Crazy Hives!

[tctrek]

I am sitting at my desk in the office today and my arms and legs started feeling hot and itchy. I take a look and I have broken out in hives. Only on my calves, the back of my upper arms and my behind!!

I am such a creature of habit that I eat the same thing almost every day and am positive I haven't eaten anything new. No new soap, lotion, laundry soap either... yes, I'm a boring old fart who uses the same products for years and years.

I've never had hives in my life and I've been alive a really long time. Any ideas? I googled hives and it said you hardly ever know what causes them. Driving me nuts :mad:

[Zen]

I had a reaction to penicillin that resulted in hives. I could hardly open my eyes and was fortunate to be able to breathe.

You might should see a doctor. You can develop allergies to things that didn't used to bother you.

[tctrek]

For sure I will tomorrow if they are still there. I have never been allergic to anything. I remember as a kid with my 6 brothers and sisters playing in a field. That night they would all have poison ivy and I had... nuthin'! This is freaking me out a little. Very hot and swollen. Not too itchy, though.

[tulip]

new carpet or cleaning products in the office?

[tctrek]

I wish. My company is cutting back to survive in the economy. They vacuum and empty trash cans once a week. And never, ever shampoo the carpet.

[ny biker]

I had a case of mystery hives a couple of years ago. Mostly on my hips and then on my butt, but also on my elbows, knees and the tops of my feet. And my knuckles - that really itched. The doctor had no idea what caused them, and for the life of me I couldn't think of any new food, cosmetics, detergent, etc. that might be the cause. But the doctor did give me a prescription for corticosteriods that cleared them up.

In the meantime, an antihistamine (benadryl) should help, if you can handle the drowsiness.

[Eden]

I got hives (and a freakishly swollen face) from using a sauna once... itchy hives on the tops of my feet, behind my knees and in the creases of my elbows - the swollen face made its appearance the next morning.

[tctrek]

I just remembered I did try a new food yesterday and today... trying to go more organic on my snacks and ate these Flax Krisps. Gluten free, etc. What a kick in the pants if I'm allergic to this healthy food! I'll skip them tomorrow and see what happens.

[Grog]

Do you have red cheeks like you were just slapped in the face?

[Kano]

It's been a while, but here's something I found helped with hives during one mystery-induced episode. It was really helpful that it was a nice, cold winter in Minnesota at the time:

COLD

It seems that for me at least, the darned things have to come out on every bit of me, and on their own, it seemed to take days. But, if I got nice and warm, a bunch would come out. I'd go out in the cold and get one heck of a chill, and those would go away. Repeat....

(not that you can do this in like an hour or two, but it did speed things up considerably...)

And LOTS of water, to rinse out your system!

Everything else, as bland as possible, to not aggravate anything.

Karen in Boise

[kelownagirl]

I am sitting at my desk in the office today and my arms and legs started feeling hot and itchy. I take a look and I have broken out in hives. Only on my calves, the back of my upper arms and my behind!!

I am such a creature of habit that I eat the same thing almost every day and am positive I haven't eaten anything new. No new soap, lotion, laundry soap either... yes, I'm a boring old fart who uses the same products for years and years.

I've never had hives in my life and I've been alive a really long time. Any ideas? I googled hives and it said you hardly ever know what causes them. Driving me nuts :mad:

Severe hives can also be a sign of an anaphylactic allergy to something. Might wanna get it checked out further.

[cylegoddess]

I get them from hay.
A pharmacist should have some stuff for that.( well mine did)
I hate them!
Baking soda baths can help.

[missjulied]

"I am such a creature of habit that I eat the same thing almost every day and am positive I haven't eaten anything new."

Perhaps you've developed an intolerance to some food you're eating a lot of. That happened to me with soy - I also was eating pretty much the same stuff every day, and it included a fair amount of soy. After about 10 years of this my body started freaking out (itchy, painful rashes) and it took a long time to figure out what was causing it. (It took an elimination diet for me to finally get to the bottom of it.)

Something for you to consider, anyway.

Good luck!

[ttaylor508]

I had a nasty case of hives that lasted a week about 10 years ago. Doc thinks it was stress induced. I was under a great deal of stress having to deal with the builder building our new house who was very difficult to deal with, not to mention having two small children at home and a deadline to get out of our current house knowing the new one wouldn't be done in time. They were so bad they would wake me up at night and only relief was to go stand in a cold shower. I've never had them since.

Here is a site with some other possible causes http://www.quickcare.org/skin/causes-of-hives.html

[Cataboo]

My brother had a bad case of hives for a couple months one summer... My Mom had just bought an antique wool oriental carpet... The house was full of wool carpets, so we didn't think it was the carpet...

It turned out later that while the lady that my Mom bought it from didn't have a cat, she would let her neighbor's cat come in and visit her, and I think everytime my Mom vacuumed she'd stir up allergens...

We took him to an allergist, got him allegra (it was prescription back then) and after 2 months, I insisted the allergist give him some steroids, and then we went to europe for 3 weeks on a trip... The steroids calmed the hives down, and just being out of the country helped, I think...

the hives never came back and he still lives with that carpet.

[Biciclista]

the only time I had hives it was stress induced. Someone gave me a box of baking soda and i took a bath in it

they went away in about day.

[Crankin]

I had hives on and off for a year, about 13 years ago. They were on my arms and around the places where my clothes were tight against my skin (waistband, etc). Had lots of blood and skin tests and no one ever figured out the cause. I am still allergic to the same 3 things I have been allergic to my whole life and I didn't have any weird diseases. I do have asthma and allergies, but they weren't really acting up at the time.
Chalk it up to stress.

