Playing Sports with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: daddeo on June 01, 2011, 05:25:43 AM
Wow where to start? Ok, a few years ago… Maybe age 13 or 14 we began to notice he would get hives after a hot shower. Now at age 16 it seems that his triggers are the sun and hot showers. I’ve read many posts by others on here searching for anything that will help him. I’d have to say that so far the hives don’t take away anything from his life or what he wants to do. He plays 3 sports in High School and very active…
He does feel the itch and sting when he begins to sweat but has learned I guess to push past that, and the hives he gets after taking a hot shower go away in 15 minutes or so. There are so many directions to look, his mom died of cancer when he was 11… I have itched my whole life only without visible hives…
I’ve formed so many questions from reading posts in the forum and I thank you all for that.
1) If we know his triggers for example the hot showers, does limiting episodes of hives seem to help in the long run?
2) The sun, he takes his shirt off and instant hives… Again not dibilitating physically… Does it make sense to limit exposure to sun
or actually increase exposure gradually for instance to desensitize ones self?
3) Should he maybe see a phych for counselling giving there is only so much he is comfortable talking to dad about?
4) How stress related does everyone think this issue is?
5) He does very well at 3 sports, makes honor roll every marking period in school… Maybe the stress is comming out sideways?
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: daddeo on June 01, 2011, 05:47:50 AM
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One more question: Here’s the background, My son wrestles, so he is around the mat room which is basically a petri dish of anything imagineable related to skin… fungus, athletes foot, body to body type stuff… My question is, has anyone else had the experience of
getting ringworm? It seems that in a room full of kids, all doing the same things, if the fungus is around he gets it.
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: HivesGuy on June 01, 2011, 06:29:09 AM
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Hey Daddeo,
Great posts and welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry to hear about your son’s struggles with Cholinergic Urticaria. I’ll try to answer your questions the best I can (and hopefully anyone else will chime in if they have anything to add).
1) In my experience, I actually tried to avoid hives attacks. This really depends on the individual. Some people with only a mild case of Cholinergic Urticaria can push through the hives, and by doing so on a regular basis, this can help them to reduce the severity of attacks. For others, their hives can be more severe and the “refractory period” (in which the histamine stores are temporarily depleted)–diminishes to the point where it probably doesn’t provide a benefit. So it really depends on whether or not your son is relieved after a minor attack to determine if it would be worthwile to suffer through it. Also, he has to weigh the level of pain/discomfort with the level of relief he may get to see if he feels it is worth it.
2) Again this is totally dependent on the person and I have seen it work both ways. Last summer my hives were so severe that no amount of sun or heat would de-sensitize my body. The sun would also aggravate my hives even if it was 40 degrees outside. For others, they are able to acclimate to the heat and begin sweating after an attack. At this point, my hives have diminished to the point where I can basically go right into sweating with almost no reactivity whatsoever. So again, I advise your son to listen to his body, and if it feels to painful/difficult, he should avoid the sun or heat if possible. But if he is able to eventually sweat after only minimal discomfort, then perhaps he can work his way up to sweating after minimal sun/heat exposure.
3) I suppose it is debatable whether or not Cholinergic Urticaria is caused by stress. There is no debate that a sudden stressful event could make the hives come out once you already have Cholinergic Urticaria, but whether or not stress is an initial causitive factor has not really been determined scientifically. Many people here speculate it could. I tend to think it is certainly possible that stress can induce illness, however, it probably isn’t the causitive factor for all people Cholinergic Urticaria. Maybe for some, but probably not for all. I don’t think stress had anything to do with my Cholinergic Urticaria personally. At the times I was most stressed in my life (even homeless and hopeless), I didn’t have hives.
Regarding counselling–I would only seek counselling if your son seems to indicate that he needs it (or you see him really struggling). In my opinion, relating to people who have this would probably be more of a comfort than talking to someone who has no clue what he is experiencing (meaning a counsellor). Perhaps he could post to this forum and share some insight, or read it and understand we have all experienced what he is experiencing. But if you think it would benefit him, I suppose a “check up from the neck up” wouldn’t hurt. Just be careful—it seems every psych person these days wants to throw 10 labels on you and feed you pills to make you happy. I would avoid those types for sure.
