Cholinergic Urticaria

Chronic Urticaria with raised 1/2 dollar size hives…

by

Help!

I’m growing increasingly less tolerable – nearly everyday I have itchiness that ruins my day and scares off male prospects lol, and a few times a month I can’t go in public due to the “hitch” style swelling in the face. Then the thirst ruins my whole day because I have to door up in Benadryl or use my epi pen – 1/2 the week I’m in Benadryl low dose – because of the face swelling.

My allergist tested me, and I am not allergic to anything. I’m not allergic to anything in my diet – I’m a vegetarian, by the way, who doesn’t eat fish, egg yolks, or cheese. Do to ibs symptoms not tofu either – I do not use the ave bear’s organic stevia – don’t drink alcohol or any sodas, or smoke, or use recreational drugs. I’m in good shape and quite active.

I’ve tried cutting out milk and get varied results. Like today, woke up to lots of hives and had no milk last night. But I did have 3 popsicles sweetened with aspartame.

I rarely eat gluten.

I am hypothyroid and can’t take ANY thyroid meds because I definitely have strong reactions to it, including slow onset anaphylaxis.

If I use a lot of echinacea (trying to kill a cold or illness) I also have strong relations
– but do kill the illness 😉

I’m not even sure what kind of doctor to see.

Thank you so much for any time you’ve gifted me in reading this or considering what might be the issue or what I might try.

Mahalo nui loa,
Julie

Comments

  1. Hi Julie,

    Do your hives just appear randomly or does it seem to happen when you get warm/hot? A lot of people believe that CU might have trigger foods, but for a lot of people that just isn’t true.

    It seems the biggest trigger is typically heat. Also, do you sweat or are you noticing a lack of sweat?

  2. Hello Julie! For how long have you been having these hives? Do they appear while having hot showers? Is it cold where you live? Do these symptoms increase during a specific weather or condition? Have a good day!

  4. Hi Julie, I’ve had Chronic Hives since last August, that have got progressively worse over the last few months. They started on my hands and feet and have progressed to the rest of my body. I have had severe reactions to antihistamines and predisnone.

    I’ve tried pretty much everything to try to improve my hives. Last week, I started drinking water. I’ve been drinking around 4 litres of water a day and have seen significant improvements over the last few days. I’m still not hive free, but the itch is significantly less noticable, and I have about 90% fewer hives.

    I started drinking water because in August I was already having symptoms in my hands and in my feet, and went on vacation to the desert. I was drinking at least 6 litres of water a day (high altitude and very hot) and the symptoms cleared up. I generally don’t drink a lot of water, and had been drinking less and less generally over the last few months.

    After trying this I read that most north americans are dehydrated, and that water helps calm histamine response. Just one thing to try that I hope works for you.