Thanks for the website – after searching my symptoms online, what I’ve read here describes it to a T. So I guess that’s what I’ve got!
What I wanted to share is what happened to me prior to this starting. The stinging sensation on my skin upon starting to sweat started literally overnight and now affects me 5-10 times a day.
But what may be relevant is that for about 3 weeks prior to this, I had what looked like an allergic rash about my body. My inner arms close the elbow joint, inner legs close to the knees, my ankles and my stomach. It wasn’t a big deal – didn’t look very nice but was only mildly itchy.
But then, overnight, this rash pretty much cleared up and was instantly replaced by what I’m assuming is this CU thing. Which is obviously many times worse.
I can’t think of anything I did differently to have caused the initial rash. No new foods, soap and of that stuff. And I’ve never had sensitive skin really.
The other thing to mention is that this change (from a mildly annoying bumpy rash to a normally invisible heat-induced flare up) happened while I was away from home in a colder climate than I am used to (although probably in hotter places due to indoor heating!) and I hadn’t exercise for a couple of weeks which was very unusual.
So, does this ring a bell for anyone else? A mild but visible rash preceding the outbreak? Or a change in climate or exercise.
Would be good to know whether this is just coincidence or not.
-Dave
Chuck says
This isn’t unheard of. I have noticed adolescents tend to have a sickness/illness followed by CU like symptoms quite a bit, based on their parents information posted around the internet. For adults I have read of people beginning to have CU after Malaria, the Flu, having a cyst removed, and many many possibly related illnesses or events. Many times it’s connected to an autoimmune disease. That’s why one of the first steps that a dermatologist and maybe a GP performs is to have an allergy test or biopsy performed.
It’s possible that a change in exercise or climate could assist set the scene for a potential flare up. I just think that you would’ve noticed before if you had CU prior to your change in climate/exercise. The good thing is that CU typically refers to this occurring for at least 6 weeks. I believe there is another urticaria that refers to people who have these symptoms and signs for a shorter period and then they go away not to come back. It’s always possible that is your case and hopefully it is.
It’s worth looking into Celiac disease. There are other less severe conditions associated with Celiac Disease as well. It’s pretty much gluten intolerance. It affects people in their 20s and 30s mostly. Dermatitis Herpetiformis is one I would look at if I were you. CU can be an unfortunate byproduct of these and based on where your initial rashes were, it’s a possibility.
I’d take a good hard look at your diet, your current stress levels, and any recent sicknesses within the past year. When I am stressed my CU gets 100x worse. Worth remembering. Eventually I could point to exactly what was causing mine to be worse or better and almost every time it was cumulative stress.