4) Possibly causitive for some people, but probably not for others. I think it has very little or even nothing to do with mine at this point–but who knows.
5) Maybe he is overworking. Does he feel comfortable? Is he tired all the time? Does he get enough sleep?
Also, you said he is doing a lot of sports–Is he on any type of supplements? Is he over eating to try to “bulk up?” Those may be things you want to consider. By tweaking my diet and exercising more it is really helping me lately. I also have to watch foods I am allergic to, because while they dont’ cause my hives, they can aggravate them.
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: daddeo on June 01, 2011, 10:58:27 AM
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Awesome quick response!
I would consider him as a mild case right now, more of a nuisance… After reading more and writing what I wrote I think I maybe have come up with more understanding… You asked if he was overworking, Wrestling season goes from November till early March. In season he sweats every day and he eats a well rounded diet as well as gets proper sleep. Maybe in his life choices he has strangely done things along the way that have helped him not to get really bad? This year after wrestling ended and Baseball began, the hives got worse… Baseball is far less working out and way less attention to diet! Man every thing I read forms new questions!
They had finals in school today so I checked him when he got home. (looking at stress as a trigger possibly) He had no hives… Anyway, today was the first day I was able to put a label on what he has, till now he didn’t know other than hot showers, sun, and excercise gave him hives. We had a great talk and I pointed him to read the forum sometime… I think at least now he can be open with others and know he’s not alone with this. One thing I got from reading is to increase water intake and breaking a sweat daily.
Obviously things we can try especially now he knows others have found a little relief and I already saw him filling a water glass since we spoke. Pretty sure it gave him hope or at least the feeling he can do something. We both at the moment feel antihistamines and other stuff isn’t worth the side effects, maybe that changes later but for now it is manageable.
To answer, no, he is on no supplements and not trying to bulk up. He’s 5’4″ and weighs about 120… very lean and visably in shape…
The counselling idea was based on one I know that isn’t apt to prescribe drugs… This guy just talks/listens and seems down to earth… I hear your concern with the direction this could take many folks reading this…
Questions:
How did you determine food allergies? As a child, maybe 4ish he was tested and found to have a slight reaction to dust mites. Pretty sure at that time they tested for all environmental stuff…
For now, His hives come in the form of pin point ones with red around and red blotches if he scratches. The pictures I see of the large red welts that resemble ringworm, Is this something to expect in the future? Do these last a long time? His hives go away after a relatively short time. Sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a half hour, but rarely longer than that.
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: HivesGuy on June 01, 2011, 12:21:14 PM
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Hello again,
That’s great that you had a talk with him. As a hives sufferer, I appreciate the fact that you care enough about your son to try and help him get through this. I think that alone speaks volumes and has probably meant a lot to him. Sadly, many people brush off this condition like it isn’t any big deal, but it can be very difficult to experience.
I can also understand your antihistamine reluctance. I too try to avoid any and all meds if possible. But you may want to keep them in mind if he ever needs something to help take the sting out of his hives. Hopefully he will be able to get them undercontrol using safer methods such as diet and exercise.
Yes, that is interesting about him working out less since wreslting is over. If his hives were better when he was exercising more regularly, it may be something to investigate. Perhaps squaring away his nutrition and making sure he is getting good exercise will help him once again, while keeping an eye on his nutrition and calorie intake??
And I don’t see any harm in the counselling idea that you described. I suppose it never hurts to talk about your feelings and so forth. Especially if this is a person you trust and won’t fill his head with nonsense or put him on a bunch of dangerous mental drugs. But that is up to you and your son whether or not to pursue that.
Regarding the question about food allergies–I never had an allergy my whole life aside from poison ivy. When I was in my 20’s, I suddenly started getting odd rashes that looked like ringworm. I also got a lot of bumps on my fingers (this was all in addition to the Cholinergic Urticaria I had). In addition, I would get terrible bloating, diarrhea, and stomach cramps often. It took a while, but eventually I realized I had developed a sensitivity to wheat, oats, milk/dairy, and a few other things. When I removed them from my diet, the rashes and stomach issues resolved with in about 2 weeks or so.
I definitely think it is worthwhile to look into diet. Especially if your son ever gets headaches after eating certain foods, feels very fatigued, gets stomach cramps/diarrhea, or gets any rashes (in addition to the Cholinergic Urticaria).
Regarding your question about the hives appearance–I have a section on the main site with some sample pictures.
Basically, when I would get a cholinergic urticaria attack, my hives would be small pinpoint hives that would develop when I got hot. I would also get red blotchy areas on my skin, and the itching and stinging sensation was very uncomfortable. This would all clear up within minutes after an attack leaving no visible trace at all. While hives can sometimes change (I only used to be blotchy, but my hives became more abundant and noticeable over time), the ringworm look isn’t very common with cholinergic urticaria. What he has now is probably pretty close to what it will always be like, unless he acquires another allergy or hives condition on top of Cholinergic Urticaria.
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: daddeo on June 01, 2011, 02:33:47 PM
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Back at ya: Hey, you mentioned the ringworm looking rashes… Being a wrestler, you get a round red rash and you immediately think fungus. I know for certain he has had the classic ringworm fungus in the past and it responded to the normal creams and went away. However right now he has aproximately six small spots that look like ringworm but have not responded well. They seem to have faded a bit but are still there. I’m guessing here that these are in addition to Cholinergic Urticaria as you described.
What were your thoughts at the time when you had these rashes? I know you mentioned bloating/cramps/diarrhea, did the ringworm looking rashes coincide with the other issues mentioned? Still curious, did you have testing done for food allergies or listened to your body for answers? At this point I have no reason to believe he has any food allergies. I’m treating these rashes as if they were ringworm by normal means and my gut is telling me maybe a cream like ones for allergy rash might work… Maybe a test is in order, pick one and treat differently.
Ok, answer me this: The bumps on your fingers, are you talking about small red type bumps that seem to well up? Kinda painful, kinda itchy…? Sometimes it seems with a white center then? They well up, do their thing, you scratch them open when they fully bump up like a pimple and it’s over then. The spot heals then… I mentioned I have itched my whole life, 47 now… This is what I experience, the bumps, mostly on my right thumb now and often anywhere like thighs and chest…
Kinda like puzzle pieces here now, food allergy… Never thought of that angle. My brother was just diagnosed allergic to gluten after years of not knowing what was wrong and doctors missing the issue… He was near to very serious as he continued to find his answers… I wonder how much similarity I can find if I talk to him? Maybe he has other issues he has never spoken about? Maybe there is some heredity at work here? Thank you for sharing and sparking thoughts I may have never come to otherwise!!! Seriously!
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: HivesGuy on June 01, 2011, 03:31:58 PM
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About the ringworm thing–I’ve never had ringworm in my life. However, I did start getting rashes which I thought was ringworm. At that point I did have the stomach issues, but I have always had a sensitive stomach so I didn’t connect the dots.
Anyway, I thought the rash was ringworm, and I proceeded to buy ringworm cream at the store. Well, the rashes didn’t respond to it after using the cream a few weeks. Eventually I tried some corticosteroid cream, and that made it go away a bit. The only problem is that it was coming back. Steroid creams aren’t good long-term because they can thin your skin and other things.
So eventually I was able to put it together that maybe I was allergic to food. I started to eliminate the major allergens, like milk, wheat, etc. Eventually through months of trial and error I realized that oats, milk, and wheat were big ones for me. I also get sensitive to preservatives and things too sometimes.
I did NOT get an allergy test. At this point in time, I was very low on money with no health insurance, so I would have been forced to pay hundreds out of pocket. Plus allergy tests can sometimes be inconclusive, so I didn’t see the point when I figured I could listen to my body and eliminate things over time to see what worked. But if you suspect this, it may be worthwhile for you to try a test.
I had posted that a couple of years ago and there is a picture there. What happens is that suddenly I see these very small itchy bumps on my fingers and back of my hands. They are sometimes hard to see unless you look at them in a certain angle so the light shows them. Occasionally one will get kinda big (usually around my knuckle area on my thumb or index finger). Then, it does usually start peeling (although no pimple look to it or pus). The bumps are itchy, and they go away in about 2-3 weeks completely when I remove an offending food item.
