Chronic Hives

Stealth bed bug thread.

We did this twice already

And here

If bed bugs, you dr should have been able to diagnosis. Maybe see an allergist if it continues to occur. Look at anything new you may have introduced into the enviornment that you might be allergic to.

Here’s an older bed bug thread

It's not bed bugs.

It's hives. Sometimes they're so bad, my lips swell up and my eyes swell shut. It all calms down after I take Benadryl.

Then go to a dermatologist

I did. I went to my PCP, a dermatologist, AND an allergist.

Nobody knows what's causing the hives, and it's all the same solution - Zyrtec or Benadryl.

So you think some strangers on the internet can guess what you have & give you a remedy when three doctors, two of them specialists, can’t?

Fail

No, R8.

I'm trying to see if anyone else on DL suffers from this, and if they were able to do something about it.

Interesting - the same thing has been happening to my partner for 3 months. He has gone to PCP, dermatologist, allergist - no one can give a good reason for them. They break out every day for about an hour- usually later in the day. No one can give an explanation. But daily Zyrtec seems to be helping. Apparently it just happens - especially as you get older. He has also tried to cut out sugar - in case it’sa result of prediabetes.

Any chemicals sprayed in your house/apartment recently?

I had a similar experiences to r10. A lot of times stress triggered it.

Alektos cured me of hives.

Have you varied your laundry detergent? Used less? Rinsed well in hot water? Bedclothes and what you sleep in? Your skin can become overwhelmed. One stressor, fine. Two fine. Three goes crazy. So many horrible irritants in the every day things we use. Soap, detergent, lotions, pesticides, air freshener, smoke . Treat your skin as you would fine silk.

My sister had the same issue with hives and doctors were clueless. Fast forward a year she was hospitalized for a blood infection. Not sure if there was a correlation?

OP, do you take ibuprofen regularly? I did, for years. Out of nowhere I developed really terrible hives; dermatologist and allergist could find no cause, and I tried changing detergents, buying hypoallergenic soap, etc. Nothing. After about a month of this, my internist told me to stop taking ibuprofen right away. The hives disappeared in 48 hours and that was that--except that I can never take alleve or motrin or advil (or some prescription pain drugs) again.

Worth a try....

[quote] My sister had the same issue with hives and doctors were clueless. Fast forward a year she was hospitalized for a blood infection. Not sure if there was a correlation?

R15, funny you mention this.

In October I got a really bad cut near my wrist, and I just kind of let it go. It started to get infected after about a week, and my doctor gave me antibiotics, and the cut healed.

However, since then, I've had weird rashes and hives all over my body. It's actually gotten worse since October.

The cut was really bad, so I wonder if I still have the infection in my blood. How would I even find that out?

Possibly stress. I have skin issues, too. Benadryl works but I feel sluggish for a couple days from just one dose.

I switched to "free and clear" type laundry detergent. I also switched to Aveeno body wash. Cutting back on alcohol also helped.

That’s a shame. ™

The problem with Zyrtec, for a lot of people, it makes you drowsy. It's not good to take it during the day, unless you wants to fall asleep at work.

I guess the person upthread who posted this: "So you think some strangers on the internet can guess what you have & give you a remedy when three doctors, two of them specialists, can’t?" hasn't been reading the 'mystery illness' articles in the New York Times magazine at least once a month? Some people were literally close to death, they went to so many different types of doctors, yet still couldn't get a definitive diagnosis. One man diagnosed himself by researching online! Then he brought the info to his doctor, who then ran the appropriate tests and sure enough he had the illness the man thought he had.

There are many illnesses which manifest themselves through skin disorders. My sister has been going through this with a skin condition for close to three years. So many doctors today are utterly clueless! Her doctor keeps giving her topical steroids, which haven't been working. One doctor even injected her with steroids..

She's currently doing her own research because none of the meds have been working. She's even had a few skin biopsies over the years, one of the biopsy results was a disorder of which she has no symptoms other than the small red burning painful bumps, which she only has on her shoulders and upper back. The diagnosis was a skin disorder which is extremely itchy, that's not at all what's happening to my sister, she has no itch whatsoever.

She told me she's tired of constantly explaining this to her doctors, itchiness is not part of her problem. She told her docs, the small red bumps appeared out of nowhere and they feel as if she has a lit light bulb against her skin. She has stopped using detergent with fragrance etc. Sometimes the bumps go away, then appear right back again in the same areas a few days or weeks later. The small red bumps are always in the same part of her body, never on her face etc, just on her upper back and shoulders.

