1. Community
  2. Skin and nails
  3. Urticarial Rash

How to find out if i have hives?

Posted , 4 users are following.

larkie11
larkie11

Hi, for the past 3 weeks i have been having slightly itchy skin(i say slightly since it becomes very itchy only if i started scratching) bumps would show up after scratching, but not very big bumps, like small bumps. The initial ones on my arms did not go away and became very dry skin.

But when i scratch my legs, i have bumps that come and go, it mostly itches at night when i am sleeping and cannot control my actions, it is not difficult for me to fall asleep, but the itching wakes me up often in the middle of the night..

I was worried i had scabies, but i heard scabies are very contagious and are intensely itchy, but my friends and family around me do not experience any itching so far. Whenever my face gets itchy, especially the jaw, cheek and eyebrow area, bumps just show up, and my eye area can get swollen, but it also goes away few hours later.

How do i get rid of this ;( the atarax or aratax that was prescribed does nothing but makes me sleepy(i still wake up in the middle of the night scratching away)

Link below of my latest reaction:

http://imgur.com/EGesJ3G

slightly blur but i think it is noticable..

1 like, 25 replies

25 Replies

  • debolite
    debolite larkie11

    Posted

    EVERYONE READ....THIS WORKS!!!! Hello all, I am new to the site as far as contributing but have been reading posts for a few months now. I have had hives for almost 6 months now and as all of you know, it is worse than horrible. I have been to my GP, Dermatologist, Urgent care twice and 1 trip to ER in search of answers or at least some relief. I have been unable to sleep during this entire thing except for an hour or 2 here and there. Until last night. A few days ago I read a post from "hives and thyroid" about her cocktail which she swears works. Yesterday I go to the Allergist still looking for answers and my main concern I will be off my 5th round of steroids since January, and I know it will come back very strong. After talking a while she changed my antihistamine to Doxepin. Hmmm, that sounds familiar...I went home and read the post again and yes, it is one of the drugs that worked for her. Singular I am already on. Thats 2 of the 3!!! The other is Zantac..over the counter. I picked up a box and went home and made my cocktail....Singulair 10 mg. Doxepin 25mg. and Zantac 150 mg. I KID YOU NOT GUYS...MY ITCHING STOPPED WITHIN AN HOUR. TODAY ALMOST 24 HOURS LATER, STILL NO ITCH!!!! The hives are slowly fading as well but they dont itch!! It seems that the combination of these drugs hits all the H1/H2 receptor sites to stop the histamine from being released into the body. The Zantac hits the receptor site H2 which it seems the other antihistamines do not. Zantac, who knew??? I feel like a new person. What a relief. Talk to your doctors and get these 3 meds!!!!! I will keep you posted on my progress...Now to find the cause of it   .btw...Zantac (ranitidine) was first developed to be a histamine antagonist, hence it's use, along with other antihistamines, for hives. Good luck everyone, I know you are all as desperate as I am
    • Canisp
      Canisp debolite

      Posted

      Hi

      Zantac aka Ranitidine is one of the four I use when it is bad. My cocktail:

      currently: 1x Fexofenadine hydrochloride 180mg morning and 1x Cetirizine 10mg at nedtime 

      and if I don't take these, the bumps (Itchy-Scratchy is my nickname for it) return within 24 hrs to a greater or lesser degree.

      My cocktail when it was at its worst between December and March was:

      1x Fexofenadine 180mg, midday plus 1x Phenergan 25mg if really bad, Chlorphenamine 4mg every 4-6 hrs to control, 1x Ranitidine + 1x Phenergan 25mg at bedtime

      My doc has told me to come continue with Fexofenadine/Cetirizine and to return for more Ranitidine and Chlorphenamine if the urticaria returns fully-blown.

      Yes, so what is the cause????  Good question. *shrugs shoulders*

  • debolite
    debolite larkie11

    Posted

    Hi Larkie, Sorry to say but it looks like you have joined our elite group of sufferers.  As time goes on if you cannot find the cause it will worsen to the point of unbearable itch/scratch which will consume your life.  Its great you have already started on the meds.  Below is what is all of a sudden working for me.  Also if you can find my original post, there atr several comments from people which might help you as well.  Good luck to you and may you find quick resolve
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      I have antihisamine but it does not help, yes it makes me sleep but then i will wake up in the middle of the night scratching away, bumps appear then disappear when i wake again in the morning..
    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      same here my friend.  Until night before last, I havent slept thru the night in 6 months.  There are receptor sites in your body which are releasing too much histamine and if you dont have a drug, or herbal supplement etc. hitting each receptor it does little good.  I too am just finding this out. If nothing else, try adding Zantac 150 mg.  Its over the counter.  It hits one of the receptors which antihistimines do not.  It should give you some help.  Stay on top of it...read others blogs and see what has worked for them...Thats what I did every night for 6 minths when I couldnt sleep.  

