Can Alcohol Affect Cholinergic Urticaria Hives? Does drinking beer, wine, liquor, and other intoxicating drinks make hives worse? Many people have reported that it does indeed make their hives much worse afterwards, and it should probably be avoided as much as possible.
Post by: jR on October 30, 2008, 09:54:45 AM
Hey guys, thought I’d register and post up my story : ) might prove useful.
My Cholinergic Urticaria began when I was in Year 11 of High School, when I was 16. It was the most unusual thing, one minute I was sitting in class and all of a sudden my neck just began to itch like crazy, I removed myself from the classroom and went to the bathroom, which is when I first realised that using water to cool myself down, stops the break out. I had no idea what just happened, or why but I knew it was excruciating. From that day, til today I’ve had Cholinergic Urticaria.
I’m now 19, and have had Cholinergic Urticaria for three years now, which isn’t a lot compared to some members here. When Cholinergic Urticaria first begun, I thought nothing of it than a reaction to either the soap I was using, what Mum was washing my clothes in or dry skin. After trying to resolve the rash by changing, and trying various soaps as well as moisturising my skin I came to the conclusion that it’s something more than a small reaction, and boy was I correct…
After consulting Mum we thought the best idea would be to head to the Doctor and hopefully they’ll be able to figure out what I’m experiencing, and possibly cure it. I then started on Zyrtec tablets, and of course – no change! I was then prescribed many other forms of anti histamines which also did not work, at this point this ‘rash’ began to get to me, and I started looking around the web which is when I realised that I have Cholinergic Urticaria, I’m not a Doctor but I’m sure as hell. As the various doctors I visited could only really tell me I had a rash, and prescribe medication which didn’t assist at all I though I’d visit a Dermatologist in hope of finally a cure, or at least some relief.
The visit to the Dermatologist was a couple of years ago now, I don’t entirely remember everything discussed, though I remember her being no more helpful than the Doctors, she prescribed me with more Zyrtec although telling me to take one every morning and night, which of course didn’t make a difference.
After reading more and more online, I realised that no one around the world with Cholinergic Urticaria has found a cure, or any real help. At this point I had practically given up, tried to accept Cholinergic Urticaria and live accordingly, I didn’t let this keep me inside although I did alter my actions accordingly, I like to think that even though I do have Cholinergic Urticaria, I’m determined to not let it take over my life, or stop me from participating in anything.
Though I was determined to just deal with Cholinergic Urticaria, after a short while I began searching more and more around the internet once again in hope of cure / relief, and heard of herbal medicine and acupuncture. At this point, even though my gut instinct told me that it wouldn’t help me, I went a long because I didn’t want to risk looking past cure / relief, and surely enough after having acupuncture once each week for two months, as well as taking the herbal medicine they advised – no change. At this point I lost a lot of hope, after trying many tablets, creams, diets, soaps and now acupuncture and herbal medicine nothing had helped me out, not the slightest.
Since then I’ve no longer tried anything else in an attempt to relieve me of the suffering from Cholinergic Urticaria. Although in the three years I’ve had Cholinergic Urticaria, I’ve learnt many things. I stress that the following are what I’ve realised about my case of Cholinergic Urticaria, and my body and I do not wish to give any one false hope in thinking this will help them.
As we all know Cholinergic Urticaria is basically, a severe rash caused by the raised temperature of the body, for me and I assume most people this can happen day and night, as long as the body temperature is raised. I’ve found that when under the influence of alcohol I will not get Cholinergic Urticaria, at all. This is not a guess, over the years there have been many circumstances where I’ve realised this. For instance, the other night at around 3AM I was walking home, drunk from my mates house.
It was a lengthy walk, took me around an hour, I know for a fact that if I was to attempt this walk completely sober, whether during the day or at night I would have broken out. Another example is clubbing, when my mates and I go out to clubs I never break out and of course every time I’m at a club I’ve had a few drinks : ) dancing for hours on end in a tightly packed dancefloor… would mean a breakout every 20 minutes, normally. I know what I’ve just explained may sound absurd, but I’m 100% honest and 100% sure. I guarantee, if I got up and started dancing right now I’d break out in roughly 20 minutes?
Another thing which I’ve noticed is that for me, Cholinergic Urticaria goes away mid November, I live in Australia and Summer begins in December. I suffer Cholinergic Urticaria worst in Spring (right now here in Aus). All it takes is driving in hot weather and a small walk to break out. Cholinergic Urticaria really confuses me, see I think I suffer worse in Spring because one day it could be freezing cold, the next it could be very hot where as once Summer comes, I’m used to each day being hot and adapt to the climate, I sweat freely in Summer and am able to run around and do as I may without Cholinergic Urticaria weighing me down. I also experience Cholinergic Urticaria in winter, although because it’s constantly cold I rarely have a break out.
I’m sorry for the very long post, I’ve tried to explain as much as I can about what I’ve found out over the last few years and hopefully they might be of assistance to other sufferers! I’m also sorry but I do not remember all the names of the medicines and creams which I’ve tried as that was a long time ago, all I could tell you is I tried Zyrtec and Clonea Antifungal Skin Cream, though I’ve tried so many more! If you have any questions feel free to ask and discuss, I thank HivesGuy for starting this website, I’m sure it helps a lot of people and it’s always nice to know you’re not the only one!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: HivesGuy on October 30, 2008, 03:54:03 PM
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Hello jR! Thanks for the great post and welcome to the forum!
Your story sounds like so many of ours on this forum, and I truly sympathize with everything you have gone through. Just like you I first though it must be some sort of allergic reaction to soap or detergent or something. I was going crazy trying to figure out what could be causing it.
I like your attitude and determination about not letting cholinergic urticaria take over your life. I think we all need to have that attitude because this could very easily ruin our lives if we allow it. But if we continue fighting and having a positive attitude I have faith that we will get through this and be able to still live a great life (and hopefully eventually overcome this completely).
I can also relate with your experiences of trying treatments and really hoping that they would work, but then you were disappointed when you realized you still had the hives. I have felt the same way so many times. I have felt that way when I tried new antihistamines, diets, etc. But I try to pick myself back up after a big disappointment and find hope that this will go away.
I find it very interesting that you noticed you don’t have a Cholinergic Urticaria attack while drinking alcohol. A few other people on this forum also recently mentioned something similar. I seem to recall in the past a few forum of people indicating that alcohol seems to make it worse. So that is strange that it seems to help you and some of the others on the forum.
But I wonder what the alcohol does that could prevent the attack. Maybe it is our lack of control in our brains or something? I don’t know, but I find that interesting. Too bad alcohol is illegal for underage people with Cholinergic Urticaria, and people can’t drink at work or school either hehe.
But that was some very interesting information you provided, and I really appreciate your sharing your story. I hope and pray for the day we can be cholinergic urticaria free, and hopefully put this all behind us.
Thanks again for the great and detailed post, and welcome to the forum!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: billysielu on October 31, 2008, 11:48:10 AM
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Thanks for your post, my story is much the same. I’m considering becoming an alcoholic, will keep you posted!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: Duper on October 31, 2008, 11:08:51 PM
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Same thing with the alcohol (though I don’t regularly drink). I also notice Cholinergic Urticaria doesn’t happen during sex; perhaps it’s something psychological.
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: HivesGuy on November 01, 2008, 11:54:19 AM
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Quote from: billysielu on October 31, 2008, 11:48:10 AM
Thanks for your post, my story is much the same. I’m considering becoming an alcoholic, will keep you posted!
LoL no don’t do that lol. Knowing our luck, the Cholinergic Urticaria would become resistant to alcohol and we would end up as itchy alcoholics at AA meetings lol.
Quote from: Duper on October 31, 2008, 11:08:51 PM
Same thing with the alcohol (though I don’t regularly drink). I also notice Cholinergic Urticaria doesn’t happen during sex; perhaps it’s something psychological.
I agree that sometimes psychological stuff can have an affect on Cholinergic Urticaria, although I don’t think it is completely related to something psychological. When I am extremely focused or in deep concentration, I can sometimes go directly into sweat without having a Cholinergic Urticaria attack.
However, I can vouch for a breakout during sex, it has happened before, although not very often and of course I try to take precautions to avoid it.
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: jR on November 29, 2008, 11:45:18 PM
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Just a small update, nothing major just an observation, I feel the more we notice about Cholinergic Urticaria and post it up, the more chance in future it may come in handy for whatever reason.