She even asked her doctors, "If these bumps were the result of an allergy, why are these burning lumps always in the same areas. If this was an allergy, would the bumps be throughout my body?" These idiots doctors can't seem to answer her. Can you imagine living with this going into three years!

She even tried Bendryl on her own, that didn't work either.

My sister had this, and she was miserable for a couple of years. Don't assume it's a sudden-onset allergy, OP, chronic urticaria is an autoimmune condition and related to hormone and endocrine function. You don't say if you're a man or a woman OP (different causes in many cases) but get your thyroid checked and also blood work. Stress can bring it on as well as sleep disruption--my sister started hers when she was going through a divorce and working shifts in a hospital but the root propensity already there. If you're already prone to stuff like migraines and food sensitivity you may be prone to chronic hives. Celiac disease (the real thing, not Vague Frau Complaint Syndrome) is also an autoimmune condition, as is lupus. Genetics also plays a strong role.

[quote] So many doctors today are utterly clueless!

That's exactly how I feel.

[quote] She's currently doing her own research because none of the meds have been working.

It's why I posed the question to Datalounge. You never know who else might and had the same experience, and just reading through the posts, I can see that there are others out there suffering through the same thing.

I have also been searching like crazy online, and thought it was everything from gluten intolerance, to dermatitis herpetiformis, to angioedema. Whenever I type in the symptoms, these same conditions keep popping up. However, they offer no solutions to the conditions, other than to stop eating gluten.

[quote] Possibly stress. I have skin issues, too. Benadryl works but I feel sluggish for a couple days from just one dose. I switched to "free and clear" type laundry detergent. I also switched to Aveeno body wash. Cutting back on alcohol also helped.

R18, you nailed pretty much everything I have issues with. I'm currently having a great deal of stress at work, not to mention that I've had minor allergies growing up, which sort of went away as I got older. However, now it seems to be back in full force, manifesting itself with chronic hives. Every single day.

My laundry detergent does have fragrance, which does tend to make my skin itch. I use a neutral bar soap, but the one thing that really does aggravate my hives is alcohol. Whenever I drink, the next day is usually when my hives get really bad. Swollen mouth, swollen eyes, and hives on my arms, legs, and torso. It's horrendous!

I'm calling in sick a lot too, because the anti-histamines make me sleep all day long. I honestly don't know what to do, but thanks for comments.

I had hives every day for several years, sometimes covering my entire body and face. Went from doctor to doctor; they just kept giving me different medications which did nothing but intensify the problem. Changed foods, detergents, all the possible suspects. Nothing. Tried acupuncture which reduced the hives but moved the histamine from my skin to my air passages giving me debilitating asthma. After about twelve years, the severity of the asthma was reduced though it has never gone completely away. Best of luck to you.

Second generation antihistamines like Xyzal may work better for you than Benadryl.

^^^Sorry, R21

Have you considered that maybe the hives are normal and you're chronic?

[quote] Genetics also plays a strong role.

My dad has suffered from hives his whole life, which is who (I assumed) I "inherited" it from.

^^^Then youre almost certainly not looking at a problem,with some new detergent. See an,endocrinologist.

Combine the highest doses of Zantac and Zyrtec. They work on different histamine receptors and work better together. In my experience, you need to take several times the recommended dosage for the first few days (2-4 pills of each every 4 hours) and can then taper down once its clearly starting to fade. Also, slather the site with aquafor, which is so thick and oily that you can sort of rub/scratch without breaking through the protective layer.

In my sister's case, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease and put on synthetic thyroid hormone, which brought the problem under control. She did suffer a flare up at menopause, so the dose had to be recalculated. She Also takes Famotidine which is normally prescribed for acid reflux but it is also autoimmune-related.

The most important thing to be learned in this thread is @ r23: ACUPUNCTURE CAN GIVE YOU ASTHMA!

Take 2 Benadryl before bed and that'll take care of it. I've had the problem on and off for years and it's directly related to my eczema.

Benadryl did not help my hives. Perhaps you will be lucky and it will help yours.

If Benadryl didn't help your hives you must have confused hives with leprosy.

Funny how this thread popped up. My skin has started blistering almost and is incredibly itchy. I’ve had terrible hives with it too, but those are gone. The itchiness is driving me crazy. Have been to two doctors and biopsied, but they know nothing. It’s really getting to me.

I do take Advil a lot, so thanks to the poster who mentioned it might be that.

It couldn’t be bed bugs if I have this and partner has no signs of it, right? Ugh. I’m itchy just thinking about it.

A had a rash for weeks on my side - but it didn’t itch or really hurt. I was surprised when I went to see my doctor, he said it was shingles. Apparently they aren’t always painful.