Recently I tried oatmeal for a week again out of curiousity (and also ate some peanut butter with wheat in it), and the bumps came right back. I actually have a few on my hands right now, and I can’t wait for them to go away again. They always go away when I remove the item from my diet.
In my opinion, it would definitely be possible that you are either coming into contact with a chemical you are sensitive too (like a lotion or soap), or there is something in your diet that could be causing it. It is definitely something to consider and diet and hand soap would be the logical place to start in my opinion.
Good luck
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Title: Re: My son’s story and my questions…
Post by: baseball1288 on October 06, 2011, 04:54:24 PM
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I have the same problems im 22 years of age. Ive played baseball all my life as long as ive had this. I was actually above average even with this. I would tell him to keep his mind only on accomplishments and staying in shape since stress does have an affect. From me with uc I would say find peace of mind and successfulness, its help me. Without that ive only had problems with breakouts.
Quote from: daddeo on June 01, 2011, 05:25:43 AM
Wow where to start? Ok, a few years ago… Maybe age 13 or 14 we began to notice he would get hives after a hot shower. Now at age 16 it seems that his triggers are the sun and hot showers. I’ve read many posts by others on here searching for anything that will help him. I’d have to say that so far the hives don’t take away anything from his life or what he wants to do. He plays 3 sports in High School and very active… He does feel the itch and sting when he begins to sweat but has learned I guess to push past that, and the hives he gets after taking a hot shower go away in 15 minutes or so. There are so many directions to look, his mom died of cancer when he was 11… I have itched my whole life only without visible hives…
I’ve formed so many questions from reading posts in the forum and I thank you all for that.
1) If we know his triggers for example the hot showers, does limiting episodes of hives seem to help in the long run?
2) The sun, he takes his shirt off and instant hives… Again not dibilitating physically… Does it make sense to limit exposure to sun
or actually increase exposure gradually for instance to desensitize ones self?
3) Should he maybe see a phych for counselling giving there is only so much he is comfortable talking to dad about?
4) How stress related does everyone think this issue is?
5) He does very well at 3 sports, makes honor roll every marking period in school… Maybe the stress is comming out sideways?
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Title: Wrestling Practice or Trying to Wrestle with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: Major Davis on December 06, 2011, 03:57:23 PM
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So I just got back from the doctor 30 minutes ago and it seems i have cholinergic/exercise urticaria.
Im currently in 11th grade in high school and this is my third winter ive experienced this “mysterious” itching with hives immediately following.
It all started 3 years ago in 8th grade. I was incredibly physically inactive during 8th grade (it started flaring up over the winter), so it didn’t bother me too much. When summer came around, the itching disappeared. Summer passed and in the fall, once again I started itching. However, I found a great anti itch creme that managed to supress the itching to a manageable level. I also began working out regularly and lost 20 lbs, and I would not have been able to do that unless I found a way to mask the itching. I also visited ecuador (and many other places) over the fall/winter of freshmen year and I noticed the change in climate made the itching flare up.
Then once again, summer came and the itching mysteriously disappeared. I was hopeful going into fall that the itching would stay away, and I used the anti itch creme even in the summer and weeks leading up to fall. It must have worked, because i experienced little itching during winter/fall of 10th grade.
Once again, summer came and the itching ended. However, I did not continue to use the anti itch lotion, and since the beginning of November the itching has flared up, and in a nasty way (Part of it due to the fact that I literally dont exercise anymore, and when I exercised regularly, like 10th grade when i did wrestling at my school, the hives/itching stayed away.)
I used oodles of anti itch cream but I still itch at even the slightly raise in physical activity. If I am able to endure the pain for about 90 seconds of strenuous physical activity, I will begin to sweat and the itching will no longer be present, it just takes SOOO much willpower to get over those hives. The hives are getting in the way of my everyday life, and I am starting to gain weight as a result, as well as having a slightly miserable outlook on my current life.. I really don’t want to go all winter with this.. junior year is such a vital year too!
I cannot express how happy I am to see this site.. it saddens me to see so many others describe this miserable condition, but at the same time I am encouraged that Im not the only one who has to go through this…….( and the support system that is going on here is just pure awesome).
I am going to try to get into regular exercise and take anti histimines… but do any of you guys have experimental/unconventional treatments to recommend?
