Life with urticaria

I am sorry; you have to deal with so many recurrent infections. Hives can be triggered by many things including diet. So it’s good that you’ve made changes in your diet. However, for that you need to be sure about foods that trigger reaction. If you are unsure as to what food caused your reaction, you would need to make a list of all the foods that you have consumed in the last 24 hours and avoid all of them if possible. In general, avoid salty, heavy foods that are difficult to digest. Use mustard oil for cooking. Fast for one day or have very light foods like porridge, boiled rice, vegetable soup, etc. apart from diet avoid hot bath, tight clothing and excessive stress.

You can try home remedies to get relief from itching and inflammation. Aloe vera gel is known to have a cooling effect and this will help provide relief, especially if you have the urge to scratch the inflamed area. Even Oatmeal soaked in water, is a very effective natural remedy for urticaria. Place 2 heaped tablespoons of oatmeal in a bowl and add about half a cup of water to it. Make sure that the water is just enough to cover the oatmeal and keep the bowl aside. After 10 minutes or so you will find that the oatmeal has absorbed all the water in the bowl. Place a clean strip of cloth over a mug and then place the soaked oatmeal on the cloth. Slowly pour about ½ a cup of water over the oatmeal and allow it to collect in the mug below. This can also reduce your skin to reduce the itching and discomfort.

Have you ever tried to analyze reason for your recurrent infections like, weak immunity or weather changes etc.? It is equally important too to find out the root cause to get long term solution.

Hi Sophia,

Sorry to know about this as i am the one as well who is dealing with the same issue.

I have been facing the same from the last 4 years now.

Initially, it was acute so lasted for few weeks not actually a month and suddenly it disappeared.

Then from the next year, it changed from acute to chronic as per the skin specialist and i started taking steriods which actually ease the problem.

Now, from the last 2 days, i have been facing the same problem and if i can rectify the same, i guess it would be because of having non-veg during summer time or the change of weather.

I am going to avoid it for couple of days just to check if that eases or not.

if not, this time, i believe i will go for ayurvedic stuff which should have a complete solution for the same.

the problem is that it is hard to know the root cause of the issue. merely, if anyone has found it.

I am going to visit my doctor tomorrow, let you know what suggestions are there on the chart.

However, as Anna suggested, make sure you are on good diet and without any spices, should work.

Also, to take a cold shower will ease.

BR,

Ash

Hi

Thanks for your reply. I have changed my diet but its still the same. I have to take zyrtec every night 😒

Since i live in dubai weather is to much dustly and foggy. Maybe thats the reason on my urticaria.

Please do share what ur dr says abt ur urticaria

Feel better 😊

Hi Sophia,

I have suffered from Chronic Urticaria for 15 years and was given huge amounts of antihistimes, steroids and eventually Xolair. However, Xolair stopped working for me which was very unusual. Through the recommendation of my allergist, I eventually sought out a rheumatologist/allergist specialist in Denver which determined my hives were autoimmune related. They injected me with histamine, saline and my own blood and I reacted to the histamine and my blodd.  I know this sounds bizarre, however it confirmed what the doctor believed which is that my hives are autoimmune related.   I am now on methotrexate and just started plaquenil.  I will stay on methotrexate for 9 months and and after 3 months, I started plaquenil, which if works, I will remain on it for life as long as my vision is ok each year (it can cause glaucoma).  I highly recommend that you start with Xolair however. This tends to help many people with chronic urticaria that don't know why they get it (healthy otherwise).  Xolair can be given by your allergist and the pharmaceutical company has financial assistance because it is quite expensive.  However, if you see that Xolair does not work, go find a rheumatologist/allergist that has experience with chronic urticaria. My allergist for 15 years could never figure out what was wrong with me because I was never allergic to anything, I never had any positive blood tests indicating I had any diseases. Hives would come for months and then go for months/years. They were very large and I would bleed from scratching, so I would have to eventually get on steroids, along with round the clock antihistimes and other medicines that help hives - doxepin, allegra, claritin, zyzal, etc.  The steroides were horrible and I am so glad I am off of them. The doctor that helped me greatly was Dr. Tho Truong at National Jewish Hospital in Denver.  She referred me to Dr. Julie Patel in Houston's medical center, which I am now seeing.  Both of these doctors are rheumatologists/allergists and maybe they can recommend a doctor in your area that you can see.  Google them and you will see their specialty.  By the way, my mom has rheumatoid arthritis, which is also autoimmune.  Check your family history.  Autoimmune disease may be genetic, however they may not always be the same disease from one generation to another.  I wish you the best!

 

You may try taking 4000 IUs Vit D3 supplement. However, in my opinion, drinking lots of water and fruit juice rehydrates your body and heals your condition. Avoid wearing tight clothes. Also avoid the triggers like cold, smoke, dust etc. You can visit an immunologist if the problem persists. 

Xolair is a good recommendation, but some people can't afford it if they aren't insured or is difficult to get in some countries. Ciclosporin is a good back-up to try if you can't get Xolair. For some people it works better than Xolair.

If it's dry skin related, the soak-and-slather technique recommended by many dermatologists is brilliant. Basically, a 15-minute soak in warmish (not hot) water, with no nasty detergents. Then, without towel drying, carefully coat yourself in a good quality mostuiriser (Aveeno is good) to seal in all the moisture from the bath, If you do this regularly (daily or every second day) for a weeks, it does wonders for dry skin. Also, a humidifier to keep your living space at the right humidity would help, especially if you live in air-conditioning a lot. Dry air all the time is not good for dry skin. 

Finally, you could get tested by a specialist for cold-contact urticaria. Basically they will put an ice cube on your skin for 5-20 minutes and see if hives develop. You mentioned cold dry conditions trigger it, and I find that. A windy air-conditioner can set my hives right off as the blowing cools your skin a lot even when set at 20 degrees centigrade or less. Tricky to treat though, but it helps if me to keep my skin covered from cool air, even if it is just a light covering.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, if you have had recurrent infections and many doses of anti-biotics, you can leave your gut wide open to being re-colonised by a bad mix of bacteria and yeasts, which certainly won't help you fight off infections and might leave your body in a high state of alert.

You could try 3-6 months of a paleo diet, cutting out the simple carbs and processed foods and all sugars, eat entirely veg, good meat and fish, nuts and good fruit in small quantities. At the same time supplement with a good mix of pro-biotics. That might help your gut recover from the anti-biotics. If you have noticed IBS type problems too, you might want to get tested for H.Pylori, Blastocystis and D. Fragilis, even Giardia, especially if you are not in the western world and have travelled a lot. It's easier for nasty parasites to colonise you if you've cleared the way for them with anti-biotics. You could have yeast infections like Candida after anti-biotics too. And if you work with children in a nursery / school setting it's very easy to pick up stomach parasites, even pinworms.

I've heard from a lot of nursery/school workers that you will tend to have a bad first year or two of health when you start working in these environments. If you are new to it, things might naturally get better once your body builds up it's immunity and then the hives might stop. I wonder if you should be wary in future of taking many courses of anti-biotics, most sore throats and sinus infections will go away of their own accord given time and rest. They could be viral too.

It seems to be common for severe sinus infections and the flu to trigger off a phase of hives. In my case, it was a month of sinus infections and then the flu which preceded my cold contact urticaria. I've not had bad sinuses or flu since, but the cold-contact urticaria are still here over 3 years later, if more mild.

If fexofenadine at high doses doesn't work, Ciclosporin or Xolair seem to be the drugs of choice at any rate. I personally had no improvement from Montelukast or Ranatidine and Prednisilone is too nasty to take longer term.