Cholinergic Urticaria (Chronic Heat Hives)-Cholinergic Urticaria.net I Get Itchy Heat Hives (Cholinergic Urticaria) When I Get Hot or Exercise

Sometimes I like to take a good look at all of the other physical urticarias in the world. I feel that maybe there is some type of connection between the different strange reactions all of us urticaria sufferers deal with. One strange type of hives reaction is dermographism (also called dermatographic urticaria).

What is Dermographism or Dermatographic Urticaria?

Dermographism is a condition in which people will experience a wheal type reaction after the skin is rubbed or touched in a way that produces a response. In some people, the reaction can burn, sting, and even itch. For others, it may not hurt at all.

For many people with Dermatographia, simply rubbing a coin, or stroking a pencil or sharp object along the skin will result in a welp or “wheal” type of a reaction. The person is usually fine any other time, and shows no symptoms at all. However, once the skin is rubbed or touched in a way that causes a reaction, the wheals can appear as pictured below:

Picture of Dermographism:

How Long Does a Dermatographic Urticaria Reaction Last?

According to wikipedia, a reaction can typically last between 15-30 minutes before the swelling and wheals disappear. A person with this type of physical hives can literally cause a reaction at any time by simply rubbing the skin with a sharp object (such as a pen, fingernail, butter knife, etc.).

The condition itself can go into remission, but some people may have this for the rest of their life. There does not seem to be any evidence that it is connected with any cancers, nor shorten life span.

I remember that my sister once told me there here son had this condition for a while, however, it did eventually go away. I don’t think the condition has ever returned (so far). That is the only other strange hives-like reaction that I know in my family besides my own cholinergic urticaria condition.

Medical Mysteries Featured a Woman Who Sells Pictures of Dermographism as Art

I remember a few months ago my wife and I were watching the show “Medical Mysteries.” In one episode, they featured a woman with dermatographic urticaria. This woman could simply take a pin or sharp object, draw a pattern or write something on her skin, and magically it would appear in a very distinct pattern.

She said the reaction didn’t hurt, itch, or burn. “It just happens,” she said. But here is the cool part. She was always interested in art, and wondered what it would be like if she drew a pattern on her skin. She soon discovered that she could literally draw a pattern, and then the wheals would magically appear soon after. The reaction would last about 30 minutes.

So apparently she made the connection that maybe should could start making her own body art. So she started drawing intricate artistic patterns on her body. She would then wait for the skin reaction to occur, and when the wheals appeared, she would grab her camera and snap a picture of it.

She then started to display these pictures at art shows. She has since been featured in many art magazines and articles. She has also been able to successfully sell this artwork, for as high as almost $4,500! Wow, that was an incredible and fascinating story!

I guess that is one great example of the saying, “If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.” She turned a bad condition into a lucrative profit.

I wonder if we could take pictures of little bumps and sell them…I doubt it lol. They aren’t that cool looking. Maybe we could connect the dots or something in a cool pattern? Hehe. Or maybe one of us should go on that show, as I have mentioned before. Maybe one day they will do a show on cholinergic urticaria.

Similarities Between Cholinergic Urticaria and Dermagraphism

I immediately noticed quite a few similarities between these two physical urticarias. First, people with dermatographic urticaria (DC) are usually normal. They only experience a response when the skin is stimulated in a way that causes a reaction. This is similar to (CU), in that we are fine until we get hot, then we go haywire!

Another similarity is that (DC) reactions typically last about 15-30 minutes. That is how long my Cholinergic Urticaria lasts. The small bumps usually disappear completely in about 10-15 minutes without leaving a trace.

People with DC also sometimes experience a remission of symptoms, as do people with CU. Also, neither condition seems to be life threatening in most cases (with the exception of possible anaphylactic shock).

Pretty interesting condition!

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There are several different types of “Hives” conditions. This website focuses mainly on a type of hives called Cholinergic Urticaria. This types of hives happens when one becomes heated, excited, nervous, or anything that can temporarily cause the body to become hot. Instead of sweating, most of us break out in an itchy/stinging sensation, which usually goes away within a few minutes. Otherwise, we are healthy and you wouldn’t know we have any type of “hives” at all.

But there are several other types of hives that are classified as “Physical type” hives. For example, one condition is called dermatographism. People with this condition can literally run their finger or sharp object along their skin, and within a few minutes a large wheal will pop up. This is often called the “writing” hives because people can write things on their skin & it will pop up really red within a few minutes. In fact, I even saw a television program a while back, and a girl actually would draw designs on her skin, then take a picture of it & sell the pictures as artwork. Pretty cool huh!

Another type of hives is Cold Urticaria, in which case, a person can literally stick an ice cube on their skin, and within a few minutes they will get a big red raised wheal. They can also tend to break out in hives when exposed to cold weather.

Solar Urticaria is another type of hives, which seems to appear only after solar exposure (the sun). Most people with this condition only break out in hives after being exposed to the sun.

Aquagenic Urticaria is a type of hives which appear after water contacts the skin. Usually, it takes up to 15 minutes for the hives to appear, and they can last up to 2 hours. I remember reading an article on some poor girl that had a very severe case of this. She took one of the fastest showers in the world. She also said that if her boyfriend was sweaty, should couldn’t even hug him until he was dry, or else she would have a hives outbreak. Poor girl! Sounds bad!

Exercised Induced Hives- This condition is similar to cholinergic urticaria. The main difference is that when the person exercises or become hot, they typically go into anaphylactic shock which means their throat starts to swell shut, and their lips can swell, etc. This is much more dangerous than cholinergic urticaria since this can actually cause death (suffocation).

Contact or Pressure urticaria is a condition where people can simply touch you, and you can develop a hive or wheal reaction. This is somewhat similar to dermagraphism, only it is a little bit different. In this situation, if a person has on tight clothes, or something is laid on their arm, they break out in a big rash/hives/wheal.

There are lots of crazy & bizarre hives conditions in the world. Cholinergic urticaria is just one of many. But it sometimes makes you wonder: Is there any type of common link among these hives people? There are some striking similarities. For example, almost any of the above hives conditions can come & go. Some people may have them for years, and then suddenly stop having them.

Another thing is that most of the hives seem to be skin related. Either the skin becomes hot, or it becomes cold, or it becomes wet, or it becomes touched, or gets hit by the sun. In every hives case above, the skin is having the reaction to something.

It makes you wonder, why are these people having these strange hives conditions? For many of these people, the treatment seems to be the exact same. According to most forums I visit, it doesn’t matter what type of hives they have. They are usually given antihistamines, in some cases antibiotics, lotions, creams, steroids, and you name it.

So could there be a common link? Could the same thing be causing hives in these people, but each person has the hives in a different way (for example, some people get Cholinergic Urticaria, while others may get dermatoographism).

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