I’ve had this skin condition since I was about 6 (I’m 21 now and only recently found out it had a name…although by now I’ve kind of already gotten used to it). I’ve been reading on this website a bit and I’m not sure if my question has already been answered, but here it is: do your hives simply go away after showing itself as hives/flushing?
My hives start off as random sized. So that includes anything from the small 2mm wide bumps to the bigger 7mm bumps. However, my hives always expand to the point where they converge with other hives beside them and then go away. This probably sounds horrendous (and it was initially), but it’s at this stage that I know they’ll be going away pretty soon.
Just wanted to ask if this is the case with anyone else. Or what the process looks for you.
Thanks,
-Sally
Hivesguy says
Hey, Sally.
When I had a hives attack, it would often just gradually stop giving the itchy/prickly sensation. If I could cool myself down quickly, it would stop almost instantly sometimes.
It’s interesting that your hives seem to coalesce before disappearing. Mine never did that, but some people with cholinergic urticaria (as well as other types of urticaria) do experience that.
Thanks for sharing your story, and welcome to the forum!
Ro says
Hey Sally,
Mine are exactly the same, they start small then in 2-3 days they connect after expanding and turn into an almost purple shade (very light) then it takes 1-2weeks for that to disappear. They are at their itchiest when they expand.
I only just found out I suffered from this as I always assumed it was an allergy to something, not a disease. I never suffered from this when I was younger, it started when I turned 18 and I’ve had it for 6 years now. Antihistamine doesn’t work on me unless it is inserted by drip in A&E. The only thing that has worked is steroids but they often make you gain weight so I have opted for the painful recovery.
I love having a tan but recently its proving so painful as I often have swollen legs and arms for weeks. I can’t believe my GP didn’t figure this out for 6 years. I looked online myself this time before going to GP and found pictures of Urticaria so knew that’s what I had.
Does anyone know what’s the best way to cool your body down to stop the spreading? I presume its not just cooling down an area but your whole body temperature? do you have a cold shower?
Thanks
Ro
Sally says
Hey!
Thanks for the responses. In terms of cooling down my body, I usually just sit in a cool place (e.g. basement, the shade). The hives I usually get go away once my body’s temperature balances out so sitting in a cool place might not be practical for you, considering your hives seem to take longer than mine to recover.
Water’s a bit of a different story for me. I’ve noticed a cold shower doesn’t do much for me mostly because I get the hives after a sudden body temperature change–so this includes both cold and hot changes. After some trial and error, I found that starting off a warm-hot shower (I was trying to mimic my own body temperature, basically) and then gradually getting hotter to suit my preferences reduced/prevented hives (For a few years, I got hives after a shower or swimming so this is why I experimented with water temperatures. I’m not sure if this applies to you too so just ignore this if it doesn’t).
But yes, I’ve noticed balancing out my entire body’s temperature is very helpful. I used to cover up my hives as much as possible. This basically kept my body temperature consistently warm/hot, which pretty much doesn’t sound like a great idea. What I’ve noticed though was that doing so kept my body temperature from spiking too high or suddenly getting cold. It basically allowed my body to adjust and balance out.
Laying on cool sheets has also helped relieve the symptoms. My bed covers are pretty thin and cool very easily. I found this fabric to be ideal in sleeping (it’s smooth, non-velvety or wool-like). I like sleeping relatively cold so I don’t pack the layers too much either (a shirt+undershirt and light pants seem to do the trick and keep the hives at bay).
Applying cool lotion is pretty soothing too.
More recently, I got giant hives and flushing on my face that lasted for about 2-ish weeks. This never happened before–I’m not even sure if it’s related to CU. I tried cold showers at this point (my cold hives popped up though so that wasn’t ideal), avoided alcohol and other vasodilators/blood thinners, tried antihistamines and corticosteroids (which did reduce the inflammation but wasn’t ideal either). What I noticed really worked in the end was to force my body to generally cool down. Quite honestly, I felt feverish by this point but didn’t have a fever. So I started wearing t-shirts and shorts around the house while it was 5ish degrees celcius out, turned down the heat in the house, abandoned wools/fluffy/velvety clothing, sleeping with my arms uncovered. Ice packs on my face actually worked for some reason
Sorry if this isn’t very helpful. I’m basically recounting my own experiences, which may or may not apply to you. My lifestyle definitely changed with this but I still exercise despite the hives (inducing sweat actually works for me too to get rid of them faster). But yes, I definitely agree with you: addressing the entire body’s temperature is key. I find giving my body time to adjust to different temperatures also helps. Hopefully I’ve given some ideas to help relieve the symptoms faster/prevent it. All the best!
Sally