Many people suffering with Cholinergic Urticaria talk about the benefits of trying to “Sweat it Out.” In other words, the idea is to engage in physical activity, to the point of sweating (or as we call it, sweat therapy). This usually means having an outbreak of hives, but then the hives will generally back off, allowing the body to sweat.
Can Steam Capsules or Saunas Help Cholinergic Urticaria?
There have been a lot of comments by people talking about how it helps them to have a good “sweat, workout, or reaction” in the morning so they can have less intense breakouts for the rest of the day. And to me, it seems pretty obvious that sweating helps cholinergic urticaria (especially after the sweating starts, since symptoms often subside for most people).
I was just wondering how effective these personal saunas or “steam capsules” would be at helping us to maintain consistent sweating??
I remember reading on one forum in the past about a guy that set up his own personal steam room (I think it was a steam capsule, and I don’t know if he purchased it or made it himself). He had made several posts talking about how it was really helping him. He didn’t have any breakouts and thought he was cured. He said it barely even itched or stung when he got into it, and soon he started sweating.
But then he made a follow-up post, and said he had visited family (I think) and was away from his steam room for a few days and had the reactions again. So it definitely looks like it didn’t cure him permanently.
However, I just wonder if it would be helpful? Especially since it does seem that if we can initiate the sweating process, it kind of seems to “bypass” the whole itching reaction brought on by the hives. This is interesting. Maybe when I finally get a house I can make a “poor man’s sauna” by rigging up some vaporizers/humidifiers/heaters in some kind of home-made sauna room?
By the way, you can view a thread abou using a sauna or steam room to treat cholinergic urticaria, and view the people’s experiences with it. Here’s a video where I describe sweat therapy: