Anhidrosis and Cholinergic Urticaria Hives?
Post by: Wil on November 25, 2008, 02:02:05 AM
Greetings,
First off, I would like to say thanks to HivesGuy for creating this forum. I’ve been looking for something like this (a forum) for a while now and this is exactly what I wanted, a place to discuss this horrible condition that plagues us. So, thanks again!
Well, that’s all I really wanted to say for my first post but I really should add some more substance to it, so at the risk of sounding repetitive I shall now roll out my life story with all the itches and prickles that you are all so familiar with.
I’m currently 18. When I was 15 I was I started noticing the hot, itchy, prickly feeling. I just thought maybe it was a one-off thing and ignored it. Two years later, not only was I still getting these ‘episodes’ but they were getting worse (absolutely unbearable). So that’s when I decided to go see a doctor. I also started taking antihistamines. As you all know, they were useless.
Before going to the doctor I did some research on the internet and found this thing called ‘cholinergic urticaria’ and the symptoms fitted the bill perfectly. I was certain this is what I had and was off to the doctor with my new information.
I told the doctor this but she sort of disregarded it and performed her own simple skin test where she ran a wooden tongue press firmly across my back and tummy. After a few seconds it started to really welt up where she had run the tongue press.
She concluded that I had ‘sensitive skin’ and prescribed me with a giant tub of soap substitute to use when I shower and another giant tub of neutral moisturiser to use after I’d showered. I left the doctors place feeling unsatisfied with how our appointment went so I went to get a second opinion.
With this second doctor, instead of telling him ‘I think I have cholinergic urticaria’, I only described the symptoms and from that he concluded that I had cholinergic urticaria. He printed me out some information, most of which I had already seen before. He prescribed me some other sorts of medication and sent me on my way.
I tried the medication. They didn’t work either. I then went back to my family GP who had now changed over so there was a new man (3rd opinion) and he prescribed me some other medication (stuff like propanolol, citrazine and loratadine) which he said I could take 2 at a time if I wanted and to mix and match because it was safe to do so. So I did. I took every single combination that I could make with the pills he had prescribed me (but still being cautious and watching my dosage. Safety first) and they still weren’t working.
So I gave up the idea that medication could help me but I still take them hoping for a placebo effect.
So yeah, that’s my story. I get hot and itchy when it generally gets warm and if I get stressed or emotional, like most of you.
When I get an ‘episode’ I just want to scratch like crazy. The prickly, itchy feeling is EVERYWHERE on my body, but mostly head, chest, arms, neck and face. I’ll try to act casual when i’m in public when an ‘episode’ comes on and try to ignore it but my mind can only ignore a certain amount of itch before I go insane. If i’m around friends I just tell them to ignore me while I go scratch myself (ha!).
What I’ve also found is that I don’t sweat anymore. Before I got Cholinergic Urticaria I used to be a huge sweater. Even if it’s moderately warm like a kitchen during a big cook-up I would sweat buckets because it was in my genes. Now, I hardly sweat at all. Hardly-at-all. I would say my sweat production has decreased by 85% which is heaps. Unfortunately, because of my reduction in sweat my body heats up soooo fast and sometimes my back is just sizzling. You could almost fry an egg on my back when I’ve been acreportlating heat.
Sometimes I feel that some people don’t understand the type and extent of pain and discomfort we go through when we have an ‘episode’ and that just annoys me. They tell me to ‘get over it’ or ‘not think about it’ but it’s so much easier said than done.
Cholinergic urticaria really has had an effect on my life so far and it isn’t a pleasant one. Ironically, I work in a kitchen where it can get real hot sometimes, but that’s another story.
Anyway, sorry for droning on.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. I’m suppose to be studying for my exams. Procrastination…
Warm regards,
Wil
P.S Any typographical errors you may have noticed were indeed intentional. ;D
P.P.S HivesGuy, The way you’ve describe your Cholinergic Urticaria break outs in your ‘My cholinergic urticaria heat hives story’ is 100% EXACTLY just like how my break outs are like. I get the pin red points too that only appears if the ‘episode’ is especially intense.
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: HivesGuy on November 25, 2008, 07:47:57 AM
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Hello Wil,
Thanks for the excellent post and welcome to the forum!
