Cholinergic Urticaria (Chronic Heat Hives)-Cholinergic Urticaria.net I Get Itchy Heat Hives (Cholinergic Urticaria) When I Get Hot or Exercise

My Recent Sun Exposure Experiments & Results

Today I felt one of the most exhilarating feelings I have felt in a long time–SWEAT. It was incredible! I never  thought the feeling of wetness on my face and body could be so….WOW.

How did I finally sweat? Well I have been trying extremely hard to get some sun exposure this week. After reading up on more articles concerning Vitamin D & sun exposure benefits, I decided I was going to make a point to go out of my way to get some sun. For example, I have read how vitamin d is even being linked to providing huge benefits to IBS & Crohn’s Disease patients. Not only that, but I have written in my Cholinergic Urticaria blog countless times about my “sun theories.”

So I started a few days ago. I started to put my arms out of the window of my car for a while. I did this for about 30 minutes. The next day, I did this again, and switched arms (I was parked in my truck), and got a total of about 1 hour (about 30 minutes each). Then yesterday, I went outside and got some good exposure for about 40 minutes in very hot weather. And today, I got excellent exposure for about 50 minutes on various parts of my body.

It felt fantastic! On each day, I got less and less prickly. Today, I barely even got a sensation, and it quickly passed. I was laying on a sheet out in the sun, and suddenly I noticed something: My back was drenched! Then I felt something tickling my forehead–it was a bead of sweat!

So I stayed for a while and eventually I started to have a nice layer of sweat on my body. A breeze hit my skin, and it felt so good. I have missed sweating so much!

I plan to keep up with this sun exposure thing, because I am convinced it has  a HUGE role in cholinergic urticaria (if it isn’t the direct cause). I know from my experience that I NEVER get out in the sun, and that is BAD BAD BAD. Not to mention the only foods you can get Vitamin D from, I didn’t eat for the past year! Yikes. I would honestly hate to see my Vitamin D levels a week ago.

Anyway, I feel so much better. My hives have not been bothering me bad at all. I have been eating spicy food, getting hot, and more and the pricklies are rare and sometimes not at all.

I know I am not fully cured yet, but I feel there is hope on the horizon. If I can keep up the sun exposure thing on a daily/weekly basis, I think I just might say goodbye to Cholinergic Urticaria forever at some point.

Again, I am being very cautious in my approach. I am not wearing sunscreen. Instead, I go out until I feel as if I am getting enough sun. Then, I cover up a certain area, and allow another area to get sun. For example, I covered my head/face while my stomach got sun for about 15 minutes, then I turned and got my back. Then I put my shirt back on and let my face get some. Then I put a hat on, etc.

So I haven’t got burned, and I take skin cancer and burns very seriously. So be careful if you attempt to get sun yourself and be responsible. There is no need to get more than about 15-50 minutes of unprotected sun.

Update on My Digestion & Stomach Issues

As I mentioned in my last post, I had recently had a lot of stomach pain (similar to IBS symptoms). In fact, now I think I may have had Irritable Bowel Syndrome for a while. But luckily, I have some great news on about all of this.

I have tweaked a few things, and the results have been nothing short of miraculous. My strategy is this: Digestive Advantage Daily, Plus Beano or Gas X if I get gas. Presto, my stomach has been the best it has been in YEARS!!

I have used Digestive Advantage before, but I made a terrible mistake last time. You are supposed to take them daily to keep your intestinal flora filled with the bacteria that is found in the pill. In the past, however, I would only take them right before I ate something with milk, and then go days without taking them. This caused them to be ineffective on occasion, and so I eventually stopped taking them (and avoided all dairy).

I now realize the importance of taking them daily. Since taking this daily, not only have my stomach issues vanished, but I have eaten a cheesy pizza (no stomach issues whatsoever), Arby’s Roastbeef sandwiches (no stomach issues), Pizza Rolls (no stomach issues), and cookies (no issues).

I take a couple of extra when I eat a pizza or something with a lot of milk, but otherwise I take 1 daily. It is so good, I am actually going to dedicate a post to this product. That is literally how well it works for me. I also have found that if I eat something with beans or something that I know causes gas, I can take a Beano or Gas X pill and it will solve that issue. So bam, I have the digestion of a 10 year old again (and I am LOVIN’ it).