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Title: Re: 3 years now… my story
Post by: HivesGuy on December 06, 2011, 04:57:19 PM
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Hello Major Davis,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum. I always enjoy reading stories like yours, so thanks for taking the time to share it.
I am glad to hear that you only suffer during the winter, so you can get at least some relief throughout the year. If you can safely exercise, it does indeed help. Another thing I’d recommend–it may be that frequent sweating helps your body prevent the mechanisms that lead to Cholinergic Urticaria. Therefore, it may be useful to try sleeping with a vaporizer and keeping the room relatively warm at night.
It might be uncomfortable at first, but if you can tolerate it–it may allow you to maintain moist skin and regular sweating. I also sometimes put my vaporizer in the room when I work out as well.
You may also want to consider some good lotion and taking precautions to keep your skin moisturized as much as possible. I find this also helps tremendously for me in the winter.
Finally, there are a lot of antihistamines out there, and some will probably work better for you than others. So you may have to work with a doctor and try different types until you find a kind that works best.
There are also lots of other tips and things that have worked for others, so I suggest you spend some of your free time browsing the forum and seeing what’s helped others.
Thanks again for your post!
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Title: Re: 3 years now… my story
Post by: Major Davis on December 07, 2011, 02:53:16 PM
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Quote from: HivesGuy on December 06, 2011, 04:57:19 PM
Hello Major Davis,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum. I always enjoy reading stories like yours, so thanks for taking the time to share it.
I am glad to hear that you only suffer during the winter, so you can get at least some relief throughout the year. If you can safely exercise, it does indeed help. Another thing I’d recommend–it may be that frequent sweating helps your body prevent the mechanisms that lead to Cholinergic Urticaria. Therefore, it may be useful to try sleeping with a vaporizer and keeping the room relatively warm at night.
It might be uncomfortable at first, but if you can tolerate it–it may allow you to maintain moist skin and regular sweating. I also sometimes put my vaporizer in the room when I work out as well.
You may also want to consider some good lotion and taking precautions to keep your skin moisturized as much as possible. I find this also helps tremendously for me in the winter.
Finally, there are a lot of antihistamines out there, and some will probably work better for you than others. So you may have to work with a doctor and try different types until you find a kind that works best.
There are also lots of other tips and things that have worked for others, so I suggest you spend some of your free time browsing the forum and seeing what’s helped others.
Thanks again for your post!
Thank you so much for your reply.
I still wonder if If this whole website and community is just a dream. I’ve tried to research what i had but i must have skipped over this condition by accident. I sometimes felt I was the only one… and when I would suddenly break into fits of itching it was a little embarrassing.. and I didn’t know how to explain what i was feeling without sounding really stupid.. like “Im allergic to heat”.
I’m learning so much about urticaria through the site and the forum, this site really is a blessing.
Also, thanks for your suggestions. I actually went and worked out last night right after I read your response. The itching didn’t bother me too bad actually (Given the anti itch cream and anti histimine I took before heading out)…. Also, when I was in the locker room I saw the gym had a steam room, and I remembered your post about warm and moist air and I was wondering if spending some time in a steam room would help… I spent 15 minutes in there and my skin felt pretty good coming out.
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Title: Re: 3 years now… my story
Post by: HivesGuy on December 07, 2011, 02:56:53 PM
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I’m really glad you found the site. I too felt like I was the only one with this, and it was a great relief to me as well finding out I wasn’t alone. Many others have felt the same.
I’m glad the workout went well. Hang in there, and you’ll be fine. At least you know what you’re up against now, and you can find some tips on this site that will hopefully help you on your journey.