In my case of Cholinergic Urticaria, as well as many other areas I also get it on my wrists – not on the top but the bottom, along from my palm, when I scratch my wrists after an outbreak I always end up with small raised dots in the area, they’re each about a quarter the size of this emoticon π Where as when I get Cholinergic Urticaria on my back and shoulders, when I itch all I get is massive red lines indicating where I’ve itched. Next time I’ll try and get a photo of each as I’m finding this a little hard to explain : ( but I’ll keep it update, sorry if this is a stupid post, but if it helps in someone way or another, with at least one person I’m happy : )
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: nats on November 30, 2008, 04:38:56 AM
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I’ve suffered with Cholinergic Urticaria for years – its gradually got worse and worse over the last decade until my whole body would break out. In more recent years, these would be accompanied by joint pains and swellings, IBS symptoms, lethargy & irritability etc. I seem to be suffering from something most days!
I’ve felt very let down by my doctors and specialists – as a last resort, they want to put me on immunosuppressants, but I want to avoid this – has anyone had any luck with these?
As a mark of desparation I have privately paid to have my gut bacteria tested, and it seems I’m ‘off the scale’ for candida albicans. I know some people have sworn by this as a cause, while for others it doesn’t seem to be a factor. Does anyone have experience or info on this?
I’m going now to get treated in an attempt to bring this yeast under control. I’ll keep you posted if it works!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: HivesGuy on November 30, 2008, 10:44:10 AM
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Quote from: jR on November 29, 2008, 11:45:18 PM
Just a small update, nothing major just an observation, I feel the more we notice about Cholinergic Urticaria and post it up, the more chance in future it may come in handy for whatever reason.
In my case of Cholinergic Urticaria, as well as many other areas I also get it on my wrists – not on the top but the bottom, along from my palm, when I scratch my wrists after an outbreak I always end up with small raised dots in the area, they’re each about a quarter the size of this emoticon π
Where as when I get Cholinergic Urticaria on my back and shoulders, when I itch all I get is massive red lines indicating where I’ve itched. Next time I’ll try and get a photo of each as I’m finding this a little hard to explain : ( but I’ll keep it update, sorry if this is a stupid post, but if it helps in someone way or another, with at least one person I’m happy : )
Hello JR,
I have never noticed small raised dots after a scratch. Usually those only appear after a very intense outbreak of hives. However, I can relate about the red lines. When I scratch during an outbreak, my skin is super sensitive, and I will get very bright red scratch marks where I scratch. This only occurs during the reaction, and if I scratch afterwards, it won’t do that.
Quote from: nats on November 30, 2008, 04:38:56 AM
I’ve suffered with Cholinergic Urticaria for years – its gradually got worse and worse over the last decade until my whole body would break out. In more recent years, these would be accompanied by joint pains and swellings, IBS symptoms, lethargy & irritability etc. I seem to be suffering from something most days!
I’ve felt very let down by my doctors and specialists – as a last resort, they want to put me on immunosuppressants, but I want to avoid this – has anyone had any luck with these?
As a mark of desparation I have privately paid to have my gut bacteria tested, and it seems I’m ‘off the scale’ for candida albicans. I know some people have sworn by this as a cause, while for others it doesn’t seem to be a factor. Does anyone have experience or info on this?
I’m going now to get treated in an attempt to bring this yeast under control. I’ll keep you posted if it works!
Hello Nats, Great post and welcome to the Forum
I am sorry to hear about all of your issues. I too had severe stomach issues (almost like IBS), but I have just recently realized it is due to milk, and avoiding milk has made my stomach problems disappear. The only joint pain I have is in my right arm at my elbow, and that is because I actually broke my arm badly there when I was young, and sometimes it had a dull pain to it.
I have not had immunosuppressants, other than a steroid shot at the very beginning of my Cholinergic Urticaria struggles. It didn’t really help, but it did go away by itself a few months later. It was only 1 shot, and I have no idea what it was. Personally, I am not really interested in doing any type of immuno drugs, but I guess that is a personal decision and something you should talk to your doctor about.
I have never been tested for Candida, but I have often talked about it in posts and some believe it could have somethign to do with it. But it is still unclear.
I hope everything works out well, and please keep us posted on any updates you find out. Thanks again for the great post, and welcome to the forum.
Best of luck to you!
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Title: Can Alcohol Affect Cholinergic Urticaria Hives?
Post by: Bigfloor on December 16, 2008, 11:45:03 AM
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Hi yall !
I just wanted to know if anyone thought about a relation between Cholinergic Urticaria and alcohol.