To be honest, I feel like my extra exposure to the sun may be slightly helping my digestion as well. It has been shown that Vitamin D helps the intestines absorb and process food (such as Calcium). So my digestion has been excellent, and my hives have improved significantly. I am a happy camper right now.

Conclusion: I’m Getting More Sun, and My Digestion is Great

In conclusion, my digestion is incredible and I am eating all of the foods I love (even Pizza). My hives are getting better (slowly). I am finally getting a slight tan and don’t look so pasty. I am naturally a good tanner anyway…(must be the little bit of Native American I have in me).

So I am getting much more positive about life again. I had been getting negative and depressed for a while, but now I am starting to really feel great. I am optimistic about the hives, I am ecstatic about my digestion, and hopefully I can get everything under control and live a full and healthy life again.

I will definitely keep everyone updated on all of this as it progresses.

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After a bout of rainy & cloudy weather for the past week, yesterday was finally a sunny & warm day. So my wife & I thought we would take advantage of it!

We managed to sit outside and enjoy the weather for about 1 1/2 hours (the time was about 4:30-6 pm). As they say, it is best to avoid the most intense UV light (between 10:00 am-2:00pm). It felt so good to get out. Of course, I did get a little bit prickly a couple of times (the shirt I was wearing had a navy blue collar that was really attracting the sunlight’s heat), but other than that, it wasn’t too bad. There was a slight cool breeze that helped me stay just below my itchy threshold. That reminds me, beware of the color and thickness of your clothing on sunny days if you are trying to prevent attacks, as dark clothing really makes the sun’s rays heat you up fast.

The Sun Gave Me a Headache

One thing I noticed though, when I haven’t been out in a while, and I go outside in the bright light (as opposed to sitting inside in my dark cave all day lol), the sunlight gives me a headache.

I have noticed this on several occasions. I am not sure why this is? Perhaps it is because my eyes have to adjust to a much brighter light spectrum? Or maybe my body is just in shock (lol) from the actual sunlight hitting my skin and producing nutrients. Or maybe there is a hormonal thing going on, and it causes a headache as a side effect. I have no clue. The strange thing is that my wife seems to never get headaches from being outside.

I did take off my sunglasses for a while to try to allow my eyes to get the fully spectrum of light outside. This is because I have read a few articles that suggest the eyes can actually help produce vitamin D, and also stimulate several glands in the brain (such as the pineal gland). So I try to let them get at least a few minutes of natural light before I slip on my sunglasses.

Anyways, I am so excited that warm weather is almost here to stay! The forecast is showing highs in the 60’s for a while with several sunny days, and it is only going to get warmer. There will be  few more cold periods before summer is fully here, but I am not worried. As a matter of fact, Spring will officially be here in about 3 days…WooHoo.

I just can’t wait to see if consistent sun exposure for a period of time, combined with sweating naturally outside will fix Cholinergic Urticaria for a while. I suppose that for most of us, we will have our answer within the next 3 months or so.

I have also been looking up quite a bit of information on sunlight, sun exposure, and how it affects humans and animals. I must say, it is quite fascinating. I never knew how much the sunlight actually does for us. I will make  a post soon sharing some of the interesting things I have discovered.

Needless to say, I used to have the idea that the sun was bad. On the contrary it seems that it is very healthy (but ONLY in moderate doses). It is clear that too much sun exposure is very dangerous and unhealthy. At the same time, no sun exposure at all is also quite unhealthy. I think everyone should have a balance (based on their own skin tone, etc.) and get their proper amount of sun exposure when they can.

I also plan on putting together an article within the next week or so just reminding everyone about the dangers of sun exposure before anyone goes out to soak in rays.

Update on My Cholinergic Urticaria (Heat Hives)

Overall, my hives haven’t been terrible lately. As I said above, I got a little prickly yesterday when I was outside, but I avoided a full-blown attack. I also went shopping at Wal-Mart yesterday with my wife, and it was really warm in there for some reason. A few times I had the feeling like I might start getting prickly and an attack was coming on, but it never happened.

I did wake up last night and I was hot, and I felt a few prickly/itchy sensations. I quickly took off my shirt, and laid back down. I was REALLY still, and the hives never went into a full blown attack. I was happy because sometimes those mid-night attacks are the worst!

So that pretty much sums it up. No full blown attacks in a while now, and I do of course get prickly and itchy, and I do all I can to avoid the full reaction.

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