benadryl and i was good to go....the bad news was..a few years later...a new cut..and time for another tetanus shot..no alternative...so..i got the shot and had to deal with the hives again...

 

maybe you are allergic to the snow and will have to travel to Az. for the winter  ;)

[Sazerac]

good you are seeing an allergist.

 

 Laundry soap, drier sheets,  bath soap, shampoo, cosmetics....all suspect.

 

Wash some clean sheets in a few washes with no soap at all, this just to get soap residue out.  no drier sheets.  This might help at night.

 

Vacuum your mattress (both sides)...dust mites aggravate hives.

 

Keep a food diary.  Eggs, Milk , nuts, chocolate (dammit).

 

Sulfites in your food/drink can be a big issue, like Colleen said.

 

Aspirin, ibuprofen, antacids - all suspects.  

 

Stress.

 

Terrible time of year to recommend cool baths or compresses.  

 

Dab yourself with Witch Hazel !  Temporary but,  soothing relief.

[Chrysalis]

Yes, undiagnosed allergies can be a real challenge to find and eliminate. I second Sazerac's suggestions. My husband has extremely sensitive skin and used to break out all the time. I learned years ago to give all of his clothes, sheets and towels 2 rinses. After the wash cycle and first spin I re-set the dial to start the wash cycle all over again but this time with no soap. So the clothes get one wash with soap, one wash with no soap, and then the regular rinse/spin. When our washing machine was in the basement this system was a real pain in the neck. But now our laundry room is off the kitchen and it's a breeze! And my husband has no more rashes or hives.

[Nicole Diver]

That has got to be so frustrating HM!

[Colleen]

HM,

Where exactly do you get the hives?

[NeedforSpeedHM]

Did a round of steroids.. They did nothing . The hives are in areas all over me except my face,neck,chest, and stomach. Have had no break outs in those places YET. Mostly my arms, trunk and legs and back.. Tried 2 diff script creams, gold bond, Benadryl cream and the Benadryl pills. No help. I changed laundry soap to the "free" versions and have vacuumed our bed.. I have changed nothing as far as foods. No clue why all of a sudden this is going on but dammit I have had enough :(

[Colleen]

Did a round of steroids.. They did nothing . The hives are in areas all over me except my face,neck,chest, and stomach. Have had no break outs in those places YET. Mostly my arms, trunk and legs and back.. Tried 2 diff script creams, gold bond, Benadryl cream and the Benadryl pills. No help. I changed laundry soap to the "free" versions and have vacuumed our bed.. I have changed nothing as far as foods. No clue why all of a sudden this is going on but dammit I have had enough :(

Most likely is not food.  Those generally cause a more serious reaction.  Have you ever had an allergy scratch test?  Mighty interesting.  I am allergic to dust mites and a slew of plants and trees, some I never heard of before.  Dust mites usually cause itchy eyes, runny nose though.  Wash all bedding in hot water at least once a week if you think it's that and get mattress and box spring covers, the type that zip around.  Pillow covers too.  It is strange how only certain body parts are affected.  Do you have any sort of Eczema?  

[Wendy]

Hi HM - I had this a few years ago - arms and legs.  Had many hospital visits and had to keep a food diary although nothing was obviously causing it ... eventually the hospital discharged me with a list of things that could cause it ... the list was HUGE and on the back of the sheet was another HUGE list of things that could aggravate it.  This went on for months with me trying different products ... I eventually realised it was worse when I had wine gums ... I THINK it was the orange/yellow food colourings (that was on the list) ... I stopped eating them and a few weeks later it stopped ... I'd never had a problem with them before but suddenly yeah, couldn't eat them ... so it could be something you've suddenly become intolerant too ...

 

There are different types of antihistamine you can use - I think benadryl is cetirizine hydrochloride based which I find useless for the itches.  Chlorphenamine based antihistamines work much better - can make you drowsy so I take them at night.

[NeedforSpeedHM]

Never had any eczema or dry skin issues. This is really throwing me loopy. Stress the dr said is aggravating it but no the cause. May never know what's causing it. Hoping the allergist does set up the skin tests. I agree with Bakon on the nooky.. :)

[Colleen]

My allergist had me on 24 hour Zyrtec 4 times a day.  I couldn't stand up and said no more.  He prescribed something to take at night but I was still sleepy the next day.  The steroids didn't work for me either.  

[joe]

..........

[Jengelsnew1]

Could be lackofnooky

Spread oils all over and call in help.

I agree with bakon. Post pictures so we can verify oil is spread correctly.