Your story sounds so familiar to both my own story and many others on this forum as well. I am sorry that you too have to deal with this frustrating and aggravating condition.
I can definitely relate to your experiences with the doctors. My first doctor actually told me it was dry skin, and to moisturize more. I was like, “Um, it is really itchy and a painful sensation all over my body, like I am having an allergic reaction or something.” Some doctors can be so dumb, and I am glad you went for a second opinion. At least your 2nd & 3rd doctors tried to help and took it seriously.
I also used to sweat quite a bit, although it was on my armpits and palms mostly. I remember I used to mow the lawn as well, and it would get so hot that sweat would just drip from the tip of my nose. I miss those days!
Now I would say I sweat almost not at all. I can still sweat, but it is very hard, and it has to be really hot and very muggy to do it (and of course, I usually have to battle hives first, then the sweat may come).
I also totally relate about people not really understanding what we go through. I mean this sucks. It is painful, and it itches. You can’t really know what it is like unless you feel the pain and itching. It can be so intense, and feels like you are being tortured. Like we have an army of microscopic fireants under our skin, and on top of that poison ivy or something.
People have also told me that it is just my nerves, or “don’t think about it.” It just doesn’t work like that. I usually like to reply with, “Okay, let me punch you in the face and try not to think about it” hehe. It is a reflex. You can’t “not” scratch, and it burns/prickles/stings on top of the itch. Sometimes I try to concentrate on other things, but it just demands your attention when it starts.
I can also say that cholinergic urticaria has also had a lot of negative impacts on my life as well. Sometimes I feel so cheated, and I get so mad about it. But I suppose some good has came from it as well, and I try to keep reminding myself that I *hopefully* won’t have this forever.
Anyways, thanks again for the awesome post, and welcome again to the forum. I hope your hives back off soon, and make sure to keep us updated if anything changes! Best of luck to you!
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: Wil on November 26, 2008, 01:04:01 AM
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One really interesting thing I’ve noticed with when my Cholinergic Urticaria flares is related to emotions. Let me elaborate:
As many of you have probably experienced, emotions can influence and trigger an ‘episode’. For me, it’s mostly negative emotions such as stress, angry, frustration etc. I know that it’s these emotions because I haven’t always been the happiest person alive. Not at all. So I used to find myself breaking-out in the itchies whenever my emotions ran high (which was a lot).
So the big discovery for me was when I went on a 2 week youth science conference thing. It was the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum for anyone who knows what it is, but apart from that I’m not sure how to explain it.
ANYWAY, I have to say it was the BEST 2 weeks of my life. It was such a big constract (emotionally) from my normal life at home. For this forum we stayed in the city so I was away from my daily life such as family, school, homework etc etc. I was never upset, sad, angry ONCE during these 2 weeks. It was emotionally uplifting for me.
Now, you’re asking me where I’m going with this point. Well, one day as an evening function we (there were about 150 of us) went down to the local student bar/night club and we went dancing/clubbing/whatever you wanna call it.
I had the best night ever. My addiction for raving/clubbing/dancing started there. I had so much fun.
Now the important part of the story here, is that it was a hot summer night, the venue was relatively small so it got really warm in there really fast, you have 150+ sweaty people everywhere, you’d think I would’ve broken out in hives a million times but the wonderful thing was that it never happened. I danced for 4 hours straight in a hot, sweaty room and I did NOT break out in hives once. I’m standing there breathing in this hot, stuffy air and I can feel all this horrendous heat on me but I’m going “wow, I’m not hiving out!”. I didn’t even “sweat” it out (the process of inducing Cholinergic Urticaria early on to get it out of your system, for anyone not knowing what I mean) because I didn’t get the chance to. No sign of Cholinergic Urticaria at all! and guess what also? I was sweating like a pig! I know that’s not what people normally get exicted about but for me, it was a huge thing.
For the rest of the time I was there on this youth forum, we did a lot of walking. A LOT. It was the middle of summer, as I mentioned above. We did heaps of walking during the day and not once did I hive out. I never felt the prickles and the itches. I was happy and I was itch free.
