I can't stop itching!!!!!

[Jen B.]

I have these awful hives (i think thats what they are) all over my body. They come and go. At first (maybe 2-3 weeks ago) they were not so bad. But now they come and are AWFUL!!!!! Red bumps EVERYWHERE!!!!! They itch soooo bad! I can't think of what may have caused them. The pharmacy told me to take Benadryl and that will clear them up. I did but than they come right back. Plus it makes me groggy so I can only take it at night. I called an allergy place and they can't get me till next Friday. :( This is AWFUL!

Anyone else ever have this problem? What did you do?

[numberlady]

I had a similar problem when my doctor prescribed me an anti-depressant for anxiety. My doctor never believed that was what caused it, but after I weaned off, my symptoms went away. In the mean time, she prescribed me another medication called hydroxizine (sp?) to help with both the itchiness and the anxiety. I could only take it at night because it was even more powerful than Benedryl. If you can get in to see you GP that would be a good idea. In the mean time, try to determine on your own if if could be from a new medication or a food allergy.

[BumbleB]

This most likely will not apply to you - so I'm probably not going to be much help.

But...when I was in college I had hives 2 or 3 times in one year and it became very obvious to me they were due to stress. Yeah, it was fun. :mad:

In terms of hives not caused by stress - One thing that might help is to stay away from perfume, lotions with scent, detergents, etc for awhile.

Sorry I'm not more help. Just wanted to share another possible cause of hives that you may or may not have thought about. And yes, they itch like the dickens. Have you tried something like a cortisone cream?

[Megande]

This might sound like a weird question, but can you write on yourself? I mean, if you run your fingernails over your skin in some pattern, will it show up red in a few minutes? I had itchiness like you described and I couldn't figure out what it was. It turned out to be dermatographism. If I would barely touch my skin, that area would become red, raised, and inflamed and SO, SO, SO itchy. In most cases, they never identify the cause. Once I realized that any skin contact was causing the "hives", I was better able to regulate it.

More information (http://www.healthy-skincare.com/dermatographism.html)

[NotDesperate]

I used to get hives and it was from my detergent and then from my fabric softener. Now I use ALL Free & Clear. I hope yours are something that simple.

[Katy]

is it everywhere, or just certain places? I get an occasional rash just on my arms - mostly from sun or heat. It eventually goes away. I also get a non-stop itch over various parts of my body - turns out it was environmental allergies and it goes away fine with Zyrtec every couple of days.

[Susan]

OMG, Megande, my DH has been having the exact same skin condition you described! In fact, I posted about it on the Thyroid thread, since I have heard dermatographism can be linked to a thyroid condition (he has borderline hypothyroidism). We knew something wasn't right when he would scratch and get these raised lines/welts. Anyway, it comes and goes for him, and it's really annoying.

/end hijack

[Jen B.]

Thanks for the replies lady! this is just crazy. I tried taking only 1 benadryl last night and it wouldn't clear it up. So I took a 2nd one and it went away eventually. than this morning I took a Claritin that is supposed to last 24 hours to hopefully get me through the day. We shall see. So far..so good. I wish I knew what was causing this. I thought maybe it was from a new detergent Tide Fabreeze. But we started using that over a month ago. Than I had the hives and re washed everything with our normal detergent. But I still get them. I have not used any new soaps or eaten any new foods. I do stress easily and am stressed out. But I have been stressed out much worse than I am now in the past but never got hives.:confused:

numberlady-I haven't been on any medications. I did go off one though. But I don't know if that would cause a reaction? Strange!!!! I'm glad you were able to fix yours. This is terrible!

BumbleB-I'm kind of wondering if maybe it is stress. But than I never got them before with stress. But if I find its not an allergy I think it may be safe to assume its stress. I can't wait to find out what in the heck is going on.

Megande-I tried writing on my arm like you said and nope it didn't turn red. Thank you for the link though. I'm going to check it out.

NotDesperate-I've never been able to use fabric softner either. It gives me rashes. I've always been able to use Tide detergent though.

Katy-Oh its everywhere. It will start on my ankles and wrists than travels to my legs, arms, neck, face, even scalp.

Susan-Hope your DH is able to get rid of his!

[c'est la vie]

Try Cortisone cream.

[Jen B.]

c'est la vie-I would try that but its all over my body. I'd need to basically take a bath in that stuff. :(

Okay its quarter to 1pm and no hives yet. Hopefully this Clairitin keeps doing the job!!!!!:)

[Katy]

Katy-Oh its everywhere. It will start on my ankles and wrists than travels to my legs, arms, neck, face, even scalp. Is it everywhere at once? I ask because my "allergy" was weird in that one thigh and one arm would itch something fierce and get welts. Then my neck would start, then my scalp and face. But it was never all over my body at the same time - so that meant that I wasn't allergic to soap or detergent or something that had FULL body contact. The zyrtec clears me up in less than an hour

Hopefully it will clear up for you, but better yet, hopefully you can find a way to deal with it.

