I suffer from cholinergic urticaria but love to run. Symptoms come on after about 5 mins and last for about 20 mins. No hives but intense itchiness. I have tried H1 and H2 antihistamines – no real effect. Any suggestions how to mitigate the symptoms whilst running? I will keep running through but any suggestions to make those first 25 mins more bearable are welcomed.
Thanks,
Chris
BCS says
Hi! I read one of old post about candida. In that post you said your tongue became yellow coating. Unfortunately, I have same thing for 6 months. I read many things on internet. It looks like candida strongly. And naturally this symptom start with using antibiotics. Now I have stomach, skin and tongue problems like you. How about you now an how is your tongue? What I must to do? Can you help me? Thanks !
Hivesguy says
Hello,
If you didn’t take probiotics, you may want to consider doing so (always talk to a doctor before trying anything new). I’ve used Digestive Advantage, Culturelle, and Align. Any major brand should work well, and it’s especially important for people who take a round of antibiotics.
I do not suffer with a Candida infection, although I thought I had one in relation to my hives at the time. The white you see on my tongue in the picture was actually normal (the camera was zoomed in on the very back part). You may want to brush your tongue while brushing your teeth to help eliminate minor build-up.
Rarely, persistent Candida infections may be the result of an immune system problem. It can be treated using anti-yeast medications such as Diflucan. Diflucan is a prescription medicine used to treat yeast infections.
I hope that helps!
BCS says
Oh thanks. uhm yes persistent Candida infections I have.So, is your tongue healty now?
Hivesguy says
Yes, my tongue was also healthy in the picture. All I did was brush it a little more and that pretty much took care of it. It is normal to have a small amount of Candida on the tongue.
Jesse Gordon says
Chris — I suspect you might have the same CU condition I have — I get itchy skin when I run on cold mornings, but without any hives unless I keep it up for a half-hour. Antihistamines do work for me, but let me describe other fixes I’ve done too, since you said antihistamines don’t work for you.
My doctor instructed me that CU (or at least, my version of CU!) was due to a difference in temperature between the inside of my skin and the outside, i.e., when I exercise in COLD weather. I see on this forum that many people have the opposite condition — they get CU symptoms when they get HOT — but I do not. You might consider the effect of temperature on your itchiness — mine has a direct correlation with coldness. When I run in under-50-Fahrenheit weather, I need to take antihistamines. Over 60 degrees F, I can go a couple of miles and then I need antihistamines if I plan to do more (they take 20 minutes to take effect). Over 70 degrees F and I can run just fine, unless I’m running a triathlon. For a triathlon, I take an antihistamine before I start, since I know I will get overheated by the end no matter how warm it is.
In the 60-degree range, clothing helps a lot. If I wear short pants, my legs are cold, and once my blood heats up, my legs itch. So on sub-60 days, I wear long pants. My particularly sensitive areas are waist and thighs — I think because cols air sneaks in under my T-shirt — so I double-cover that area too, the more so if it’s chilly out.
I have also noticed a strong correlation with “impact.” If I run on pavement, I get more itchy than when I run on grass. If I run with good sneakers (soft soles and an under-foot liner) I get less itchy than with last season’s half-torn-up sneakers. On a chilly day, I know I should get out the good sneakers and run on a soft surface — then I don’t need antihistamines.
Also, I’ve developed a “soft impact” step — this idea I got from a running magazine — try to land “softly” on your heel, and roll to your toe — evidently this technique is used by a lot of runners for other reasons — to protect their joints from impact and whatnot. It really did work for me too. Usually, on a half-chilly day — say 60 degrees F — I start running and get some itchiness after 5 or 10 minutes — but I can postpone the bad itchiness for another ten minutes by looking for a grassy route and also “soft impact” stepping.
I never “run through” the itchiness except when I am in a competitive race. Then, indeed, I see the same symptoms as you describe — it starts itching after 5 minutes and goes away after 20. I have always attributed that to the outside of my skin heating up to match the inside of my skin — but reading this forum, I am starting to think that is just rationalization! Usually I do not last 20 minutes, because the itching gets so intense that it becomes painful, so I stop. I always take antihistamines before a competitive race, which makes the itch almost non-existent (it’s still there, just greatly subdued, so I can make it through the 20-minute itchy period).
My real response to CU and running was to switch from marathons to triathlons. I ran the Boston Marathon once before I got CU — but that takes place in early spring (next Monday, non-Boston readers!) — and I just can’t train for it now with CU, because I live in Boston and would have to train in January and February. Having learned the techniques above, I could conceivably run an autumn marathon — with most training in the summer — but I switched instead to triathlons. At this time of year (early spring in New England, rarely above 50 Fahrenheit) I run at most one mile at a time — so I don’t get any itchiness. But I bicycle very heavily — 30 miles this weekend! The lower impact of bicycling means I can exert myself under much colder conditions than I can when running. With proper bundling up — two sets of gloves, two pairs of socks, and good ear-covers — I happily biked all winter long, even in sub-freezing windy weather — and no itchiness at all! Mostly I attribute the lack of CU itch to the lower impact of bicycling.
I swim in the winter whenever I find an indoor pool, and I hit the lakes, in a wetsuit, as soon as it’s feasible (which means May in Boston). I sometimes DO get itchy while swimming — but only if swimming hard in cold water. My solution then is to slow down, so I cool off a bit, and equalize the cross-skin temperature. In the summer, I go swimming without a wetsuit anywhere I can find a lake without a lifeguard — and some spring-fed lakes are very cold indeed — but in the summer heat ensures that I never get any itchiness.
I realize this is somewhat opposite of what a lot of people have posted — that they COOL DOWN to get rid of the itch — I have always WARMED UP to do so. You might check your body to see which way you work. And try low-impact methods like softer shoes, softer ground, and softer steps. I do an offroad triathlon every autumn now (the Hale Triathlon, in Westwood Massachusetts) — the offroad is good for me because it means all the running is on soft ground, and autumn is good for me because the hard training is in the warmer summer months. Keep running!
Hivesguy says
Hello, Jesse. Welcome to the site, and I’m glad you found it.
I wonder if perhaps you have cold urticaria, and not cholinergic urticaria? Cold urticaria is exactly the same, but the body develops hives in response to a cold stimulus (as opposed to a heat stimulus).
Either way, it’s quite similar. Thanks for posting all the useful info.
Jesse Gordon says
Nope, not cold urticaria. I bicycle in sub-freezing weather regularly, and I don’t get hives on my exposed face or neck — I just get cold. And I did the “cold test” = ice cube on forearm for 3 minutes should cause hives; it did not on my forearm.
But I’m very interested in the heat-vs.-cold issue. Reading this forum is the first I’ve heard of heat-based hives cured by exposure to cold. I can induce hives at will, under the right conditions, and make them go away by running warm water on the area. I just assumed everyone with CU was the same as me — evidently not — so now I’m interested in exploring the two “versions.”
Jesse Gordon says
I visited the dermatologist today (unrelated to CU) but took the time to ask her about CU vs. cold urticaria, since I figure HivesGuy knows just about everything. Her conclusion: could be either, because the symptoms overlap so much, but what’s the relevance, since the treatment is the same (take an antihistamine).