The first time my Cholinergic Urticaria got bad to the point of worrying about it was when I took some “party-related” vacation, during which i drank everyday, maybe a few beers the day and a lot during the evening. After 2 or 3 days, i had the hives everyday in their “dot” form.
That was like 2 or 3 years ago and I regularly have hives because of heat and stress (sometimes in their dot form, sometimes in their bigger red blotch form).
The strange thing is that when I go out and drink during the week end evenings, I’m sure I never have the rash when I’m drunk. Even during efforts. (or at least it really discreet). Now during hangover, it’s exactly the opposite, my chances of having a rash is like 200% more important.
Any one noticed any of this stuff?
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Title: Re: Alcohol?
Post by: Klope62 on December 17, 2008, 06:09:26 PM
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Well, all I can say is that I don’t drink at all..
Not even a sip…sooo. ;p
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Title: Re: Alcohol?
Post by: HivesGuy on December 17, 2008, 07:58:50 PM
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Hello Bigfloor & welcome to the forum!
I personally don’t drink alcohol at all. However, some people have made a couple of posts on this forum about it. They seem to indicate that they do not have symptoms while drinking or intoxicated. You can see what the others said about it in this thread.
But I don’t drink at all, and never have since I have had Cholinergic Urticaria, so I can at least say alcohol is not the cause. However, it could make it worse I suppose after heavy drinking. I think alcohol dilates the blood vessels, so perhaps that is why afterwards Cholinergic Urticaria could be worse, but I have no idea.
Great question, and welcome to the forum!
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: Hivefive on December 24, 2008, 03:04:10 AM
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I’ve also found this – when I drink alcohol I am less likely to get an attack of hives. I’m not sure but maybe it’s a psychological thing, when you drink alcohol you’re not so aware of things and you’d be thinking less about your environment, so whether you’re getting hot or not, if you’re embarassed and you’re definitely less stressed when you’ve had a drink or two. It’s just a thought but I have definitely noticed that alcohol sometimes prevents an outbreak.
After reading people’s stories on here, it’s interesting to see that this condition came on suddenly – this is exactly what I found, one day I was ‘normal’ the next day I broke out! I want to know what happens for your body to just suddenly think, hmmm i’m too hot but instead of sweating, i’ll just turn itchy, prickly and red!
As the doctors don’t seem to know anything about this condition, does anybody know if any research is carried out on it? Without the research, i’m afraid doctor’s are going to continue to have little knowledge on the issue.
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: ww2 on December 25, 2008, 03:22:12 AM
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Quote from: nats on November 30, 2008, 04:38:56 AM
As a mark of desparation I have privately paid to have my gut bacteria tested, and it seems I’m ‘off the scale’ for candida albicans. I know some people have sworn by this as a cause, while for others it doesn’t seem to be a factor. Does anyone have experience or info on this?
After reading that, I did some digging and came across a person who posted on an allergies forum who went on a diet to remove the Candida Albicans from his stomache:
Quote
So for 3 weeks now I have removed food that contain sugar from my diet and taking anti fungal medicine ( there is tons some of the natural ones are garlic, goldenseal, coconut oil, olive oil, black walnut) Just look it up you’ll find lots of stuff or there is medicine for this that contain a mixture of anti fungal ingredients. Also you need to replace the bad fungal bacteria you kill off with good bacteria from probiotics.
Anyway, I am about 99% rid of my Cholinergic Urticaria I hardly ever feel anything I can still feel it in my body when I heat up but it never starts hurting or itching, I think I can knock this thing out completely if I maintain this approach. Several different sites said permanently getting rid of Candida (which I think is causing my Cholinergic Urticaria) can take 3-4 months, before you can go back to eating normally.
Here is the post. Theres a lot of useful information on that link – check it out, I learn’t some stuff I didn’t know before.
Right now for me, there are such a range of treatments I want to try and don’t know where to start. Maybe we could take the test as well, and see whether we have excessive Candida Albicans as well, this could be a start.
As for the alcohol, cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once it is in the bloodstream it can diffuse into nearly every biological tissue of the body (taken from Wikipedia). Consuming alcohol releases histamine, so I believe that the presence of histamine has something to do with Cholinergic Urticaria episodes. Many have reported that exercising and ‘toughing it out’ and deliberately triggering an episode prevents an attack for about a day. I think this is because exercising releases histamine.