[Jen B.]

Is it everywhere at once? I ask because my "allergy" was weird in that one thigh and one arm would itch something fierce and get welts. Then my neck would start, then my scalp and face. But it was never all over my body at the same time - so that meant that I wasn't allergic to soap or detergent or something that had FULL body contact. The zyrtec clears me up in less than an hour

Hopefully it will clear up for you, but better yet, hopefully you can find a way to deal with it.

yep. everywhere at once. ick!!! I'm just crossing my fingers i won't have it this afternoon or tonight. I could really use a break!

[BumbleB]

Hope it's getting better still! If the Claritin is working, that's good.

I couldn't take most allergy medications in the past (because of the Ephederine - substances in many of them) so when I had the hives bad all I could use was a topical cream like Cortisone.

I would only get them on my neck, chest and arms though. I had them about 3 times my jr. year of college due to stress (mostly roommate caused), and never again since then. Although mine were caused by stress, I would think the treatment would be the same as if it were an allergy to something - don't the medicines treat the reaction your body is having?

Anyway, hope it's better. And even if it is not your particular problem, I also highly reccomend the ALL laundry detergent - even the scented kind is much more mild to me than Tide. :)

[kindermom]

Jen - Tide has caused hives for me before, after switching scents and several washes later. It took time for the hives to develop, I switched to a free and clear detergent and washed my clothing a few timnes and it went away.

[j*east]

Jen, I had a bad rash last summer, but it was invisible--no hives, just super itchy. (Sounds weird, I know.) My dr gave me Zyrtec, which may have helped--my rash slowly went away. He also did a blood test on my liver function, which apparently can have an effect, and that was slightly elevated (resolved itself). So...if it keeps up, maybe see your dr? I don't know if the liver thing applies to hives, or just weird invisible rashes like mine.

[tealynn]

Jen, is it possible you're just having an extreme reaction to pollen right now? I know it's really bad in DC. A coworker of mine had to take her daughter the Urgent Care clinic for a severe rash/hives on her face and neck yesterday and the dr determined that is because of pollen and gave her an RX for Allegra. Hopefully it's nothing serious and it clears up soon!

[Jen B.]

Thanks for sharing your experinces and giving suggetions. You've all been great! I'm noticing that if I take 2 Benadryl at night I don't have them in the morning. If I take a Claritin the following morning right when I get up I stay hive free till about 7:30ish in the evening. So I guess I'll keep doing this till I see the doc next Friday. In the mean time I'll be switching my detergent to ALL. ;) And like tealynn said maybe it is pollen. Normally I always get sinus infections this time of year. But I don't have one now. Maybe my body decided to react this way. :confused:

[Jen B.]

I'm back. Now nothing is working. The benadryl does nothing, the claritin does nothing. I cannot wait till Friday!!!!

[Katy]

Sorry to hear that nothing is working. You might want to call the doc and let them know that nothing is working and that you don't think you can wait. I'm sure they'd try to squeeze you in knowing it's been over a week now.

[Jen B.]

Well I went. They couldn't do a skin test because I have to many hives. So she gave me some Zyrtec samples and a prescription. She said to take that for now once a day. And than she had me go to the lab and get blood drawn (which I fainted cause I'm a baby and they had to give me juice). She said she wanted to rule out some things before going ahead with a skin test. Something about a thyroid cause I had a baby 10 months ago. So it might be that. Anyways, if nothing comes up in the blood test I need to go in 2 weeks for the skin test. I was hoping this would be a quick solution thing. But it looks like this may take some time. Well hopefully the Zyrtec will work for me for now.

[mgrace]

JenB, ugh how horrible! I wondered if you were pregnant--it sounds like PUPP rash. Are you feeling better?

[Annette]

Bumping - So I have what looks like mosquito bites, but they have been there for a week now, so now I'm unsure whats wrong. The bumps are red and extremely itchy it actually woke me up. Some of the bumps feels a little dry and crusty. THey don't seem to be going away either. They are currently just on my legs, but they look to be spreading. Any ideas?? Should I see a doctor?

[jajacobsen]

Annette, it could be poison ivy or chiggers. Have you been in woods or brushy areas within the last 2 weeks? Sometimes the eraction takes up to 7 days to appear.

[Annette]

Yup, turns out to be poison ivy. I was out in the woods last weekend so I guess I must have brushed up against something. Went to the doctor and got a cortizone shot (ouch!) and some prescription strength cream. Thanks for replying!

[Jen B.]

ick. sorry u have poison ivy!!!!!!!!!!!

