10 Years - Detailed Post

[engineer]

Scroll down for Personal History
Period ~ 10 Years

Triggers: Heaters, terrible ventilation, perfumes, loud noises, cold, food, water, touch, stress, dust, exercise, dairy products (bloating), sunlight

Started: Shortly after turning 18 (Refer Personal history, but coincides with first day of winter snow)

Current Age: Mid – Late 20s

Career Profile: Engineering, Science

Symptoms: Flushing (Redness), Hives (All over except face), body overheating, ‘trying to breath through a pinhole’ but no swelling in throat, skin get prickly, extremely excruciating pain (Refer what it feels like below). Brings about a heightened sensitvity.

What it feels like: A mixture between the sensation of itch, being given electric shock, and the excessive heat from an oven, the sensation may vary in certain seasons, or periods, but generally applicable in a combination or individually.

Recovery Time: 15-20 minutes if brought back into proper temperature or ventilation region

Frequency: Can be every 15 minutes (during terrible periods) or refer minimum below (at present)

Daily triggers (minimum # of times it will happen): Anything involving acclimatization (leaving, entering home, work building), or involving heaters or terrible ventilation (Bus, Cars, again buildings, malls, stores) or somebody passes by wearing perfume/cologne.

Management (for minor relief): If at home, keep temperature control within a narrow region, no carpeting, avoiding certain food products. Avoiding certain food products or managing does not “remove” the condition, it simply allows you to help you to “cope” in small ways, and live another day.

Food: I have tried both vegetarian and non. Makes no differences (switching to a vegetarian diet for 4 months made it worst as body is accustomed to a certain set of host organisms for breaking down food).

-   However should avoid (what helps me as an individual, mileage may vary) deep fried, extremely hot (temperature) food, beef, excessive poultry, frozen fish, rice, pizza, pasta or take in small quantities and not to often.
-   Please note, a person has to live life as well I am against the idea of considering complete stoppage of certain food products (I do eat the above, but in smaller or time varied quantities). Am of the opinion that what affects me in a certain region of the world only, cannot be caused primarily by food, simply aggravates it.

When it stops: Some summers (provided body breaks into sweat), or if I travel outside the country.


Observations:
A) Antihistamines. No success
B) Asthma Inhalers + Bronchodilator. No Success (might even induce more)
B) Tried Homeopathy. No success
C) Tried Skin Creams. No success
D) Tried Hakeem (AKA Unani ~ South Asian Herbal Meds). Partial Success*.
*Can take 3 meals now. Prior to which was reduced to eating one painful tiny meal, because of the severely painful hives that would break out after eating and the overheating. I have also been able to regain weight. However, no change in fundamental condition.
E) Currently trying unfiltered Cider Vinegar (in addition to bullet D) + Vitamin D, too early to say, does not seem effective against ~ daily triggers (Refer Daily Triggers) which involve Bus, Mall, Perfumes, Excessive temperatures. However, shows improvement indoors when within comfort zone temperature, also allows me to raise the heater a bit.

Personal HistoryPrior to moving to City#1 which is in a cold country located in a Northern latitude, I was situated in City #0 which was in a desert country next to a sea.

City #1, Highschool, October 2002, First day of snow plus cold day, walking towards high school, intense heat like sensation on back. Hives breakout started, once entered school building. (yes was a stressful period of my life, for various unlisted reasons)

City #2, University + GradSchool, 2003-2009/10

City #3, Work, 2009 - January 2012 (while writing this)

Condition still exists and still miserable, but have seen worse.

My Theory: It is difficult to seperate an immediate trigger (food, temperature, stress, sound, exercise, etc) from what causes the actual condition specifically in a certain region of the world, but my personal take is that it is something in the air or in the water (air also contains water).

Daily Life: Painful, balancing work or even the simplest of tasks requires much tact, planning, and strategizing.

Contact If people find anything on this post that sparks their curiosity, I would love to reply. Also I hope we all can live through this and get a full cure and live a more balanced life.

[HivesGuy]

Hey engineer,

Awesome post and welcome to the forum! Thanks for taking the time to post all of that background info.

I'm sorry to hear that you've not been able to get this under better control--but I do feel optimistic that you may learn some tips here that may help you on your journey.

I've posted a lot of info on the blog, and countless other people have posted great tips on how they've been able to get their hives dramatically better (or even gone 100%). So I definitely think that if you find some things you see here you haven't tried--then perhaps you can give them a shot and see what happens (talk to a doctor of course).

Thanks again for your post!

[engineer]

Hi HivesGuy,

Thank you for your encouraging post.

Engineer.

[JK]

Hi

found your post very interesting.  I live in the North too.  Very wet and windy place. 
I found it particularly interesting that you first experienced your hive etc. at a time of stress.  My hives etc. started when I started university and my father was having a nervous breakdown.
I am new to this forum so I do not know if others have experienced their hives etc. starting at a time of stress.