Like pieces of a puzzle :-X , what do you think?
edit: I just realised that the Candida thing has been posted before =O , Sorry.
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: HivesGuy on December 26, 2008, 07:22:27 AM
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Quote from: Hivefive on December 24, 2008, 03:04:10 AM
I’ve also found this – when I drink alcohol I am less likely to get an attack of hives. I’m not sure but maybe it’s a psychological thing, when you drink alcohol you’re not so aware of things and you’d be thinking less about your environment, so whether you’re getting hot or not, if you’re embarassed and you’re definitely less stressed when you’ve had a drink or two. It’s just a thought but I have definitely noticed that alcohol sometimes prevents an outbreak.
After reading people’s stories on here, it’s interesting to see that this condition came on suddenly – this is exactly what I found, one day I was ‘normal’ the next day I broke out! I want to know what happens for your body to just suddenly think, hmmm i’m too hot but instead of sweating, i’ll just turn itchy, prickly and red!
As the doctors don’t seem to know anything about this condition, does anybody know if any research is carried out on it? Without the research, i’m afraid doctor’s are going to continue to have little knowledge on the issue.
Yes that is strange how this seems to just happen suddenly. It is like one day we are normal, the next we are breaking out in hives! Crazy!
As far as the research, there are a few research articles that I come across on the web now and again. Nothing too intensive, though. For the most part I still don’t think they know exactly what causes it.
Quote from: ww2 on December 25, 2008, 03:22:12 AM
Anyway, I am about 99% rid of my Cholinergic Urticaria I hardly ever feel anything I can still feel it in my body when I heat up but it never starts hurting or itching, I think I can knock this thing out completely if I maintain this
As for the alcohol, cell membranes are highly permeable to alcohol, so once it is in the bloodstream it can diffuse into nearly every biological tissue of the body (taken from Wikipedia). Consuming alcohol releases histamine, so I believe that the presence of histamine has something to do with Cholinergic Urticaria episodes. Many have reported that exercising and ‘toughing it out’ and deliberately triggering an episode prevents an attack for about a day. I think this is because exercising releases histamine.
Like pieces of a puzzle :-X , what do you think?
edit: I just realised that the Candida thing has been posted before =O , Sorry.
Some people have tried anti-candida diets/cleanses, but I haven’t heard of anyone being cured yet. Some said it helped some, some said they didn’t notice a difference at all. So I guess it is worth a shot for you, but personally I don’t think it is anything to do with Candida at this point. But then again, it may be different for each of us.
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Title: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief for my Cholinergic Urticaria!!
Post by: hivesblow on March 22, 2009, 10:46:16 AM
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from what ive noticed, every time i drink i am not bothered by Cholinergic Urticaria at all! Last night, I was in a crowded packed bar where normally I would be facing an attack. However, I had a few drinks and didnt feel a thing, not even the slightest tingle. This wasnt just last night, this is every time I drink. I dont know if the alcohol calmes your nerves which prevents attacks or if alcohol actually works as some sort of strong histamine blocker. (histamine is supposively the cause of the reaction according to my doctor). what do you guys think?
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Title: Re: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief!!
Post by: HivesGuy on March 22, 2009, 01:07:27 PM
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Quote from: hivesblow on March 22, 2009, 10:46:16 AM
from what ive noticed, every time i drink i am not bothered by Cholinergic Urticaria at all! Last night, I was in a crowded packed bar where normally I would be facing an attack. However, I had a few drinks and didnt feel a thing, not even the slightest tingle. This wasnt just last night, this is every time I drink. I dont know if the alcohol calmes your nerves which prevents attacks or if alcohol actually works as some sort of strong histamine blocker. (histamine is supposively the cause of the reaction according to my doctor). what do you guys think?
What I personally think is that the effects of alcohol probably take your mind off of it. I think that is what seemed to help at first when I started taking antihistamines. I don’t think it was the actual antihistamine that provided the relief, I think it was the drowsiness that caused me to not really think about it, and made my body kind of “woosy” feeling. Once my body adapted to the antihistamine, the itching came right back.
So I think it is probably the fact that it takes your mind off of it and makes you less aware of things.
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Title: Re: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief!!
