I recently came across some interesting info and I thought I’d share.

As I mentioned in my last post, Silvertones, Willdev, and a few others have been talking on the forum about using a low-histamine diet. This line of thinking apparently led Silvertones into stumbling onto a product called Histame, which he is waiting to try. This product is supposed to contain diamine oxidase, which is an enzyme that breaks down histamine in the intestines.

I was looking around on the web today in my spare time hoping to find some reviews or information about this product. Interestingly, I stumbled upon a thread in a forum online for rosacea.  I read all 3 pages of this thread to see what the people were saying. Basically it seems some thought it helped a bit, and some didn’t think so too much (but to be fair they had just been using it a day or so). But this talk about rosacea got me interested in the condition, even though I already knew some info about it. So I looked up more.

Rosacea and Cholinergic Urticaria Similarities

The interesting thing about rosacea is that it does have some similarities to cholinergic urticaria. In people with this condition, their face tends to become red, they may get bumps, enlarged/swollen facial tissue, and facial flushing and itching.

The flushing and itching is what is similar to cholinergic urticaria. It seems it is a similar sensation when they eat certain foods or become hot. They feel a burning/itching sensation, but it seems to be  mostly localized on their face. I did also find an instance of at least 1 person with rosacea with cholinergic urticaria–but that could be a pure coincidence. I don’t seem to have rosacea at all, but hives do affect my facial area (along with my whole body).

So I decided to spend a few minutes looking up rosacea and I found some even more interesting information. According to wikipedia, it said the following:

Richard L. Gallo and colleagues recently noticed that patients with rosacea had elevated levels of the peptide cathelicidin and elevated levels of stratum corneum tryptic enzymes (SCTEs). Antibiotics have been used in the past to treat rosacea but they may only work because they inhibit some SCTEs

The article suggests that Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth could be causing some buildup of inflammatory peptides. These inflammatory peptides collect in the skin, and cause the symptoms. In this same article on wiki, it goes on to discuss an interesting study in which a group of people were given a semi-synthetic antibiotic specifically designed to only remain in the gut (and not be absorbed into the body/skin).

The result, according to wiki, was that 96% of people taking this experienced complete remission of rosacea that lasted at least 9 months long. I found that highly interesting.

So to sum it up, these scientists seem to hypothesize that bacterial overgrowth (of potentially harmful bacteria) in the intestines could be causing the symptoms of rosacea (at least in some people). In addition to this interesting study, I was able to locate some people commenting about this also working for them (they had rosacea too).

This article, although the main article is written skeptically about the study, the people in the comments seemed to confirm the idea that antibiotics did help them too. I thought that was interesting.

Connecting this to Cholinergic Urticaria

What fascinates me about all of this in relation to cholinergic urticaria is this:

1. Some of the rosacea symptoms parallel our hives symptoms (albeit, rosacea is localized to the face). Many people with this feel a red flushed/stinging/itching sensation in some situations.
2. Since having hives, my stomach has been a mess. I have had IBS-like symptoms, and over the years have even suspected I had crohns and all sorts of stuff due to this. I have been able to control my IBS symptoms by avoiding my trigger foods (dairy, wheat, junk food), and by taking a probiotic supplement. This has helped a lot. I  have long thought that there could be a correlation between my digestion and hives issues.
3. Some of us have speculated we have a buildup of histamine or some toxin/peptide/enzyme. If it turns out histamine isn’t directly to blame, it is interesting to consider that intestinal bacteria may be a factor. Perhaps there is some by-product of the bacteria that cause a peptide or chemical to buildup in abnormal quantities in our skin/body. If this is true (and it may not be), then perhaps this antibiotic could help our hives as well.

<rant>It doesn’t surprise me that so many people are getting crohns, IBS, hives, and other medical issues these days. After all, we pump foods full of hormones,  preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and all sorts of unnatural crap. It aggravates me. Do they think they can put this stuff in our body and somehow the laws of physics will cease to exist and it won’t harm us? It is a system driven by greed. By keeping the product on the shelves longer, they stand to make an extra buck. So they pump any chemical they can into it to profit. Who cares about our health? Right? </rant>

So my current line of thinking is that perhaps there could be a connection between this bacteria overgrowth thing and hives/IBS. The way to treat this, according to the article, is a special antibiotic that stays in the intestines. I know certain antibiotics focus specifically on the intestines, and have been shown to reduce bacterial  numbers. Others, however,  may not have such an effect on the intestinal bacterial population. So apparently you have to make sure to get the right antibiotic.

It is also a bit risky, because some antibiotics have been suspected to also actually cause stomach issues. Plus antibiotics themselves can sometimes cause problems. So it is kinda frustrating to consider. Anyway, I just thought I’d throw this info I found out there for you to chew on. If you find out more, or want to discuss this in more depth, feel free to open a thread on the forum about it.

Update on My Supplements

I am right now taking the following: Digestive Advantage (for IBS/digestion), Vitamin C (supposed to reduce histamine), B6 (supposed to reduce histamine), Vitamin D (I haven’t been in the sun in months), and a multivitamin (centrum).

The digestive advantage does help me a lot with my digestion, but not hives. The vitamin C and B6 haven’t seemed to have helped yet, but I have only been taking them about 3 days or so. I will update in a week or two to let you know if they have started working.

Well, that’s all for now.