Now, 2 weeks are up and I return home and return to my daily life. Guess what else also returned? I haven’t been to explain my ‘lack’ of Cholinergic Urticaria during those 2 weeks but I’m now pretty that it’s linked to emotion more than I thought previously. Subsequent events only backed up my thoughts. Later in the year I went to a dance party. As I said before, my new found passion for dancing was really taking off and it was something I really indulged in and really enjoyed. That night at the dance party, again many hours on the dance floor and not once did I hive out. It is probably the ONE physical activity that doesn’t cause me to break out in the itchies.
So yeah, as I said previously, I now think that Cholinergic Urticaria (my case anyway) is more connected to my emotions and probably the chemical secretions and/or imbalances in my brain which are linked to the different emotions.
Anyway, I hope that all made sense. Forgive me if it doesn’t
Also, thinking about it, Cholinergic Urticaria has had ONE positive effect on my life. I’ll be going to university to study Pharmacy. I’ve always wanted to become a Research Chemist and guess what I want to research now? ;D
Cholinergic Urticaria has really given me the motivation to pursue this field of study as it is now personal. So yeah, like the joke my doctor made when I told him I wanted to study pharmacy, “You can now go and find a medicinal cure for Cholinergic Urticaria then!”. Well….I might just 😉
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: HivesGuy on November 26, 2008, 08:07:19 AM
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Hello Wil,
That sounds very interesting. First, I can relate to the emotions thing. Heat will definitely always break me out, but one thing that can break me out just as fast is a sharp increase in my adrenalin. If I suddenly get really really angry over something, I almost immediately start flushing/prickling. It is painful. If I get really nervous or caught off guard by something, the same thing happens.
So I can definitely relate to the emotions influencing the breakouts, and also have a big impact on the severity of the reaction as well.
About your dancing experience- I found 2 things interesting about that. The first is that I do agree with you, low stress does seem to decrease symptoms of Cholinergic Urticaria, or at least the frequency of an attack. I don’t know exactly what happens. I am not sure if it is the low stress, or the fact that our minds are totally being given to something and our brains somehow prevent a chemical from being released. I have mentioned before how I have noticed something strange with Cholinergic Urticaria, where if I am deeply focused or concentrating on something, I can get hot and go immediately into sweating without an attack.
Why this happens, I have no idea. It is hard to replicate this, and for example, say I am building something and really focusing on it, I can sometimes start sweating and I didn’t even realize it. Like somehow our consciousness does play a role. But at the same time, it is kinda hard, if not impossible, to control our consciousness like this at all times.
The second thing I found interesting was this: I wonder if in addition to the dancing being an activity you enjoy (and had lower stress), if the different environment had any factor at all?? I am not sure how far away from your home this was, but I wonder if the air was different, or the water, sun exposure, or some other factor that could have played a role in (or possibly be causing) the Cholinergic Urticaria. You said you didn’t break out even when you weren’t dancing (you were just walking in the heat), so that is interesting how you didn’t break out in a new environment. Could the extra sun exposure played an effect on your hormone levels in your brain, or vitamin d or something?
About your plans to study pharmacy, good luck with that. That is a great career to go into, and that would be cool how you may be able to really find more about Cholinergic Urticaria or even a cure. My wife is graduating in about 6 months, and she is going to be an R.N. (registered nurse). I have her trained to watch out for any hives people or people with a history of Cholinergic Urticaria to try and get info from them lol.
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: Wil on December 03, 2008, 04:16:31 AM
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I don’t think environmental surroundings were a factor. The place we stayed at and the proximity of our activities in those 2 weeks was only about a 15 minute drive from where I normally live. The air, water, sun etc is all the same here.
However, the extra sun exposure might be something else. I might look into that.
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: HivesGuy on December 03, 2008, 04:51:07 PM
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Quote from: Wil on December 03, 2008, 04:16:31 AM
I don’t think environmental surroundings were a factor. The place we stayed at and the proximity of our activities in those 2 weeks was only about a 15 minute drive from where I normally live. The air, water, sun etc is all the same here.
However, the extra sun exposure might be something else. I might look into that.
Yeah, if you were that close to home then I am sure the air/water would not have been significantly different.
I am starting to believe more and more that sun exposure/vitamin D, etc. may be involved in some way. I am planning this summer on greatly increasing my sun exposure (while being careful to avoid sun burns or skin cancer).
