Anyone Have/Had Hives?

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 09:06 AM

I have a problem breaking out in hives. Four different Drs can't seem to help very much. I have noticed there is more "real" info just talking to regular people who have been through something similar. Anyone experienced this?

I get that I am allergic to something, but I keep wondering why this has happened to me now? When I was young, nothing bothered me.

**fernykins** · 01-12-2009, 09:25 AM

I break out in hives all the time....... mine is caused from different meds. I am one big rash when they give me something my body can't handle. I have noticed that the older I get the more problems I have with things. When I do stop using the item my whole body the skin starts to peel. I hope you find ot what is causing it.........
Fern

**UUMomof3** · 01-12-2009, 09:31 AM

I've gotten them from both ingested allergens and contact allergens. The contact ones were easier to figure out because they were only where my clothing pressed against my skin: socks, etc. so we figured out it was from the new detergent. Ingested allergens were meds, so that wasn't too hard either.

Try dabbing them with caladryl or even benedryl for the itching. If you can stand taking it, the regular oral benedryl is good too. It makes most people extremely drowsy, so probably not too good if you have to function at any level.

Based on where they are you might be able to start working toward a cause. If you think it's something you ingest, you'll have to start eliminating things, then reintroducing them.

Sadly, many many people who suffer from hives never do figure out the cause. The body is amazing and frustrating.

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 09:35 AM

Thanks for your reply, fernykins. I am on meds and I have been wondering if this is the cause. Heat makes mine worse (like a hot bath, for example)

**Jayne** · 01-12-2009, 09:38 AM

I got them once from an anti-depressent med .....

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 09:40 AM

Thanks, UUMomof3. I have been told and read that many never find the cause. It is indeed frustrating. Everytime I start to eat I wonder if it might be what is causing the problem. I have gotten rather obsessive about it, which doesn't help, of course.

**nuisance26** · 01-12-2009, 09:52 AM

~I just read an article this morning about allergic reactions/hives from red food coloring. Apparently it's made from crushed, dried beetles. My dd had a serious hive outbreak after having red fruit punch. It makes me wonder..... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479233,00.html~

**fernykins** · 01-12-2009, 09:52 AM

joyb Have you been taking the meds long?...... when you atarted taking them did you start to break out? and yes the heat does make hives come out more. I hope you figure it out.......
Fern

**walker24** · 01-12-2009, 10:00 AM

I had them over my entire body last year for a few days. I finally went to the doctor and they couldn't figure it out. They gave me a rx for a steroid and said sometimes it just happens. Thank goodness it hasn't happened again. I thought it might be my new lipgloss so I threw it away. That is the only new thing I knowingly introduced to my body that week. I hope you figure out the cause and get some relief.

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 10:06 AM

Fern, I was on this med once before and I don't recall any problems. I was off them a couple of years and had to restart them. I think the breaking out started about the time I went back on the meds. I am trying to wean myself off them and see what happens. I believe in listening to your Dr, but since they are not helping much, and since I am the one who has to live in this skin, I am attempting to take charge myself.

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 10:12 AM

Jayne, I am on an anti-depressant. By any chance was yours Zoloft?

Walker, my DH once broke out so badly from penicillin, he had to be hospitalized. All his hives blended into one from his head to his feet. I remember even his ears were red and swollen. But at least we knew what caused his. Not knowing really agitates me.

**cab54** · 01-12-2009, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by joyb

Thanks, UUMomof3. I have been told and read that many never find the cause. It is indeed frustrating. Everytime I start to eat I wonder if it might be what is causing the problem. I have gotten rather obsessive about it, which doesn't help, of course.

What 'could' help is eating only one food at a time, and nothing that is a combination of foods, such as bread. It would have to be like--an orange, or a pork chop (nothing on it) to be able to find the cause......one food at a time, the way you give to babies when trying new foods--that is how they tell if a baby cannot tolerate something.

If the medication you are on is new--that med well may be the cause. Is it possible to stop it or change it? ONLY if your doctor says so!

You can BECOME allergic to something you have taken or eaten all your life. It can come on slowly or all at once. My dh was getting hives and it took us years to figure out it was aspirin....something he had taken all his life, but was just now becoming allergic to.

Unless you go for an allergy test--(one of those tests where they scratch allergens on your back and see what flares up) you will have to test yourself by eating one thing at a time, and getting off meds if possible --<<WARNING>>--only if you don't have to be on them!! This would have to be on advice from your doctor, not me!! LOL.

I am not a doctor.

**joyb** · 01-12-2009, 11:10 AM

Cab54, one of the Drs I have seen is an allergist. He said my skin is so sensitive, he couldn't get an accurate reading. He is one of the Drs that I mentioned that haven't helped. I have been going in circles for months over this and cannot get a direct answer from a health professional. I have come to the conclusion I would rather hear from "regular" folks like you ladies, because you speak from experience.

I think Drs are very necessary sometimes, but sometimes they just don't cut it. IMHO

**annertak** · 01-12-2009, 11:13 AM

Yes, all the time! Mine are contact, and things like dust, or if I have an itch, it can turn into a rash of hives. None of this showed up until I was in my early thirties, when I also started getting sinus allergies, and the doctor told me that it is very common to get allergies at a later age. Fortunately mine go away in about a half an hour if I can force myself to leave them alone!

I also discovered I am allergic to sulfa drugs, when I broke out in a much larger & more painful rash after taking an antibiotic.

**Moor** · 01-12-2009, 11:23 AM

Be very careful in this endeavor.

My dh loves those cans of mixed nuts. He used to eat them all the time. He would grab the hazelnuts out by the handful and eat them. One night, we discovered he had small hives. Each time he ate the mixed nuts, he would get the hives.
One night, he picked out all the hazelnuts. He LOVES THEM!, and just ate three big handfuls of those. His face started swelling, his lips got huge! His upper lip touched his nose. He started having problems breathing. So I took him to the ER. They gave him a shot with benedryl and a steriod in it. That worked great, but he is also allergic to the steriod in the shot. He had to go back, because his arm was swelling and hot to the touch.