Post by: pinkleopard on June 08, 2009, 08:12:39 AM
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i also experience temporary relief from alcohol use, (i have Cholinergic Urticaria and chronic urticaria) but pay for it even WORSE the next day, waking up with nasty hives. they tend to be bigger and brighter red, rendering it impossible to do much. i always have small-medium hives daily, but the day after drinking they are always terrible. especially sugary drinks, like champagne. so, proceed with caution. π
Therefore, i consider alcohol one of my triggers so i try to avoid it or moderately consume. you also want to remember that alcohol can be a slippery slope. if you start to associate being hive-free with drinking, you could wind up drinking A LOT! π
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Title: Re: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief!!
Post by: HivesGuy on June 08, 2009, 09:27:43 AM
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Hello PinkLeopard,
Great post & welcome to the forum!
I agree with you, I seem to find more negative comments on the web concerning alcohol and Cholinergic Urticaria than I do positive comments. It seems like based on what everyone has said, it can provide temporary relief, but has a drawback of making the symptoms more severe/reactive after the fact.
In any event, as you said, moderation and caution is key if anyone does drink alcohol. The last thing we all need is to become alcoholics with hives. Yikes, that would be even worse LOL.
Thanks again for the great post, and welcome to the forum.
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Title: Re: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief!!
Post by: mollythompson28 on September 23, 2009, 08:54:22 PM
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I have found this to be true too! I attribute it to the fact that anxiety is a trigger so the opposite, a depressant, would help… π Not fix though. :-
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Title: Re: alcohol definetely provides temporary relief!!
Post by: silvertones on December 12, 2009, 04:00:45 PM
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I’m new here and am I glad I finally found this site. Alcohol relieves it entirely as well.I’m a moderate drinker and once I sit down in the evening to watch TV and have a couple of beers I won’t have an episode for the rest of the night.
I’ve had this present bout for about a year and a half. The first time was about 29 years ago and lasted for about 9 months. The next time was about 18 years ago.
I think if we all searched our minds we’d find the common thread is a physiological response to some severe traumatic emotional experience. All three of mine were. They subsided when the issue finally and completely went away. I have yet to resolve my present situation so the symptoms persist. :'(
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Title: Re: My story…
Post by: jammio on February 15, 2010, 07:11:30 AM
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hi.. i realise this thread’s been dead for some time but im struggling to find anywhere else where someone’s had the same experience. i’ve noticed that when im a bit drunk that even dancing on a hot floor for hours doesn’t give me a breakout.. and i found this really weird cos nothing else ever helps my Cholinergic Urticaria.. is there an explanation for why alcohol may help?
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Title: Something amazing happened last night..
Post by: MoshiMoshi on October 31, 2010, 07:13:53 AM
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To cut a long story short, I discovered that alcohol actually prevents the physical ‘itching’ sensation of Cholinergic Urticaria for me.
I was at a friends birthday yesterday and I was having Cholinergic Urticaria attacks all night long until I started drinking some alcohol. When I drank it i could dance I could run I could do everything and still not have Cholinergic Urticaria!! However I still could not sweat.
I’m going to tell this to my dermatologist and see if this can ring any bells in her head.
Thanks π
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Title: Re: Something amazing happened last night..
Post by: Rogerq23 on November 06, 2010, 10:39:54 PM
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My vague analysis is that your body got used to the heat and it regulated your body temperature. So you did not longer feel the itch. It is like when get the urticaria… walking under the sun in a hot hot day, you will itch as hell but later you will not longer feel it, you body will regulate your temperature and it is going to get used to the temperature.
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Title: Re: Something amazing happened last night..
Post by: aivory23 on November 18, 2010, 11:20:06 AM
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Hey MoshiMoshi!
I think that alcohol just relaxed your mind, because alcohol works also as antidepresant and because of it you did not get hives, the same situation was with me.
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Title: Cholinergic Urticaria and Alcohol
Post by: 14-47 on August 24, 2011, 11:40:22 AM
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At a 21st last week and remember proving to an army recruit that 50 push-up’s was easy money (this was all 750mls+ of rum deep)
I had zero hives when doing the pushups
Something that would be much harder to accomplish when sober due to the pain threshold you have to endure to get rid of the hives
I remember other people here talking about how they don’t break out half as bad when they have alcohol in their system, followed by a crazy break out session the next day for some reason.
So I asked myself why?
What was going on that made the Cholinergic Urticaria debatable less disabling when taking alcohol
Was it the altered pain perception?