Many people on this forum that took an online poll indicated they didn’t receive a lot of sun exposure, and I know that I personally get very very little sun exposure. When my hives actually did go into remission for about 2 years, I was in the sun all the time and outdoors almost daily for at least 30 minutes a day in the sunlight. My hives came back a few years ago after I moved into an apartment, and didn’t have opportunities to get outside often. So I hope to find out this summer if consistent exposure (and by consistent I mean almost every single day for minimun of 30 minutes) helps after a couple of months.
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: Wil on December 04, 2008, 03:35:38 AM
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That’s actually really interesting because I get very little sun too!
This is funny because i’m a complete hypochondriac for skin cancer which is partially rational because here in NZ we have a giant hole in the Ozone layer so we get hit big time with those UV rays.
Anyway, so it was about 3 to 4 years ago where I started spazing about being in the sun because “you can get skin cancer from all those UV rays” and I always stayed in the shade or indoors no matter what. I’ve been doing that ever since. It could very well be possible that the sun/Vitamin D is a factor!
So I’m another that fits the profile!
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: HivesGuy on December 04, 2008, 03:34:44 PM
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Quote from: Wil on December 04, 2008, 03:35:38 AM
That’s actually really interesting because I get very little sun too!
This is funny because i’m a complete hypochondriac for skin cancer which is partially rational because here in NZ we have a giant hole in the Ozone layer so we get hit big time with those UV rays.
Anyway, so it was about 3 to 4 years ago where I started spazing about being in the sun because “you can get skin cancer from all those UV rays” and I always stayed in the shade or indoors no matter what. I’ve been doing that ever since. It could very well be possible that the sun/Vitamin D is a factor!
So I’m another that fits the profile!
Wow, I can definitely see how you are worried about UV rays since there is a hole in the ozone there. Skin cancer is definitely no joke, and I can’t blame you for wanting to avoid it.
Several months ago, I woke up and noticed one of the normal moles on my chest had changed into a red and blackish/bluish color. I got online and looked up melanoma, and I swear it looked just like one. I was so freaked out, and even thought I was as good as dead (I have no idea why I freaked so much).
Anyways, it turned out that I had a bad reaction of cholinergic urticaria in my sleep the night before, and apparently I scratched and irritated the mole during the attack and that was why it changed colors. It healed and turned its normal color again. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together until a few days later, and then realized I must have just scratched it. But needless to say I was scared to death. Thankfully everything turned out okay.
So I would definitely be cautious to avoid too much exposure. At the same time, I am thinking more and more that sun exposure could be the answer. Like you I have absolutely avoided the sun, and when I was in the sun almost daily I didn’t have Cholinergic Urticaria. I plan on getting about 30-60 minutes of sunlight this summer in about 5 more months (every day unless it rains), for at least 2-3 months in a row. I think that should be enough to see if I get cured or not. But I would definitely be careful if I were you, to make sure you don’t get a burn and check your moles!
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: Wil on December 11, 2008, 06:58:03 PM
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Just a small update thingy.
The following reiterates the whole emotion thing playing a part. I had some friends over and we played Playstation Eyetoy for ages and pretty hardcore too. I was really enjoying myself and my mind was in a really good place being happy and all. By the end of it I was all hot, and most exciting of all, sweaty! Oh and I didn’t hive out at all.
The ‘gradually getting more sun’ idea seems like a good one. Tell me how that turns out. It’s currently summer here and I have been getting more sun than I usually do as I’m more inclined to go out these days. I’ll have to see if I notice a different too.
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Title: Re: Salutations!
Post by: HivesGuy on December 13, 2008, 07:57:35 AM
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Quote from: Wil on December 11, 2008, 06:58:03 PM
Just a small update thingy.
The following reiterates the whole emotion thing playing a part. I had some friends over and we played Playstation Eyetoy for ages and pretty hardcore too. I was really enjoying myself and my mind was in a really good place being happy and all. By the end of it I was all hot, and most exciting of all, sweaty! Oh and I didn’t hive out at all.
The ‘gradually getting more sun’ idea seems like a good one. Tell me how that turns out. It’s currently summer here and I have been getting more sun than I usually do as I’m more inclined to go out these days. I’ll have to see if I notice a different too.