       

    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      Thank you, I'll try and get zantac. How did you take the zantac together with the antihisame though? Cocktail...?
    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      Just pop them in and swallow.  I call it a cocktail but it is just pills in hand. lol
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      Oh! Ok hahaha, thanks. So are your hives gone yet? I'm worried only cause im not sure if i have hives or something like scabies, though nobody around me showed any signs of catching my itch.
    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      I thought at first mine was scabies also.  Do u have between fingers and toes?  Tell tale sigh of scabies my doc told me.  The hives are not gone but the itch is.  When it is time to take meds again I can feel my skin starting to crawl but after taking my cocktail it goes away.  At least I can concentrate on finding why this happened itch free

       

    • debolite
      debolite

      Posted

      Try the zantac with what u are taking and if it works...great.  If not ask your doc for the singulair and doxepin.  It has worked miracles so far and others have also said the same thing
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      No i don't have any between my toes and fingers, i do have eczema between my last finger and fourth finger on my right hand but that's about it, and that has started way longer than my itch on my body has.
  • michaela99267
    michaela99267 larkie11

    Posted

    you will need to keep pushing for the specialist urticaria clinic in london st thomas hospital, theer are different types of urticaria the doctors do not know this field so just pump us with different antihistamines steriods which after 2 years has cost me a fortune etc its taken me 2 years. i now know i have symptomatic dermographism urticaria , when i get stressed, hot, when i scratch myself it comes up etc, i have just started new antihistamines for this type of urticaria so fingers crossed.good luck
    • larkie11
      larkie11 michaela99267

      Posted

      Well bad news is i do not live in london, i do however have a derm appointment tomorrow. Even though i really don't think they can help, it's better than nothing i guess..
  • larkie11
    larkie11

    Posted

    Okay, so the derm confirmed i had hives, since i showed her the picture and my ears have bumps now and i showed her that too. She said if it didn't clear up by the next appointment which is 2 months away, i may have to take a blood test or thyroid test, will those help to figure out what's going on?
    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      did they ayt least give you meds to calm it down?  Geez I hope so

       

    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      Yupp, 100x tablets of cetirizine. And i have atarax, hope cetirizine helps

      Also diagnosed with eczema lol how bad can my life be right now. Ytd i had a rash on my back after sitting on my couch leaned on it, and when i asked her to check she said she didn't see anything. Now that I'm home and on the couch again it shows up. Geez miserable times.

    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      OMG Larkie, I understand.  Atarax didnt do much for me and am unfamiliar with your other med.  I think the reason the atarax didnt work is that it was the only one I was taking and it wasnt nearly enough.  I have had great success over the past few days but I dont see it lasting.  My skin right now feels like it could explode any time.  It is better than it was though
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      I googled that med it said zyrtec, maybe you would be familiar with that. It was given for my itchiness rather than hives though, but she said it would help for hives. My skin right now just feels like im sensitive to everything, afraid to eat, afraid to use products. I was even given steroid cream lol but i heard so many bad things about that. Not sure if i should use it.. had been on hydrocort for a year for my facial rash.
    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      Ok I use Zyrtec also.  Couldnt tell you if it works or not cuz I am on so much.  lol.  My skin is very sensitive also.  The itching has subsided a lot and I keep my hands off of it maybe it would further go away.  I cant sttop scratching...Its awful
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      Btw im curious, when did your hives first start? Anything that you think started it first?

      Yeah cant stop scratching too, i haven't been sleeping much this nights..

    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      mine  started inJanuary of this year.  almost 6 months of hell.  Derm thinks it is stress but I have a hard time with that one.  It could be vitamin D deficiency I am really not sure.  I do think its important to find out what caused it so we can completely get rid of it.  I would rather not be popping pills forever.  And you?  What started yours?

       

    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      Hmm, i started getting bumps all over my body, then some became dry skin, and some went away. I thought i was in the clear with just eczema, but nope, it got itchy at night, especially on my legs, i would scratch unknowingly while sleeping and then that would wake me up, i would notice bumps alllll over my leg, even kneecap.

      I also think it could be due to deficiency, i am currently on a no fried/junk/sugary food, i am even trying to avoid any sort of meat since i felt my eczema was food triggered for about a month+ now.

      Could be stress, but i dont think it could cause skin problems, it could make exisitng skin problems worse though.

    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      The itchy thing at night is exactly what I am doing now.  Its 4am here and when I woke up I was scratching so now I have started that itch/scratch thing.  Mine too started on my lower legs but it doesnt bother me now below the knees anyway.  So I took a pill to get ahead of the game again.  This is my first experience with skin problems except for a little acne in my teen years (which was a while ago).  And it hits like theres no tomorrow.
    • larkie11
      larkie11 debolite

      Posted

      At least the pill works for you right? I think it could either be allergy to some things like detergent or soap if it was recently changed, or even what you eat. But for me all i did was change to Cetaphil body wash, nothing else so it could only be food allergy.

      I also have had pretty good skin up till 3 months ago, eczema started showing up, i got allergic to creams like 2 months after constant usage of it. Still have the rash on my thigh from the cream allergy till now (1month++ now) so all that wakes me up now is the itching or either my eczema or hives. Both are a bad combination..

      Lets hope you can go back to sleep soon.

    • debolite
      debolite larkie11

      Posted

      skin problems are the worse!!  Yes, I am going back to bed with fingers crossed for sleep.  Take care of yourself and hope you and everyone gets relief soon. G`nite
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.