[malkin]

In high school, I got hives on my knees and elbows anytime I'd exercise and the air was a little bit cold. At the time everyone seemed completely baffled, and vaguely accusatory-like I was doing it on purpose- but now "cold urticaria" is a real diagnosis.

[tctrek]

Still have the hives.. they haven't spread or gotten any worse. Just on the backs of my calves and the backs of my upper arms. Went to the doc and we went through everywhere I've been, ate, touched and she really thinks it is stress induced also. The only other thing is those Flax Krisps and I've been eating a lot of egg whites - trying to up my protein. Although I've never been allergic to eggs, maybe stepping up the volume kicked in some sort of allergy. So, I'm off the eggs and the crackers and we'll see what happens. I have a big ride tomorrow and she thought I should go anyway as I have no other symptoms.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I got hives very badly only once in my life- from chemical based sunscreen (which most sun products are). I had to switch to the non-chemical sunblock that just uses titanium and zinc oxides to block the sun.

[Midmichigangal]

Hello, I also have been experiencing hives since late November after a bout of the stomach flu. At first I noticed that Kellog's Raisian Brand Crunch cereal would bring on the hives. About an hour or so after eating the cereal I had to use the bathroom #2 and the unending itching would start up on my hands and feet, sometime I got sick to my stomach with cramps and puking. Later on drinking chocolate milk brought on the same symptoms, I can drink chocolate milk at supper with no problems. Now in the just last month or so waffles have been bringing on the symptoms too. I get itchy hands, feet, mouth, legs, just about all over, very uncomfortable.

I did see a doctor at ReadyMed but all he did was prescribe Zantac.

I am 34yrs old and I have no other medical conditions except for gout. I'm not sure if the stomach flu brought on this condition or not but I am sure am curious as to why I am intolerance to these foods.

[n8chergirl]

Hi there,
take some benadryl (50mg) before you go to bed tonight!! :) an allergist can do testing on you in oder to determine what may have caused it. good luck!
Anna :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Anna, she went to bed four months ago...the Benedryl might not help at this point. ;)

[kmehrzad]

I've had a case of hives off and on for years; underwent allergy testing and it came up negative. Could never figure out what kicks it off, except that it seems seasonal (but am not allergic to molds, etc.). Anyway, my allergist recommended taking over the counter Loratadine. Doesn't cause drowsiness and it makes my hives go away in about 20 min.

I can feel when the hives are coming on ... there's a burning sensation then wham! So the Loratadine has helped me get through the 'hives' period then I'm not bothered until months later.

[ny biker]

Anna, she went to bed four months ago...the Benedryl might not help at this point. ;)

This is true. Nonetheless I'm wondering why a doctor would give someone Zantac for hives and diarrhea, since Zantac does not treat either of those symptoms. If she's out there, I'd suggest seeing a different doctor.

[OakLeaf]

It's an off-label prescription for hives, but a common one.

[radacrider]

Wow, this ol' thread brought back some nightmarish memories for me.

Background:
One year, after an intense work year and a 24hr bug, I was recovering and then started breaking out in hives. In a 2 week period, I was pretty much covered and swollen.

Throughout, I saw my doc, an ER doc and finally a specialist (ears, nose, throat). Basically, I had (have) acute uticaria. Layman's term is lot's of hives with no real cause. My body just decided to start overreacting to probably the viral infection I had.

The fix? 1 month of zantac and zyrtec together, followed by an additional 2 months of just zyrtec. Cleared up everything in about 3 weeks.

Year later, go figure, it started again and started earlier with the double treatment.

Now, if I start getting signs of hives I just start on zyrtec (OTC) and we are good to go.

Moral:
There is not always a definitive cause for hives. I learned way more than I ever thought I wanted about uticaria. But, at least now I can head 'em off early, cuz having hives and being all swollen all over is awful.

[mtbdarby]

I also got stress induced hives ALL over - right before I was supposed to do my first duathlon! I was miserable for a week. When anything rubbed against my skin I got more hives. I hope to never repeat that again!

I did a duathlon 5 months later and no hives.:p

[Blueberry]

This is true. Nonetheless I'm wondering why a doctor would give someone Zantac for hives and diarrhea, since Zantac does not treat either of those symptoms. If she's out there, I'd suggest seeing a different doctor.

According to my doc, Zantac is an antihistimine. So, it works as an antacid (on label) and for hives/bee stings/etc. off label. Of course, I'm not a doc, so check with yours...

[ny biker]

According to my doc, Zantac is an antihistimine. So, it works as an antacid (on label) and for hives/bee stings/etc. off label. Of course, I'm not a doc, so check with yours...

I went to college with a guy whose father ran the company that sells it, back when it first came out. It treats ulcers by shutting down the acid production in your stomach. (We took it once before we went out drinking so we wouldn't get sick from too much alcohol -- which I do NOT recommend because it just makes the hangover worse. Anyway.) But if it also works for allergies, more power to them. They also found that their anti-depressant had the side effect of making cigarette smokers not want to smoke anymore, so they reintroced it under a different name for that purpose.

When I had mystery hives the urgent care doctor prescribed cortisone for me, which worked great. I wasn't able to convince the allergist I later went to that I actually had any allergies that were worth her time, since she couldn't be bothered with symptoms involving my skin and told me to see a dermatologist instead. Unfortunately it takes more than 3 months to get an appointment with a dermatologist around here. So I'm left to treat all my skin allergies and other various itches on my own.