That is great that you were able to sweat like that. I find it so strange how we don’t usually break out into hives as bad when we are in deep concentration, or our minds are completely distracted or focused. Too bad we couldn’t do that all the time and eliminate the hives forever.
I hope I can try the increase sun exposure thing soon, but it is dead winter right now and mostly cloudy, so I will have to wait for about 4-5 months before I try it.
Thanks for the update!
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Title: Anhidrosis and Cholinergic Urticaria Hives?
Post by: jupiter on April 14, 2010, 05:09:02 AM
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Hi ppl,
this is my first post, i am a 28 year male from Portugal and i discovered recently i had this condition.
this feels like alcoholics anonymous 🙂
From ever i could remember when i taked a hot shower or got out of the cold water in the beach to the hot sun or made sports that my chest and arms got some hives but it never had felt the pins and needles sensation.
Back then i didn’t consider myself a allergic person besides sneezing in a very dusty environment and an allergy to shellfish that would shut down my throat and made my neck red and itchy. no problems in spring and no food besides shellfish.
About my early twenties i this condition got a lot worse and i started to get hives, feel pins and needles, very strong heat sensation on my upper body when ever i had exposed to a environment temperature change or stress or sun etc… there were days that walking out of my house was like facing torture.
I went to several doctors and had the regular test and treatments than most you passed:
i had doctors who said it was all in my head and gave me stress meds. other said it wass allergies…
i had a doctor that treated me for Helycobacter pylori that was elevated in the blood tests i made.
i made allergy tests and i discovered i was allergic to a lot of things like trees, shellfish, cats, penicillin …
The strange thing was that for example cats when i was little didn’t bother me at all and today i can’t walk into a house with cats that i start
sneezing and after a while start to get hives and pins and needles.
i got tired of doctors that didn’t know what i had and told me i was ‘crazy’. This condition lasted for about one year and a half and then suddenly it vanish to the initial condition with only the redness in skin but no pain and no big hives.
recently it came back with the hives and the physical pain of pins and needls. the most that worries me besides the pain is that when i get an attack i feel like i am going to faint or like my skin is going to burn.
this constant raise of the core temperature of the body sure isn’t good for nobody’s heath. or is this only a sesation?
does anybody know during an attack how much the temperature raises?
Recently a doctor i have seen told that i had this condition and i am now taking histamine meds but are not helping a lot.
the other day i got a cold and hat a fever of about 38.5º and when i walk for about 15 min in the sun i got an outbreak that felt horrible.
I too noticed that i don’t sweat. i am thinking about starting running to see if i can start sweating more.
by the way is this condition inumo related or allergy related somehow?
bye for now 🙂
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Title: Re: hi from Portugal
Post by: HivesGuy on April 14, 2010, 07:48:04 AM
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Hey Jupiter,
Excellent post and welcome to the forum.
I find it interesting how you really weren’t an allergic person before you got Cholinergic Urticaria. I was the same way. I never had seasonal allergies, I had no food allergies, and the only allergy I had was to poison ivy.
That all changed when I got Cholinergic Urticaria, and it seems my body went a bit haywire.
As far as your question of this being immuno-related or allergy-related: We don’t really know 100% for sure, but most medical literature suggests it is not a typical allergy based disorder. My guess is that it is probably an internal immune thing, or possibly an irregularity with acetycholine/nervous system. But I don’t really know, and that is just my guess.
Unfortunately, not a lot of attention is given to Cholinergic Urticaria because it is relatively rare, and non-life threatening. So we really don’t know a lot about it other than what the doctors tell us: “it will go away one day, just tough it out.”
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Title: Anhidrosis and Cholinergic Urticaria Hives?
Post by: Brazen on February 02, 2011, 02:32:06 AM
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Hi there,
Just wondering if anyone else has concerns about not being able to sweat? I’ve noticed that since getting urticaria last year, I never sweat now. Hence the hives because of the histamine trapped on my skin. I’ve read that not being able to sweat (Anhydrosis) is very dangerous, since your body cannot regulate body temperature. In hot conditions this could lead to heat stroke coma etc…
Now I live in Scotland and it’s the end of winter, so I don’t really know how my body will react in hot weather. Some people have mentioned on this site that their symptoms disappear in the summer, but I’m planning on going to Rome, and I have my honeymoon next year, does anyone out there (who lives somewhere hot) have any advice.