Update to my situation:
The Zyrtec ended up doing nothing really. And I ended up getting worse about 2 weeks ago. I was just sitting at my desk at work and my lip swelled up. Than my whole face. My throat felt like it was closing up. I ended up going to an urgent care. They had to give me 2 benadryls, 2 shots of something (forgot the name of but they use them for people allergic to bees), some pregnazone. (steroid) And than pepcid. I was pretty drugged up. Got better. So now I'm on steroids, and zyrtec.
I went to the allergist to get a skin test for the food allergies. Nothing showed. So she thinks it may be a virus. I started out on 40mg of steroids and have slowly tapered down. Now I'm at 10. So far so good. I'll be cutting down to 5mg. And by than hopefully they'll be gone. I go back in a few weeks. If they worsen after tapering down they'll do a skin test for environment. But she seems to think I have some sort of virus that will eventually work its way out. Wish me luck!

[Jen B.]

JenB, ugh how horrible! I wondered if you were pregnant--it sounds like PUPP rash. Are you feeling better?

oh no! LOL!!! hehe!!!! Not pregnant. Whew!!!! :)

[BumbleB]

Jen - Glad you are finally on something that is helping! Doesn't sound like fun though, hope it is better real soon. :)

[Annette]

Jen - I hope you are okay and that you're hives go away soon! That sounds pretty scary that your throat closed up.

me - Almost a week later and still a little itchy. The rashes/bumps are fading which is good but I'm still seeing some new tiny bumps pop up.

[TracieB]

Jen - my mom had/has something like this and nothing worked for her, either. At first, the linked it to her overactive thyroid and gave her some thyroid meds for it. When those didn't work, there was talk of killing her thyroid, but she didn't want that, so they are back to square one. They think she might have Graves Disease, so you may want to look it up and check to see if the symptoms you have are similar. FWIW, they only seem to show up on her when she's been in the sun, but have occasionally popped up out of nowhere, too. Good luck!!

[girliegirl318]

Jen - OMG!!! I have the exact same thing.....I have asthma and allergies and often get hives on my right thigh(who knows why just there) But last week I had them all over, so I scooted off to the Dr. and she said that it could be something I ate, stress or environmental(pollen, dander etc.)
She gave me Zyrtec, Tagamet, steroids, an anti-itch which really knocked me out in addition to my Singulair that I take for my asthma/allergies already.
I can't take Benadryl because it does bad things to me - makes me hyper not sleepy!
Mine lasted about a week and I can still see the outlines on my arms, but the itch has subsided, thank goodness!!!

We really think mine was due to stress at work, but my main source of stress moved to another department on Monday of this week, and mine have been much much better!

I hope you are feeling better!

[Aug2002Bride]

I used to get hives all the time and my lips would swell up too and they have always thought it was just bad allergies to dust mites...Its weird though whenever Im pregnant I never ever get them! So I just had a baby 3 months ago and Im waiting for them to appear again...

[j*east]

Jen - my mom had/has something like this and nothing worked for her, either. At first, the linked it to her overactive thyroid and gave her some thyroid meds for it. When those didn't work, there was talk of killing her thyroid, but she didn't want that, so they are back to square one. They think she might have Graves Disease, so you may want to look it up and check to see if the symptoms you have are similar. FWIW, they only seem to show up on her when she's been in the sun, but have occasionally popped up out of nowhere, too. Good luck!!

Whoa, this is so interesting b/c my mom has Grave's disease and also a sun "allergy"--too much sun with no sunscreen causes her to break out in hives. I never thought they were connected. Innnnteresting. :)

[MichelleRenee]

I am dealing with this exact same thing right now. And it is so strange. My 7 month old son has VERY sensitive skin and breaks out from everything. I have never had a reaction like this in my life. Yet within the past 2 weeks I have broken out in 2 very different rashes. The first was on my face from a new face wash. Now my arms, legs and stomach are covered in itchy, red bumps. It isn't poison ivy. I just don't know what it is. I just think it is strange that it happened for the first time right after I experienced having a baby with the same problem.

Maybe I will try his hydrocortisone tonight.

[Jen B.]

Hmmm. I looked up graves disease and I don't have any of those symptoms. Just hives.

So I'm not the only one with hives than. ick. We can all itch together! ugh. I'm now down to 5mg of pregnazone a day. And the hives are back. Not AS bad but they are appearing again. It stinks! Cause than I have little red bumps almost like pimples from the meds. So now I have little pimple things and hives. When will the madness end?!?! :rolleyes:

[Jen B.]

Okay this really sucks. I'm down to 5mg of predisone now and am breaking out big time in hives. But I have TERRBILE acne all over my face chest and back from the meds as it is. So I don't want them to up my meds. I want the acne to go away. So I want to get off the steroids!!!! But I'm itching sooo bad. This sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:(