I am a teacher and I have had to explain to the kids I teach about my blotches etc. but I can sympathise with you on trying to get through a day without scratching, being incredibly uncomfortable, to say the least.

I am hoping for some ideas on how to cope or get rid of this condition too, so fingers crossed.

[engineer]

Hi JK,

Stress was a constant factor during the period when the condition first initiated.

Once the condition has initiated, so far as triggers go, I would argue, stress is one among several external stimuli (particularly heat, and disturbances in the air, such as cologne, or perfume) that can trigger the hives instantly along with piercing pain.

I do feel your frustration, a teaching stint with the condition can be difficult. During my graduate school days, I had to teach an hour long class, and that was painful to manage with my condition, I can only imagine in your case what it would entail with much longer hours.

I found a paper online, mind you, it's a bit dated (1947), and has a limited sample of three army cases leading to a generalized conclusion with hints of Freud (sorry my engineering biases tend to kick-in as I do not have a background in Psychology, hopefully if somebody has background in modern psychology, feel free to join in). The article paints a profile of the individuals surveyed and the nature of their discontentment leading up to the condition, and the follow-up.

Emotional Factors in Urticaria: A Report of Three Cases.
http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/9/2/131.full.pdf

My prime methods of control is diet, but I still have to undergo the minimum daily triggers, which in itself are quite painful and draining. I haven't succeeded entirely, but during terrible periods, I do resort to some form of fasting (where I come from, a 30 day fast is ritual) during the day hours, so fasting in itself was not difficult, but modifying it to account for the hives is not straightforward.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1401501

I find that every school of medical thought wishes to portray Hives/Urticaria as being the cause of X reason (where X is their premise). Personally I haven't succeeded by far, but if it helps anyone else:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=VvFm0BRbqEYC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=trauma+psychology+urticaria+cured&source=bl&ots=vcwoVFhqcX&sig=hdygo9grkHeq88I35pyBRqHJXhA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xz4fT_iSHYPs0gHxm50I&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=trauma%20psychology%20urticaria%20cured&f=false

Lastly, I have been through a dozen creams/lotions but I find they were ineffective. However, recently I started applying Virgin Olive Oil (from the grocery store) on the body in the morning and in the evenings after work. I find it does prolong the period of relief on days when the heater+weather change is not too drastic or extreme.

Reducing/eliminating refined sugar, helps, instead I use small amounts of pure dark Honey now in beverages and cooking.

Occasionally when having coffee, I might simply choose to eat juicy dates to substitute for refined sugar.

Caffeine seems to have a more pronounced effect (i.e. a heightened sensitivity) while I am in this climate with this condition (does not have the same effect on me, when I am outside the country or during Summer), so switching to Decaf Tea/Coffee also helps.

I am currently trying to switch to a more alkaline diet, but not sure how far that will go. Has to be seen.

Hope that helps. Also thank you for taking time to reply and sharing.

[nshiell]

Engineer, i have just read what almost amounts to a fully documented spec for your urticaria
How much does your Urticaria soften if you leave to go abroad, does it go away?
How many different antihistamines have you tried to date?
Do you have any other allergies?

I'm just curious as I have developed itchy skin about 1.5years ago which I CAN control with over the counter antihistamines

I do hope your urticaria becomes more manageable and something you can work with.

[engineer]

Hi Nshiell,

Yes I was aiming for documenting the specs

My hope is if "outlier" cases who do not respond to anti-histamines, can get enough coverage, there might be increased awareness about the potential severity.

Over the past ~ 10 years, I reckon having tried 7-10 different different types, branded, generic, local, international ones, off-the-counter, prescribed, drowsy ones, non-drowsy ones.

When I travel outside, the hives go away as soon I step outside the airport or shortly thereafter. There is a complete disappearance. My body breaks into a normal sweat instead.

In one recent trip, they disappeared during the transit stops at one of the airports. The opposite is also true, once I return to my country of work, they resume when I step out of the airport (and at times, return at the airport), provided it is winter.

Thanks for your post.

[Him_Osiris]

red my thread where u asked, i posted my way of inducing sweat!...

[engineer]

Him_Osiris: The treadmill does not work for me, the heat production is excessive. The same with any indoor exercise. Painful hives breakout + flushing always happens, and no sweat, no matter how well I control the indoor temperature on either end of the spectrum.

However, tonight the outdoor temperature warmed up to minus 2 degrees C (past few weeks temperature was around ~ minus 20 degree C), also the wind condition was suitable for me to breath normally. I ice-skated (am using a hockey stick to balance, am a total beginner ) outdoors for 2-2.5 hours today. First two hours were miserable with frequent breaks, and after a while I am no longer wearing gloves, nor a winter hat because of the excessive heat generation but at the 2 hour mark,  my body was not producing as much heat, and finally, I felt like I was getting somewhere. Once the heat levels were in "equilibrium", it felt good. I hope I can continue with this, with better heat removal efficiency over time. Maybe if I can keep this up, hopefully, just hopefully, I might just start sweating.