Best wishes,
Hivesguy
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Title: Wrestling Practice or Trying to Wrestle with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: jeiipham on December 18, 2011, 10:23:22 PM
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Hello,
As you can tell I’m new to this forum, as you can also tell I have (or at least I think) a case
of Cholinergic Urticaria. Let me share a little background information about myself. First
of all my name is Jeff, I am a highschooler who loves to do sports. I do Cross-Country in
the Fall, I Wrestle in the winter, and a run Track in the Spring. It’s winter (wrestling)
season right now and my Cholinergic Urticaria has really been irritating me especially during wrestling
practice. For those of you who dont know, the wrestling room is supposed to be
extremely humid to make you sweat and lose weight. Thats not a good thing if you have
Cholinergic Urticaria. I’ve always had a minor case of Cholinergic Urticaria here and there, expecially when I wake up in the
mornings, it hasn’t bothered me too much. But when I starting wrestling this year, every
practice I end up looking like a zombie with hives everywhere, the good part is that they
only show up where clothing is covering, so people dont see them and freak out. They
really make my performance in practice weak because I cant concentrate at all. They
usually show up an hour and a half through practice, so I only have to deal with them for
30 minutes, but the last 30 minutes of practice is usually crucial. My Cholinergic Urticaria is mostly evident
in the winter. The best part is stepping out of the wrestling room after practice cause its
the best feeling anyone could possible ever feel. The cool winter air just makes all the
irritation go away, and after 10-20 minutes my skin is crystal clear (of hives). I havn’t
seen a doctor about this, because its not too major. Altough there is one giant hive in the
center of my back that shows up constantly throughout the day (about 2 times everyday).
The worst part is a cant reach it if i wanted to scratch it, so I always twitch randomly, and
people just stare at me awkwardly, I wish I could explain it but I cant find the words. Its so
constant I even went out of my way to give it a name, Jerry. You probably think I’m crazy
cause I just named a hive, but I named it so that when people ask me what that thing on
my back is, I can just respond by saying his name is Jerry (sorry if theres any Jerrys
reading this, I didn’t mean to name a hive after you). But, I’ve found a temporary cure for
my hives, and that is applying ice packs, or ice cubes on them. Its not a permanent cure
but it can sustain minor breakouts, its always worked for me, it cures the itchyness, but
the rash stays for awhile (too bad theres no ice in the wrestling room), and if your about
to tell me I should quit wrestling, thats not happening because I’m sticking with it till the
end.
And thats my story…
Thank you if you bothered to read this wall of text and feel free to leave a reply!
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Title: Re: Wrestling Practice + Cholinergic Urticaria = TORTURE!! D:<
Post by: HivesGuy on December 19, 2011, 09:24:17 AM
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Jeff,
You’re going to have to quit wrestling. Relax, I’m only joking ;D. Sorry but I couldn’t resist that one.
Thanks for your great post and welcome to the forum. Your story sounds like many of ours here, and you certainly aren’t alone in all of the struggles. Don’t feel bad about naming your hive, I’m sure all of us could think of at least a few odd things we’ve done in an attempt to cure or rationalize this condition.
It seems that you have a lighter case of this from your description, and that perhaps you could do very well managing it with some of the ideas here on the forum. You didn’t mention if you’ve tried any antihistamines, but perhaps that is something you could talk to your doctor about.
I’ve also got some general tips on my blog that may be helpful, such as examining your diet and so forth. I would also get a few itchy bumps on my body in random places as well sometimes, due mostly to my diet. When I cut out certain foods, it cleared up. So that may be something for you to begin monitoring. There are plenty of other tips by other users here too, which I hope you find helpful.
But my advice would be to try some things and see what happens. It sounds like you haven’t done a whole lot of experimenting (since your hives have been only mild). It may be that something mentioned here would take the sting out of the hives and it wouldn’t be a big issue for you at all–even when wrestling.
Thanks again for your post and welcome!
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Title: my story
Post by: HeatLad on April 03, 2012, 05:24:52 AM
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Hi guys my name is Ryan I’m 17. i have had this awful thing for 2/3 years now and it has stopped me being able to do what i love doing. i love sports, i do sport btec at college,i love going out but unfortunately i can’t do these things anymore because my hives are getting worse and i feel so bad.
i feel depressed and this is really getting me down.
I’ve seen posts saying that multi vitamin pills and going in saunas is a good thing to help can anyone reassure me of this because I’m so upset that i can’t do the things i love anymore and i feel useless, this is ruining my life 🙁 thank you, Ryan
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Title: Re: my story
Post by: HivesGuy on April 05, 2012, 11:09:13 AM
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Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your post. Many of us have felt the same way as you, and sometimes had to make temporary sacrifices to get through this.