Seriously, r35, just completely stop advil/ibuprofen for a couple of days. If the rash persists, you've eliminated a potentially serious allergy as the cause.

It's so odd that you can use a product or eat a particular food for years with no problems and out of nowhere you're suddenly allergic.

Of all the anti-histamines out there, Claritin, is the most out there.

^ Sorry, *Non- drowsy *

Claritin doesn't make me drowsy, but Zyrtec made me feel as if I took narcotics or handful of sleeping pills! Even if I took the Zyrtec an hour before going to sleep, in the morning,I felt as if I had a hangover.

You guys should all compare your diets. It's probably a food contamination issue.

OP, if you're a middle aged man, and you're getting this on your torso area it could be "Grover's disease". Despite its name, its nothing serious. It means you break out from sweating from heat. You can get usually get rid of it by using dandruff shampoo on your torso.

What, like the kind of heat rash babies get?

This happened to me in 2011 - 2012. Hives covering my body for a year. Every day. It was horrendous. Prednisone was the only thing that worked. I sought specialists (allergist, dermatologists, etc.) A rheumatologist finally figured out it was an auto-immune disorder and they got that under control with immune-suppressants and Doxepin. Doxepin is an anti-depressant but it’s also works as an antihistamine. Within 6 weeks of that, Methotrexate and Xyzal (now over the counter) I was able to get rid of the hives. OP, rule out an immune system flare up.

Cool compresses and sleeping in a cool room can help. Ask your doctor about Epinephrine.

Not to sound like a hysterical ninny, but I think we've reached a tipping point where all the chemicals, additives, etc, in our foods, crops, stock animals, and environment, are completely manifested in the manifold and bizarre symptoms and diseases that 21 Century humans have. Lyme disease, Fibromyalgia- we know that skyrocketing Diabeyes TYPE II is related to High Fructose Corn Syrup being added ini everything. Recently, my sister who is nursing my 3 month old nephew said she read in one of her mom books where all the Moms in North America basically now have the SAME CHEMICAL AS FLAME RETARDANT IN THEIR BREAST MILK! Nothing they can do about, that shit's literally leached it's way into everything in the food chain. Sad to think all those babies out there are getting this stuff.

My point is, there's poisons literally everywhere that our ancestors didn't have to deal with 100 years ago. Who knows how our bodies are reacting to them and expressing it. ( Let alone what knowledge we have of it)

[quote] My point is, there's poisons literally everywhere that our ancestors didn't have to deal with 100 years ago.

When the average life span was age 55?

There's nothing much to do OP but be very vigilant about your environmental exposures, diet, and stress. You should get a thorough physical to check various blood markers, endocrine functioning, and autoimmune markers. Sometimes infections such as gum or stomach infections (h pylori) are the culprit. So get your teeth and stomach checked out too.

You can try taking quercetin and stinging nettles, and consuming local raw honey daily. Some studies have shown 4000 IU daily of VitD3 to help also.

a family member of mine has been suffering with hives for the past year. She has seen a dermatologist a dozen times, allergist, etc. we think the hives are from an allergic reaction to her meds. the generic medicines use some type of filler-that she could be allergic too. but after reading this thread i will tell he to get her thyroid checked

In addition to what R48 mentioned other parasites can cause skin rashes and hives - h pylori is a common culprit but get a full stool workup to make sure you’re not walking around with other parasites

OP Go to a good (university teaching hospital) allergist and get worked up for mastocytosis vs. idiopathic urticaria. The former is not the typical histamine response to something the body senses is threatening but just more or less routine release. The latter is allegedly the result of some trigger but no one knows which one. If it progresses to anaphylaxis (you do carry an Epi-pen? Of course you do) the treatment standard now for either is Xolair, a biological that binds to an iG receptor or something and it's a cure as long as you keep taking the shots. It's also $2500 each time and you need one every four weeks: 13 times a year. It's theft, but it works. You need good insurance, it goes without saying.

Try sleeping somewhere else one night, spare bedroom if you have one, if not the sofa or the floor in another room. Don't use anything from your bed, not the pillow, not the sheets or blanket and see if you still get the hives. Best would probably crash at a friends house, if you get no hives then it is something in your house.

I have hives due to chronic kidney failure. Benadryl does help me.

ALEKTOS

A very dear friend of mine had these. And then she died.

Try Xyzal. It's the only antihistamine that worked for me.

Is Xyzal an OTC drug?

Yes it is R57. I've been seeing it in the drugstores in the US for the past year at least.

I would strongly caution you against Xolair, OP. The side effects and potential long term health risks are considerable. You'd be better off on Prednisone if it gets unbearable.