The last thing I want is for the sun to come out and i have symptoms 24/7. Imagine the hot nights in bed how can anyone sleep with the itching???
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Title: Re: Anhydrosis
Post by: HivesGuy on February 02, 2011, 05:16:10 AM
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Yeah, I do.
I can’t sweat at all right now, regardless of how long I exercise or how hot it gets. I get nothing but a severe reaction. It is frustrating because it can be dangerous as you said. Not only that, my body feels weird. Like my skin doesn’t get lubricated from my sweat like it is supposed to or something.
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Title: Re: Anhydrosis
Post by: mody on February 03, 2011, 12:06:31 PM
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i have cholinergic urticaria for 3 months, i noticed that symptoms come with beginning of sweating upon exercise, so if i continue to exercise & sweat symptoms eventually disappear but i noticed that the time required for symptoms to disappear after exercise has increased since beginning of the urticaria. eventually i stopped because of pain & because i have a lot of work.
by the way according to certain medical books cholinergic urticaria occurs upon stimulation of sweating gland , this why we feel pain every time we get hot or exercise because sweating is next.
in a very complicated way hive are also induced upon stress due to release of certain neurotransmitter (acetyl choline) which makes us sweat, so every thing cause release of acetylcholine & makes us sweat, could precipitate hives. hence the name cholinergic urticaria
even some books said that it may be due to auto antibodies produced bu our bodies against our own sweating, but this still hypothesis
because of that may be we all avoid sun & any thing make us sweat & so we do not get enough sweating & sometime we develop VIT D deficiency
i develop symptoms for the 1st time at the end summer (hot & humid time) and got slight relieve by beginning of winter . i do not know how it would be in summer
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Title: Re: Anhydrosis
Post by: mody on February 03, 2011, 12:11:32 PM
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by the way also alot of anti allergy medication especially 1st generation antihistamine have anticholinergic effect which result in skin flushing & anhydrosis. so inhibition of histamine & sweat by theses medications make it the best for Cholinergic uticaria
i heard also about anew treatment which is some sort of monoclonal antibodies which is omaluzemab (i am not very sure of the splling) that may induce remission & potential full cure
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Title: Re: Anhydrosis
Post by: Brazen on February 11, 2011, 05:15:32 AM
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Isn’t the medication suggested (omaluzemab?) for asthma?
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Title: Re: Anhydrosis
Post by: HivesGuy on February 11, 2011, 07:46:25 AM
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@Brazen,
Yes, that is its primary use. However, it is simply an IGE inhibitor, and could potentially be used with other allergies. However, the drug is expensive, relatively new (and potentially dangerous), and more.
Personally i wouldn’t use it at all. Some cases show that it may temporarily help Cholinergic Urticaria, while a couple I have found online said it didn’t help at all. It seems hit and miss really. My personal opinion is that there are safer ways to manage Cholinergic Urticaria.
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Title: Anhidrosis and Cholinergic Urticaria Hives?
Post by: Sebastian on January 05, 2012, 09:26:48 AM
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I have to wait for a month to see my doctor but I’m worried I have Anhidrosis or another sickness that makes me unable to sweat and die.
I read somewhere in this forum about people that work out for large amounts of time without sweating, like 30 minutes or an hour, but wouldn’t you die of overheating? This is what worries me, if I knew I’m able to sweat if I want to by enduring the itch and pain until I sweat I would exercise daily, but I’m afraid of being unable to sweat, not being aware, and overheat.
I don’t thinkg I have Anaphylaxis because I don’t get any swelling or respiratory problems, just the annoying itch and redness, without scratching, cause I know it’s not going to help and I think it actually makes it worse since it makes the skin hotter.
It’s been like 7 or 8 months since I have the symptoms, when it first started the weather was really hot and I remember that as soon as I sweated the itch stopped, then the weather got cold and I didn’t sweat anymore, but I avoid getting hot an as soon as I do I run into the shower or lay down under a fan because, I’m being extremely careful of getting hot, because as I said I’m afraid of overheating and dying.
