Hives everywhere

Yarg,

I've been suffurring from chronic hives for about 4 and a half months now. They are everywhere and I can't get them to go away. I finally got an insurance plan, so I'm gonna go see an allergist in a couple weeks when it finally kicks in. I am so sick of being itchy all the time.

Have any of you guys gone through this? If so, what helped the most? I think I would do almost anything at this point if it would make the hives go away.

mevuc ~ I feel your pain . I have been suffering since I was about 17 and I am now 34. I have gotten pretty good control over it finally in the last 2 years but the answer has not been that easy. Pretty much I have found that I need to:

• LIMIT sugar
• avoid almost ALL processed foods
• steer away from barley and corn which are very small allergens I have

I have seen an allergist and she has given me some strong antihistamines which have really helped, but my restrictive diet is still necessary to keep it in check. See what your allergist says cuz it may be a new allergy you have developed. My mom suddenly became allergic to pine pollen at the age of 55 - crazy for someone who lives in Maine! Her hives only last as long as the pollen is out though, maybe 2-3 weeks each spring. My hives are more constant and I have been treating them for years with antihistamines.

The problem with the meds is that I grow tolerances to them and then I need different ones or stronger ones . Because of this I started an elimination diet to see what I was allergic to and only eating things that I knew what they were on the ingredients labels. I couldn't believe how much of a difference it made. Symptoms I never thought were related to my hives pretty much vanished too such as acne, arthritis like pain in my joints, headaches, and I became much less bloated and more "regular" if you know what I mean. The skin allergy tests were not effective on me since my skin has become soooo hyper-sensative so I have to rely on bloodwork allergy tests which are not as sensative as the skin test kinds. But the bloodwork test came up positive (and only slightly positive) to 3 allergens: clams, barley, and corn. They are only what they call a class I allergy so they aren't life threatening. I have even been told "a little popcorn won't kill you" from my family and friends (including my mom who lives with hives every spring!). They don't understand how CRAZY this can make you.

Some other things that have helped is...

• Use Lubriderm Sensitive Skin Therapy Lotion (avoid anything with Lanolin if you are sensitive to wools, it is from sheep)
• Take a Fish Oil supplement Daily
• Drink tons of water every day

This is what has worked for me. At the moment I am hive free ! ***Knock on wood***

Good Luck!

Well thank goodness you're finally able to go see someone about it!  It's tough to say how to treat it without knowing what is causing it.  Aveeno oatmeal baths are supposed to help.  I smear Ivy Dry all over when I can't stand the itching...it's for poison ivy and bug bites, but it seems to work (for me) on anything that itches.  I recently found out I'm allergic to the sun.  I thought maybe it was the sun screen, but after trying a variety of brands, including baby sensitive skin block, my doctor decided it's the actual sun causing my skin to break out everywhere.  Sweet, right?

Yeah, I've got my insurance information all set up finally and am going in to see the allergist on August 7th. They're making me not take anti-histamines the entire week. That is going to be one loooong week. I am soo not looking forward to it. But at least after the appointment I might have a better insight as to what is causing all of this. I am on the road to redemption. The hives haven't been as bad lately so maybe its just a seasonal thing or something and it will go away as the seasons change to fall and winter. I dont know, but im looking forward to finally having some answers. :D

Well, if it is seasonal, hopefully you can at least figure out what is causing it and what will prevent it so you don't have that to look forward to every year.  Good luck!

Mevuc,

I actually am just recovering from a bout of chronic hives and have a history of them.  The first time I found out that I had developed an allergy to hazelnuts and almonds (damn you, immune system!). This last time I found out two things: I'm allergic to desogestrol and etonogestrel (progestins found in 3rd generation hormonal birth control) and that I have a strange autoimmune disorder for which there is no name. My body somehow started producing auto-antibodies against high affinity IgE receptors. The only thing I know about this disorder is that it only affects the skin but can cause a person to spontaneously get chronic hives.

It is a good thing that you are goingt o the allergist tomorrow. I would suggest a few things to make your visit as beneficial to you as possible.

1) Get a RAST done...I'm almost positive this is what they will do if they have made you stay off of the antihistamines. This will check for all of the most common plant/animal/food allergies.

2) Ask about any possible drug allergies if you have been on any new medication or have even switched medications (I had switched birth control pills...took me 3 months to figure out that it was the new one that I was allergic to).

3) Inquire about autoimmune disorders and ask to get tested for them. Also ask about getting an Anti-IgE Antibody test done. Allergists don't often test for anti-IgE antibodies, but if they can't find anything else, it might be the culprit.

As to what helps the most for hives, the answer is a bit grim. Antihistamines might help keep them at a managable level. Zyrtec + cimeditine (Tagament) is what I take 2x a day. I've also been on Doxepin (sometimes used as an anti-anxiety drug but is a really serious antihistamine), which helped the hives a bit, but made me really drowsy.

The only thing for me that got rid of the hives while I tried to figure out what was causing them was solumedrol and prenisone (which are essentially the same, one is injected the other is oral). These are corticosteroids. It is not good to be on them longterm and they have the unfortunate side effects of causing weight gain and increasing your appetite. They work by supressing your immune system, preventing it from responding to whatever is causing the hives. It really does work to get rid of the hives (while you remain on it), but during the two times that I was on prednisone for a significant period of time I have gained a total of 40 lbs.