Was it the fact that alcohol at high levels becomes a vasoconstrictor which shrinks the blood vessels reducing surface body temperature which reduced our need to perspire?
What if it was something else?
Alcohol helps to increase the release of dopamine
Right so what does this mean in relation to us?
Im sure you guys have read about the connections between anhidrosis and hypohydrosis (in ability to sweat properly) in relation to Cholinergic Urticaria
It is my understanding that a certain number of us with Cholinergic Urticaria experience painful burning when exercising because our body is heating up internally so the vascular system dilates blood vessels near the outer extremity’s of our epidermal tissue layer to allow the body to cool via convection. But the problem is our sweat glands are not functioning as they should and as a result our body send histamine to the related sites to fix the problem which causes numerous localized inflammation responses which we then perceived as a burning tingling itch. Itching only makes it worse as when you itch you are sending more WBC/RBC to the location of the itch which will only increase the pain due to their mediators.
>It is suspected that anhidrosis is caused by a low regulation of Beta-2 receptors of the sweat glands in response to higher than normal concentrations of circulating epinephrine.
In other words, βa reduction in dopamine, a neurotransmitter and vasodilator, below a critical level, allows the well known vasoconstrictive properties of the nor-adrenaline/adrenaline complex to predominate and reduce the blood carrying capacity of the peripheral vascular system to a minimum, thereby reducing the ability of the sweat glands to function properly.β
It has also been suggested that βanhidrosis is triggered in the hypothalamus gland by the stress of exercise and chronic dehydration under hot, humid conditions.β
So the problem may be related to acetylcholine-dopamine imbalance which causes us to have a difficult time sweating.
Next on my list to try is a dopamine receptor agonist (bromo/caber) to see if the acetylcholine and dopamine balance is our problem?
Currently testing hydroxyzine and ketotifen fumarate
Hydroxyzine in my opinion is counter productive to the overall goal we are trying to accomplish due to it’s antimuscarinic properties of interfering with sweating mechanisms
Edit: The reason from my understanding in relation to the crazy hives the day after drinking maybe in relation to the dopamine rebound causing it to drop below normal levels. This theory would further accentuate my ideas posted here that it may in fact be related to dopamine levels.
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Title: Re: Cholinergic Urticaria and Alcohol
Post by: rashional on August 29, 2011, 11:24:11 AM
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interesting stuff. wish they would do some clinical trials on dopamine agonists
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Title: Re: Cholinergic Urticaria and Alcohol
Post by: hieveryone on August 30, 2011, 05:03:17 AM
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I don’t know if it will be related, I agree more with the food intolerances, however, I wanted to add that I’m changing of allergist on these days and I’ve been reading my last test (two years ago) that were almost of everything, and the only two things I had low were Dopamine (120) and Noradreline in Urine, though she didn’t take it as importat. Well, tell us how does the dopamine treatment goes…
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Title: Re: Cholinergic Urticaria and Alcohol
Post by: Cathie on November 23, 2011, 08:13:23 PM
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Alcohol is something I’m contemplating an allergy to because I have strange reactions (itchy mouth/throat) when eating vanilla buttercream frosting. Extract has 41% alcohol and you don’t cook the frosting, so it’s like massive amounts right there, and I become congested when I drink, so I usually avoid it. Just purchased alcohol free vanilla extract today.
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Title: Re: Cholinergic Urticaria and Alcohol
Post by: Batavan on February 25, 2012, 08:53:32 PM
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Interesting. I’ve also noticed that I seem to break out less when I have alcohol in me.
It could simply be that alcohol messes with the hypothalamus by slowing down its “reaction time” like the rest of the brain, which means it can’t predict when to perspire and requires more exhausting work to send the signal to sweat.
As I mentioned, I’ve noticed that when i have alcohol in me, I don’t notice the hives as much. I’m not sure if its just the pain I’m not noticing or the hives are actually less severe. I’ll have to check it out the next time im drunk
jeff says
Hi guys im currently suffering from this disease also it all started 3 months ago everytime I would exercise my head would get really itchy I thought it was dandruff or something but it got worse and worse I now get hives all over my face, neck, chest and back it really sucks I’m only 16 and I feel its gonna ruin my life I cant workout anymore im afraid of summer cause this happens I just need help π
Anonymous says
i also suffering from urticaria from 6 years back but not get permanant solution ,