Also, at first I didn’t have any hives, and now I get laik 20, but it just started a week ago.
Anyway, I know that doctors know almost nothing about it apart from giving prescriptions for antihistamines, so far I’m almost sure I have this but I’m not sure if I can still sweat and that’s what worries me, I tried putting a plastic bag for and hour in my feet and then in my hand and I didn’t sweat, but I didn’t get the itch that I get whenever I’m hot so I guess it just wasn’t hot enough and I always have my fan on) while lying down in bed but I couldn’t sweat.
So do you think I have this? But my main point is if you know a way to find out if I can still sweat without danger in case I can’t.
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Title: Re: I have all the symptoms but not sure if I have Anhidrosis or something worse.
Post by: HivesGuy on January 05, 2012, 11:18:34 AM
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Hello Sebastian,
Great post and welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry to hear of your struggles. This is a tricky topic in all honesty, because every human may have a slightly different case of Cholinergic Urticaria, and in addition to that, they may also have other overlapping allergy or health issues.
What I can tell you is that about a year or so ago, I couldn’t break a sweat no matter how hard I worked out, or what I did. I tried everything from wearing a sauna suit in a heated bathroom, to plastic bags on me, to even sitting out on a muggy day in 100 degree weather. No sweat even as much as offered to come out. My body would ignite bright red, I would get slightly dizzy, and it was very itchy/painful.
What really turned it around for me was when I cut out a lot of foods in my diet and started really testing which foods upset my hives and my stomach. Then, after removing a lot of foods, I was also starting to workout using a method I describe in detail on my blog. I would only exercise up to the point of hives, and then stop. Then start again, then stop. At that point I was using an exercise bike almost exclusively.
After about 3 weeks or so of dieting and exercising, I broke a sweat for the first time in ages. Since then, I can sweat regularly, exercise, and everything else. My hives are fully manageable. Again, you can read my blog to see the details of my experiment and journey with that.
My advice to you is that if you suspect you may have swelling issues or are afraid of overheating/dying, then don’t push yourself too hard. In addition, you can always try to exercise under supervision from a doctor. I wouldn’t push yourself too hard without having an epipen, and an adult with you for sure.
Like I said, the method I used was a very gradual adaptation along with diet, and the sweat finally came without me having to endure countless terrible attacks in the process.
It may not work for everone, but I hope something there can be useful for you. Either way, be careful, talk to a doctor, and I hope you can get your hives under control and the sweat to come out again soon.
God bless you.
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Title: Re: I have all the symptoms but not sure if I have Anhidrosis or something worse.
Post by: Sebastian on January 06, 2012, 07:11:43 AM
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Thanks, for now I’m going to buy a large plastic pool so that I can exercise and see what happens.
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Title: Getting worse
Post by: gnaya on March 19, 2012, 01:18:38 AM
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I am from México. I used to live in a city by the beach, enjoyed the sun and had a nice tan color…but then I started with heat allergy and stopped sweating…had this condition since a few years and it´s getting worse, I am getting desperate, had anaphylactis shock for 6 times with hives, all red, stomack cramps, heart beating irregular, numbness in hands, arms and feet, nausea, vomits…last times I just walked 2 blocks under the sun and I passed out in the street…I am tired of this!!
I am having allergy vaccines, antihistaminics and they don´t seem to work. I want /need to exercise and I want my normal life back! :'(
I really don´t know what to do or where to go to get rid of this, please help!
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Title: Re: Getting worse
Post by: HivesGuy on April 05, 2012, 10:30:39 AM
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Hello Gnaya,
Thanks for your post and welcome. This forum has lots of great tips, and I’d recommend you get some ideas and talk to a doctor about what may be worth trying for you.
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Title: Re: Getting worse
Post by: nauqaz on April 27, 2012, 09:59:47 AM
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try polybion Z and cecon 2 tablets of both daily,they’ve worked for me in less than 14days (make sure to talk to a doctor first, to make sure its safe for you).i had the urticaria for around 4 years and now suddenly its gone.the doctor who recommended these had urticaria himself in his childhood and said it was because of vitamin deficiency.anti histamines never worked for me but vitamins did.hope they work for you too