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ItWasMe · 01-05-2009, 01:48 AM

I just got over a case of hives a month ago. Every picture on that page (your link) was what I looked like, but sometimes I had more. I had them for 6-8 weeks. My family doctor's wife has had them off and on for 20 years. He referred me to an allergist, after treating me for 2 weeks and giving me a brief education on 'mast cells,' which he said something in my life had stimulated. Mast cells produce histamines and leukotrienes, as well as other things. The hives itch like hell. When you scratch them, you stimulate the mast cells to make even more histamines, leukotrienes, and something else.

Heat makes them worse. No hot showers, hot packs, turning your heat up at home. Rubbing and scratching make it worse, even where you don't have hives at the moment. No scratchy wash cloths (just apply body wash lightly and rinse). And for heaven's sake, now is not the time to use 'exfoliating' ANYTHING! I used my apricot facial scrub on my face with a wash cloth and my entire face was a red welt for half a day. Cold can help. Try cold/cool showers, ice packs, turning your heat down. Benedryl cream can also help with the itching.

I could lightly draw on my skin with a fingernail, anywhere on my body, and within 5 minutes it would show up as a red welt in the exact shape that I drew. It's called skin drawing. Getting dressed, putting on shoes, washing with a wash cloth, all of these things caused hives where they touched within 5 minutes. It was usually gone within 90-120 minutes, IF I did NOT scratch. And then I had them somewhere else. At any given time, they covered about 20-30% of my body. The doctor gave me codeine for the pain, which there was much of a couple of times. When I scratched my hands/feet so hard they bruised and swelled, I could not bend my fingers or walk, let alone wear shoes. It hurt like hell. I missed 2 days of work and stayed home on codeine.

The doctor originally gave me two weeks worth of meds. They only went away about 70% on the meds. When the treatment ended, they came back full blown within 12 hours. That's when he referred me to an allergist.

The allergist doubled my dose of Allegra, for the histamines. Also added Singulair for the leukotrienes, removed the steroids that made me sick, and added something else to help me sleep through it at night. Also Benedryl pills if I needed something between my Allegra/Singulair doses.

I was taking 2-3 Allegra per day (the normal dose is one), 1-2 Singulair (normal dose is one), 2-4 Benedryl pills, applying Benedryl cream several times a day (because the hives kept 'moving' to new locations), 2-3 pills for sleep, occasional codeine. That's sounds like alot of crap to take, but that's what it took to finally get rid of the hives. And yes, doctor kept tabs on me for being on so many meds at once.

I was told that 80-90% of people with hives never figure out exactly what caused them. And to not be surprised if I got them again down the road. A long answer, but I hope it helps.

01-05-2009, 01:48 AM	#5 (permalink)
ItWasMe But You'll Never Prove It. Location: under your bed	I just got over a case of hives a month ago. Every picture on that page (your link) was what I looked like, but sometimes I had more. I had them for 6-8 weeks. My family doctor's wife has had them off and on for 20 years. He referred me to an allergist, after treating me for 2 weeks and giving me a brief education on 'mast cells,' which he said something in my life had stimulated. Mast cells produce histamines and leukotrienes, as well as other things. The hives itch like hell. When you scratch them, you stimulate the mast cells to make even more histamines, leukotrienes, and something else. Heat makes them worse. No hot showers, hot packs, turning your heat up at home. Rubbing and scratching make it worse, even where you don't have hives at the moment. No scratchy wash cloths (just apply body wash lightly and rinse). And for heaven's sake, now is not the time to use 'exfoliating' ANYTHING! I used my apricot facial scrub on my face with a wash cloth and my entire face was a red welt for half a day. Cold can help. Try cold/cool showers, ice packs, turning your heat down. Benedryl cream can also help with the itching. I could lightly draw on my skin with a fingernail, anywhere on my body, and within 5 minutes it would show up as a red welt in the exact shape that I drew. It's called skin drawing. Getting dressed, putting on shoes, washing with a wash cloth, all of these things caused hives where they touched within 5 minutes. It was usually gone within 90-120 minutes, IF I did NOT scratch. And then I had them somewhere else. At any given time, they covered about 20-30% of my body. The doctor gave me codeine for the pain, which there was much of a couple of times. When I scratched my hands/feet so hard they bruised and swelled, I could not bend my fingers or walk, let alone wear shoes. It hurt like hell. I missed 2 days of work and stayed home on codeine. The doctor originally gave me two weeks worth of meds. They only went away about 70% on the meds. When the treatment ended, they came back full blown within 12 hours. That's when he referred me to an allergist. The allergist doubled my dose of Allegra, for the histamines. Also added Singulair for the leukotrienes, removed the steroids that made me sick, and added something else to help me sleep through it at night. Also Benedryl pills if I needed something between my Allegra/Singulair doses. I was taking 2-3 Allegra per day (the normal dose is one), 1-2 Singulair (normal dose is one), 2-4 Benedryl pills, applying Benedryl cream several times a day (because the hives kept 'moving' to new locations), 2-3 pills for sleep, occasional codeine. That's sounds like alot of crap to take, but that's what it took to finally get rid of the hives. And yes, doctor kept tabs on me for being on so many meds at once. I was told that 80-90% of people with hives never figure out exactly what caused them. And to not be surprised if I got them again down the road. A long answer, but I hope it helps. __________________ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ok, no more truth-or-dare until somebody returns my underwear" ~ George Lopez I bake cookies just so I can lick the bowl. ~ ItWasMe