Keep scratchin’

Hey Everyone,

Ugh, where do I begin this update? First, my wife and I have been sick the past week. My wife had it first, and then accidentally gave it to me. I suppose it is some kind of cold (or Flu). We have had temperatures of about 100-101. We have also felt very tired, weak, sleepy, and had runny noses. Luckily, my wife has pretty much recovered, and I only have a day or two of this bug (I hope).

I always hate it when I am sick, because a fever usually makes my hives worse. Since it increases my body temperature, it just puts me that much closer to a reaction. Luckily, I have stayed in my room with the A/C running, so I haven’t had that many attacks.

My Cholineric Urticaria, New Symptoms, and Something I May Have Discovered

I have some weired new symptoms lately, which I am not sure if it is related to the hives or not. Whenever I wake up in the morning, the back of my hands and tops of my feet itch like crazy. It doesn’t do it until I get out of bed, and then lasts for only about 30 minutes to an hour.

It doesn’t feel like the cholinergic urticaria type itch, although it is a prickly kind of itch (it just doesn’t really sting). I suppose it has something to do with my circulation or something, since it doesn’t happen until I get out of bed. But it is enough to really aggravate me for about an hour each morning.

Okay, so about my hives. For the past 3-4 years since my hives came back, they have been fairly manageable. I would usually have a severe attack, but then they would kind of calm down. In fact, after a severe attack, often times I could actually sweat. Unfortunately,for the past 2-3 months this hasn’t been so. I have tried taking Zyrtec, which helps, but not enough. I also recently noticed that Zyrtec is the thing that has been giving me diarrhea and upsetting my stomach.

The hives come on, and torture me relentlessly until I can cool down. There is no sweating happening at all at this point. I am not sure why they are so “on edge” lately, but it has been both depressing and disabling. So much so, that I have actually started to talk very seriously with my wife about steroids–something I vowed I would never do if possible.

An Interesting New Idea About Why My Hives First Went Away

As I was pondering my own hives situation in the past, I always think back to the first time my hives went away. I had them for a few months, went to the doctor, was given antihistamines (and eventually a steroid shot). None of it seemed to work, but the hives magically got better about a month or so after the steroid shot.

Well, looking back at my whole hives story, and given a new thing I discovered, I am actually starting to think the steroids did indeed play a key role in my first remission (which lasted about 3-4 years or so).

I have no idea what the shot was, only that it was definitely a steroid (corticosteroid—not the anabolic muscle-building kind). I distinctly remember that after a few weeks, I still had hives. Thus, I thought the shot did nothing, and I gave up on my dermatologist and realized nothing was working. Then, a month or two later, they went away.

As it turns out, steroid injections in your ‘rear end’ tend to slowly release the chemical into your body over the course of weeks, or sometimes even 3 months! Wow. I didn’t know that. Turns out, I think that darn steroid shot may have been THE THING that put my hives into a nice 3-4 year remission.

For the life of me, I have no idea what the actual brand was. I have been researching online, and it seems Kenalog is one type that is frequently used by dermatologist (and is often slowly released for up to 3 months). Prednisone can also be inject-able, so it could have been that too. Or, it could have been a different steroid altogether.

Unfortunately, steroids aren’t something to joke about. These things shoot down your immune system, leaving you susceptible to infections. Also, they can have all kinds of terrible side effects (although honestly I can’t remember any side effects when I took that one). Plus, even though steroids don’t necessarily cause cancer, a weakened immune system could potentially increase your risk a bit.

My New Battle Plan–Steroids in the Spring If My Hives Aren’t Better

Okay, so I have really researched this and talked to my wife about it. She agrees that the steroids are probably what put my hives away. I was actually going to make an appointment to the dermatologist soon, but then I remembered something–If I get a steroid shot now, that means my immune system is going to be weakest when colds, the flu, and other diseases are at their peak (in the winter).

Probably not a good idea, eh? I may actually need my immune system during that time. So instead, I have decided that this is what I will do: If my hives are not significantly better by this spring, then I am going to go ahead and try 1 single steroid shot (hopefully they have my records and can find out what it was and the same dosage). If that one single steroid shot works, then great. If not, then I am not going to pursue steroids any longer due to the risks involved.

Taking steroids all the time is a really BAD idea. It can leave you with all sorts of side effects or diseases. So that is what I am going to do. I will try it 1 time in the spring (about 6-7 months from now), and if that works–great. If not, I guess I will just have to take antihistamines and try various meds or treatments to make it as bearable as possible.

Funny thing is, it will be exactly 10 years since my last steroid shot this spring. It would be so great if it actually worked, and my hives went away for years again, or even forever!

Oh, and one last thing: While thinking back about my hives going away (and thinking it may have had a lot to do with a slow-release injection of steroids)–I was also pondering what may have started them back up again–since they didn’t come back for a few years (long after the steroid effect probably wore off). I can actually remember 1 serious event that stands out crystal clear in my mind, that could have been a reason my hives started back up again–a severe illness.

While I was working at a retail store (Target), during the November shopping season, they had ordered a bunch of sandwiches for us. They were great, and I went home happy. Unfortunately, I got SEVERELY sick that night. I vomited profusely–at least 20 times that night. I have never ever ever been that sick before in my LIFE. Even when nothing came out, I was still vomiting. It must have been the mayonnaise or something from the sandwiches sitting out all day–I have no clue what it was that made me that sick.

Fast forward, and just 1-2 months later, my hives started to come back. Maybe it is just a coincidence. Or, maybe this illness got my immune system jacked up, and after a couple of months the hives were back. Just speculation, but it is interesting to think about. It also makes me wonder if I had never gotten sick, would the hives came back? Or would they have stayed in remission?