But the good news is that there is a very good chance you will be able to overcome this and live a happy and healthy life. What worked best for me was diet modifications, and cutting out foods which caused minor allergy based inflammation. I also do exercise quite a bit, and have switched to hypoallerginic detergents and soaps.
This forum has a lot of great tips, and I hope you can find them useful.
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Title: 14 year-old wrestler with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: ipon8 on April 25, 2012, 12:41:35 PM
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My son has been wrestling for the past four years or so. He practices 3-5 times a week and competes most weekends. He started telling me recently that he got itchy during practice when he would sweat. He had some yellow and red circles on his hands. He’s Asian, so it may appear differently on his skin. It seem to be getting worse, and after a 2 hour practice his forehead is bone dry, as it the rest of his body. But his hands and feet are dripping and his partner is drenched. He also seems to get very tired during practice, unlike before the onset of this problem.
He’s been very successful at wrestling on a state level and has been dreaming of wrestling in HS for many years. Now we’re afraid that he may have to give it up. Tonight we’re going to try taking Zyrtec an hour before practice and see if he’s able to sweat.
I’ve been doing lots of reading about Cholinergic Urticaria on this site and elsewhere the past few days, but it’s not encouraging. Some things I’m thinking about that may have caused this are thyroid issue (his mother has a history of hyperthyroidism and may have had Cholinergic Urticaria in the past), onset of puberty, his severe allergies to grass, cutting weight for wrestling, unknown auto-immune problem – wrestlers are exposed to a lot of nasty pathogens.
We’re also following up on the possibility it’s gut-related. Doing a yeast cleanse and then lots of pro-biotics. He was given ridiculous amounts of antibiotics for chronic ear infections as a child when we still trusted doctors and I don’t think his gut has ever recovered fully. I’m also going to start him on the following regimen recommended here:
– Sodium Ascorbate*
– Niacin** (Vitamin B-3)
– B5 (twice a day)
We would be grateful for other thoughts or recommendations. I would particularly like to hear from any athletes who’ve had UC and how it affected them.
Best wishes,
ipon8
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Title: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: Deathwing on April 26, 2012, 04:25:06 AM
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Hi, just found out about this site after 7 years with cholinergic urticaria. Just reading the site now, am always keen to try new treatments, and thought I would say hi to see if anyone has had a similar adventure with Cholinergic Urticaria.
I did very little sport when I was younger and lived in a hot country (Gibraltar). I moved to London for university age 18 and suddenly took up intensive sport (mainly swimming) training several times a day. Age 21 I developed cholinergic urticaria while cycling, then started getting it in the gym, then eventually doing all sports including swimming. I also get it at other times – spicy foods, hot environments, etc.
Currently I can just about manage strength training at the gym (heavy sets but with a 3-minute rest break) if I take H1 and H2 antihistamines and grit my teeth through the itching and wheals.
I am now 28 and in the last 7 years with urticaria I have found the most effective antihistamines out of several I have tried are Loratidine (H1) and Ranitidine (H2).
Ineffective treatments I have tried were:
* phototherapy (UVA and UVB)
* diet changes
* stress treatments
* ciclosporin
* random Chinese medicines recommended at a Chinese health store in a market
* monteleukast
* mast cell stabiliser (Ketotifen)
And will be trying:
* Doxopin (antidepressant, at an antihistamine level)
* Beta blockers
* Probanthene
* Maybe Omalizumab if I can persuade the NHS to let me try it
Any more ideas are welcome, and I will be reading through the website today for more! One interesting point I have noticed is the issue of sweating. I used to sweat loads (and loads), these days I notice the symptoms appear as I begin to sweat, though I rarely push myself to the point of significant sweating anymore due to the urticaria becoming very severe if I push myself in exercise.
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Title: Re: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: Claudia on April 26, 2012, 08:05:43 AM
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Hello Deathwing, and welcome to the forum!
Your post was really informative and I’m sure it’ll be a great resource to many of the members on the forum, including myself. I’ve had Cholinergic Urticaria for about 2 months now, and from reading others’ posts, I’m starting to believe that training the body to sweat through exercise and/or saunas helps release extra histamine; on the long-term, it’s supposed to make the hives go away (at least 85% of the hives are gone after months of this training).
In your experience, have you found this to be the case?
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Title: Re: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: nauqaz on April 27, 2012, 09:58:00 AM
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try polybion Z and cecon 500mg,2 tablets of both daily,they’ve worked for me in less than 14days.i had the urticaria for around 4 years and now suddenly its gone.the doctor who recommended these had urticaria himself in his childhood and said it was because of vitamin deficiency.anti histamines never worked for me but vitamins did.hope they work for you too
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Title: Re: 14 year-old wrestler with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: nauqaz on April 27, 2012, 09:58:34 AM
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try polybion Z,they’ve worked for me in less than 14days.i had the urticaria for around 4 years and now suddenly its gone.the doctor who recommended these had urticaria himself in his childhood and said it was because of vitamin deficiency.anti histamines never worked for me but vitamins did.hope they work for you too
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Title: Re: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: Deathwing on April 28, 2012, 10:50:07 AM
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Thanks I’ll add those to the list of things to try. I have taken Vitamin supplements all my life so suspect it’s not a vitamin deficiency. Am just trying the sauna/exercise method atm. I do notice that after inducing the rash it’s not as bad afterwards.
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Title: How did this happen?!
Post by: kscott35 on May 03, 2012, 04:21:29 PM
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I’m 18 years old and I am on the track team in college and I noticed some itching a couple weeks ago during practice. I figured it was just my laundry detergent and when I finished my warm-up and started my sprint workout, the itching would go away. Showers also are a hassle. I can’t stay in the shower too long due to the fiery sensations. Now that track season is over, it’s gotten worse and I’m itching all of the time. The main problem areas are my back and my arms. I was just wondering why this happened to me, will this ever go away, and what effects will this have on my track career?
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Title: Re: How did this happen?!
Post by: Nathaaan on May 04, 2012, 08:24:48 AM
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Hi kscott35 and welcome to the forum!
I would suggest that you read the FAQ page to answer most of your questions.. You should also read some posts on the ‘site for help with it. Take care.
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Title: Re: 14 year-old wrestler with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: ipon8 on May 10, 2012, 01:11:50 PM
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Quote from: nauqaz on April 27, 2012, 09:58:34 AM
try polybion Z,they’ve worked for me in less than 14days.i had the urticaria for around 4 years and now suddenly its gone.the doctor who recommended these had urticaria himself in his childhood and said it was because of vitamin deficiency.anti histamines never worked for me but vitamins did.hope they work for you too
Thanks for your advice. Looks like they are both great choices. I much prefer giving him vitamins vs antihistamines. We’re going to the dermatologist on Friday to get a real diagnosis.
Any suggestions for tests to ask them to run? Should he jump rope before the appointment so the symptoms are present?
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Title: Re: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: ipon8 on May 10, 2012, 01:37:04 PM
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Quote from: Deathwing on April 28, 2012, 10:50:07 AM
Thanks I’ll add those to the list of things to try. I have taken Vitamin supplements all my life so suspect it’s not a vitamin deficiency. Am just trying the sauna/exercise method atm. I do notice that after inducing the rash it’s not as bad afterwards.
Interesting thread. I noticed there are several locations doing clinical trials with Omalizumab, but I’d be nervous about side effects with a MAB.
My son can do a hard 2 hour wrestling practice, but the only thing that sweats are hand, feet, and part of his scalp. In the past he would lose two pounds of sweat in an identical practice. I wonder if the sauna would allow him to sweat? I’d like him to try it, but worried about overheating and exercise-induced anaphylaxis.
One article I read states Exercise-induced anaphylaxis and cholinergic urticaria are similar in that “mast cell degranulation with the release of vasoactive substances appears to be an inciting factor for the production of symptoms in both cases.”
Any athletes with Cholinergic Urticaria ever had exercise-induced anaphylaxis? I’m going to ask his doc for an epi-pen just in case.
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Title: Re: Hello from a former athlete
Post by: NeoDraven on May 11, 2012, 03:49:15 PM
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I don’t think he would get EIa from sitting in a sauna as it is not exercise. It’s scary reading about it but I don’t think that itching and hives are a major sign of anaphylaxis, only the other organ problems.