R17 the doctors did a test. I would have them check for blood infection. She was treated, hives went away.

R55 lmao I love your humor.

[quote]lmao I love your humor.

Humor? It's not their original humor at all, "And then he/she died", it's a very OLD DL line from a million years ago. It's not original at all.

I get occasional hives as well OP. In my case it's because I'm allergic to cats and live with one and I'm also allergic to a lot of stuff outside. I already take daily antihistamines but if I don't I'll itch uncontrollably. This past spring I had to take more than one type of allergy medication at a time so that was fun.

R59 What are the risks?

Any reliable allergist will admit that 85% of the time they can't figure out what the allergen is, they can only treat symptoms. I've had chronic idiopathic urticaria since I was 6, with a breakout every 7 or so years. The breakouts last about 4 to 6 months and then vanish until they surface again 7 and a half years later. Prednisone is the only thing that works for me.

I take allergy meds every single day of my life whether I need it or not. In the end, it just lessens the symptoms, doesn't make then go away entirely. When it comes to allergies, inflammation and auto-immune diseases, the medical profession really knows very little, and for the most part can only treat symptoms. Those of us who are allergy/autoimmune disease sufferers are really screwed.

Interesting, R65.

I was about to ask the question if taking allergy meds every day would lessen the effect of the medication, but I guess you answered that.

I take the allergy meds for the standard respiratory allergies - pollen, grasses, dust, etc. I take Claritin, which works OK, but if I have a flareup (like, trapped in a room with a cat, or a rabbit gorse bush blows up in my face) I have to resort to the old school stuff like Chlor-Trimeton to knock the symptoms down (I'm on of those people on whom Benadryl has no effect).

The hives are another category of allergy altogether - standard allergy meds have no effect whatsover. Never have. The only thing that has ever worked is Prednisone. After a lot of trial and error I found out that if I start with 40mg of Prednisone at the outset, then titrate down to 5mg, or even 2.5mg, that will knock down the symptoms and keep them in check until they go away, four or five months later. Which means, yes, I'm on Prednisone for 5 months. I hate it. But the alternative is to claw my skin off, so there you are.

Claritin is no better than a placebo.

Neither is phenylepherin, the OTC drug used to replace pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.

You probably have bed bugs OP. Good luck.

[quote]You probably have bed bugs OP. Good luck.

Clueless, that's YOU.

Bedbug bites are very specific, a good derma sure know the difference. You? Not so much.

allergic to your detergent/bedsheets

TL;DR: Xolair

My friend has chronic urticaria. The hives made her absolutely miserable. She was considering going on disability at a point. She went to many different doctors, got many different tests, tried many different things. Antihistamines barely helped at all. Finally, she got Xolair, which is a monthly injection, and it helped a ton, like 99% better. It's expensive, but she's on some program where she gets it for free/low cost (I'm not sure which). She still gets the occasional "break out," usually if it's been a while since she got her last shot and she's been out in the heat.

It's been 6 years now, and she has never found out what made them start. Her thyroid levels were a wee bit off, not enough to cause this, according to the doctors, but I do wonder. Another thing is that the trouble began when she was on an outdoors-y vacation. I have thought maybe she got bit by a spider or something, and her body never set back to default after having a reaction.

Also, she does not handle stress/anxiety well. She has a very angry "GRRRR" attitude when something goes wrong, including getting hives, and I have my suspicions that her emotional reaction fuels the fire. But something biological is at the root.

Interesting R72. My partners hives were similar, totally unexplained but treated.

So glad OP started this thread. Good to hear so many people,have had mysterious chronic hives.

Hi. I had a horrible, horrible hives attack during graduate school finals. I was under an extreme amount of stress. Thing would fade during the day but come back with a vengeance in the morning.

Reducing my stress levels eased them away, as well as an asthma medication called Monkulast. I still wake up with them sometimes on my wrists, but they fade fairly quickly. I am so sorry this is happening to you, but heavy odds are that they WILL subside.

R72 It's true about a biological basis but you're right, there's a huge personality component, too, and some people cope better, some worse. Whatever the cause, Xolair has been the solution for me; almost a year w/o an episode, longer than ever since the hives and occasional anaphylaxis started 30-something years ago. Before they could treat it, now (so far, anyway) they can't cure it but control it.

I can't see much in the Xolair package insert/warnings to think it has a high level of risk. If it did, I probably wouldn't take it.

This thread has been really helpful. I’m covered in itchy hives now, after 4 doctor appointments. I have another in two weeks and I’m going to write down s number if suggestions here and bring them up.

