I was recently pondering Cholinergic Urticaria, and also the dryness in my own apartment (it gets extremely dry during the winter, and the hard water only makes it worse). I then remembered an interesting post someone had made on another forum in the past that I had stumbled across on the web. I have read it several times, and I thought I would share it with you as well (I may have mentioned it before, but I can’t remember).
Cholinergic Urticaria Cured with a Humidifier and Heater:
In the forum, someone had simply asked about cholinergic urticaria. Several people posted a comment talking about what they were trying, their treatments, etc.
Then, a very interesting post pops up one time, and the person never responds again. Here is what they said about how they cured their cholinergic urticaria hives:
“I know what you are all talking about and I know how to solve the problem because I used to have it. By the grace of god I was given the answer. Put a heater and a small humidifier in your bedroom. Warm up the temperature in your room when you sleep and make it humid. For a week or so it might hurt, but once your pores open up from the humidity your problem will be solved forever. Try to keep warm after the problem goes away or it will come back.”
Hmm. It seems they blast a heater and combine that with a humidifier to help them keep a “sweaty” or “muggy” consistency on their skin. I guess this may help keep the pores open, and keep you sweating naturally? Maybe?
I have definitely tried a small humidifier, and also a vaporizer independently (without a heater). They did add some moisture in the air, but it didn’t really effect or cure my cholinergic urticaria. So I eventually stopped using them. However, I have never combined the effects of a both humid or moist air, with a portable heater as this person describes. Heaters give off much more direct heat than a central heat and air system gives off.
So would the combination of a small heater that produces a lot of heat, combined with a small humidifier or vaporizer help cholinergic urticaria, or even “cure it” as this person seemed to indicate? Sounds interesting. I guess you can call this “the poor man’s sauna.” I suppose you would be sleeping in this condition, so that is up to 6-8 hours of constant “sweating.” This really might be worth it to try? Of course, just don’t burn your house down!
I only see 2 major and negative drawback though:
1. Electricity ain’t free, and it certainly isn’t cheap either. Heaters and vaporizers both consume “juice” in order to work. But hey, it may be worth it to raise the bill, especially when you count the cost some people spend on anti-histamines and other meds. If someone could substitute a fireplace in place of the heater, it could save on costs.
2. They seemed to indicate that they are now permanently cured. The only catch is you have to keep this up, or else the cholinergic urticaria (heat hives) could come back. So “cured” should be used loosely, as it can come back if you neglect your “muggy” sleeping routine.
This is kind of similar to the “personal steam capsule (or sauna)” idea that some people have used with mixed results. I wonder if this would be effective? Has anyone tried this? If so, please let us know in the cholinergic urticaria forum section if it worked or not.
I may give this a shot at some point in time. I don’t know if I am at that point yet. If I had a fireplace (like I plan on having when I get a house), they I think this would be much easier to accomplish, and eliminate the electricity problem. But I may break down and get a heater and try this if my diet doesn’t work in the next couple of months.
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