My 15-year-old son just started to get hives after shower last week. At first we were unclear what was causing it, as we had just started using she new facial acne stuff. Every time he takes a shower, he gets itchy hives on back and chest.
It usually takes one hour to fully disappear. Is there anything he can do to make them go away faster? Also, is there a chance the hives after shower are related to the new facial products? It seemed to happen the same day we started products, but he won’t break out after using products–only after a shower.
Any help or advice is appreciated.
Thanks,
RB
Dee says
I don’t think this is cholinergic urticaria because in the shower you can control the temperature of the water. If he has an allergy to heat he would just turn the water cooler correct? Perhaps he has an allergy to a new soap? Shampoo? Remember when we rinse our hair it rinses out over our whole body. Let’s hope it’s a soap allergy because that is easier to fix than this darned heat allergy. Best of luck to you!!!
Dee says
Forgive me I see you say that it happens even when he does not use soap. Any chance you have a new home water softener? This is only happening in the shower? What if he exercises? When it is hot out?
Helper (had CU for 3 years) says
The early stages of Urticaria are one of the most important. While everything is still fresh in your mind, you need to go over & write down as many factors you can think of that have changed in the last month- including skin products, shampoo, bedding, diet – but also broader things- its the beginning of summer so has it been getting particularly hot where you live, or has he been under a lot of stress recently? Anxiety can definitely be a cause.
It’s important to work out the cause ASAP so you can try to eliminate it and prevent the condition worsening. It’s possible that the new spot cream is causing some sort of systemic reaction (affecting the whole body) that’s being activated by heat (e.g. Showering). Perhaps stop using it for a week and see if the rashes stop happening/ calm down in intensity.
Do the rashes occur in any other situation other than the shower- like excersising?
Falcon says
I think the problem is related to heat/sweat. It could also be related to stress. I used to get hives when I was in a stressful situation and perhaps I sweated a bit. Also every time I had hives occur there was a sudden change of temperature. This may have caused me to sweat and therefore to have a reaction. For example moving from inside the house to outside or showering. If I recall correctly it was from a lower temperature to a higher one. This was unusual to me as I played soccer for 7 years before the hives started appearing and I usually sweated a lot.
The solution which worked for me is an odd one. If you shower hot enough (where the heat hurts a little but does not burn your skin) the hives will stop. I did this for a week and the hives stopped. Be warned that hives will occur when your son first steps into the shower. It will go away after perhaps 30 seconds. There are a couple posts on this website that say ‘sweating it out’ works and they use a sauna or steam room. I guess my shower routine works on a similar principle.
Perhaps the hives occur when your body tries to sweat but can’t because pores are somehow blocked. Increasing the temperature will make it easier to sweat and ‘unblock those pores’? When I had hives they usually occurred on my arms and sometimes chest area. They never occurred anywhere else.
I am 19 years old if that is any help. Good luck on finding something that works, I know all too well how irritating it is to have hives.
Leen says
Leen
Hey may I ask how did you treat them? Are they completely gone?
Anonymous says
The shower treatment works for me as well. It hurts alot during the first minute or so but if you stay in for about 5-10 minutes, it will work great. I tried it this past Tuesday and I went the whole day without a single breakout and I even started sweating again! 😀
RB says
IN response to all your comments –many thanks—
WE have tried with No soap,no shampoo, different soap, same soap he was using his whole life..I think its the heat..but I don’t notice them after exercise..and he doesn’t exercise much
he is highly sensitive to wheat and gluten(since birth)but the company says products are gluten free but maybe they are cross contaminated
Also the new face routine is many items–face wash, creams a few– we stopped all the face products for 3 days and still the hives come only after showers no other time
Do you think we should stop the cream for a week or more,,we wanted to start them again because it was helping– but all I can remember is the hives STARTED on Same day as face washes and face creams —only after a bath
The face creams and face washes only go on his face like in the morning and he can take a shower like 9 hours later..no new shampoo
His face has no reaction to the products
I am writing everything down..from 2-10 minutes after short shower even a 2 minute shower with NO SOAP I see hives ..they increase in number after 30 minutes –then start to FADE within 1 hour
all help appreciated
Helper (had CU for 3 years) says
It is possible to have allergies that have a delayed appearance- from hours to a week after interacting with some sort of allergen. Also, some allergens only present themselves after an event/ stimulus- in the case of cholinergic urticaria its usually after getting hot through showers/ excersise/ stress/ spicy food.
Why not try having a cool shower (just below body temp) so the shower isn’t heating up the body at all and see if the rash happens- if it doesn’t happen you’ve reduced it down to heat causing the rash.
As for the new acne regime, it could be just coincidental that the urticaria began on the same day. Just to be sure I’d try stopping the treatment for a week or more, as it can take time for a reaction to settle down and stop. Also read the leaflet for side effects of the creams. If it doesn’t stop you should look into other environmental changes- like stress levels and diet.
Rb says
Thank you. We will continue to monitor The acne creams are like natural products. The manufacturers said they never heard of hives from products. Usually if a person is allergic. They get skin irritation where product is applied.
but they Have weird ingredients like flowers He was also on herbs internally for a few weeks as a detox cleanse to try to get acne to quiet The herbs may also have caused this. He is off everything now What are the odds of a person having a systemic allergic reaction from topical natural product. Only activated by heat. Seems like a science fiction movie
Helper (had CU for 3 years) says
I’m not sure how likely it is that the spot cream is causing the problem – but doesn’t sound too promising. If there’s no obvious reason, go to the doctors and ask for tests.
In my experience they offered antihistamines straight away, without offering any tests (because it’s a difficult and often near impossible thing to work out the cause of). Antihistamines are used to prevent the rash- but my advise would be to also ask for tests because there’s still a slim chance they might reveal the cause.
Anonymous says
Is the heat allergy caused by the inability to sweat. How did you get rid of it
Anonymous says
And is there a hormonal connection. I’ve heard pregnant woman have this issue
RB says
My teen took a cold shower real quick and no hives..so I guess the reaction is activated from heat only..I don’t really understand it..when he takes a hot shower he gets out and feels cold..but the hives still come even though he feels cold…is it an allergy to something in the air because it only comes after heat.
Thanks.
Helper (had CU for 3 years) says
You feel cold when you get out the shower because the water is evaporating off your skin and cooling it down- but your internal (core) temperature can still be quite high after a hot shower.
What he’s experiencing sounds like quite a generic symptom of urticaria- heat causes a rash.
Can’t say if something in the air is causing it. Seeing as this condition has just started it would imply that something new has entered his environment, and I don’t know what could cause that from the air – other than maybe new air freshener/ deodorant.
I’d go to the doctors and have some allergy tests done. 🙂
Anonymous says
Any person of any age can get urticaria, but it’s not uncommon for it to develop during teenage years. Although he may not have had any type of reaction before, he probably has just developed the condition.