Thanks, bitches. You guys rock.

So odd that this thread came up just when I’m experiencing them too

stop taking ibuprofen. seriously.

I now have a weird allergic (I think) condition. I had bedbugs a year ago, and was itching like mad. They've been gone since summer. None. Zero. Gone. However, when I eat strawberries, including strawberry ice cream, I get itching again that is just like the bedbug bites.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[quote]stop taking ibuprofen. seriously.

What could I take for pain instead?

Unfortunately, r79, that leaves you with Tylenol, which isn't half as effective as Advil. Still, if you've developed a sudden allergy to ibuprofen, you should know about it, because over time it can become dangerous. Best test: stop taking any product with ibuprofen and see if the hives go away. It should happen fairly quickly--within a few days.

R78 Everyone who has allergies experiences this.

You can't be allergic to something you've never been exposed to - the body wouldn't (on first exposure) have created antibodies to it that activate the release of mast cells, the thing that makes you itchy and causes you to experience urticaria, of which hives are a manifestation. But you can develop (and just as mysteriously, lose) allergies over time. You might have eaten strawberries for years without any reaction. Then, for reasons as yet unknown, you can become allergic to them. And, perhaps after avoiding them for years, you can eat one and have no reaction at all.

For almost 40 years I was told to avoid penicillin because I had a massive anaphylactic reaction, the kind you read about that kills people in 20 minutes if untreated. Fortunately, I was in the hospital and got treated promptly. Nowadays, allergists, fearing the day when more of us are exposed to strains of bacteria which have become resistant to more and more different antibiotics, are pushing patients to do a "challenge" test for penicillin allergy if the initial reaction was some time ago. The studies are ongoing, but more than half of the patients tested this way - patients with confirmed allergic reactions to penicillin - are no longer allergic to it.

You can cycle in and out of allergies.

r81 is correct. I developed my ibuprofen allergy out of nowhere, after having taken it regularly for years. And while it's possible I might shed the allergy at some point, I'm not about to try to find out. Along with the hives, I began to have mild anaphylactic responses (wheezing, difficulty breathing, swollen lips and throat).

Mites!

Op, change out your shower soap to a detergent-free soap. Upon exiting the shower, immediately apply sulfate-free product to your skin to seal in its moisture.

Detergent-based soaps (which produce suds, soap lather, bubbles) are for washing clothes and cars - not washing skin/hair. Change to a fragrance-free laundry soap as well. If the product produces suds, soap lather, bubbles, it contains detergent.

R82 and you are carrying your Epi-Pen? Of course you are. (Even though WV Senator Joe Manchin's evil daughter, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, raised the price of this life-saving drug by 500% AND required consumers to buy two at once.)

Yup. Thanks to the Manchin offspring, the epi-pen may be the most expensive thing I own.

I used to get hives on my face and a very itchy and red neck, then I got off dairy and gluten and no longer have the problem. But for me, I would notice the hives developing not long after eating a meal, yogurt and cheese looked to be a big problem for me. Before that, I tried switching out soaps and cleansers and it made no difference. Apparently there are histamine releasing foods that you should avoid, taking allergy meds over time can cause more problems than they solve.

OP how are you doing Now?

One thing you must know about doctors and I've had this told to me and confirmed by more than one M.D. Anywhere from 30% to 40% of the time they have no clue at all.

I've experienced this. Back in my early 40's my hearing started going bad and I was getting really bad vertigo episodes. Went to a doc, they gave me steroids and that cleared it up. But then went to an ENT and they had my blood tested, a head MRI etc. They chalked it up the Meniere Syndrome.

About a year later I was visiting my allergist who I'd had a relation with since I was a teen. He asked how I was doing and I told him about the ear issue. He looked in my ears, looked at me and said "Your eardrums are retracting and it's scar tissue from ear infections when you were a child." You could have knocked me the hell over. I thanked him.

So that is why I'm very suspicious and leery of medicine today. And I do appreciate a doctor who is honest when they know and don't know.

Allergic to hairy pets especially if they sleep on you. Have you done allergy skin testing? Everything from molds to dust to cats to bedding or clothing fabric to smoke to chemicals in detergent soap and deodorants. Try going more natural like the arm hammer baking soda instead of detergent. Do process of elimination each day or two something else. Start with no synthetic bedding and clothes, keep cat at pet boarder or confined to a room with little contact for few days. No creams or powders or scented deodorants or bubble bath or perfumes or body spray for few days

Tomatoes dairy and some nuts and fish and shellfish and choc cause more hives than other things but could be anything

Also pillow try using g different one for few nights could be allergic