Do I have Cholinergic Urticaria?

Hello! My story started a few months back. I was sitting in my office and I started to feel very itchy, body was flushed and felt pain all over. Didn’t know what it was and just kept scratching. After a few hours I went back home and got undressed as I wanted to see why I was itching so badly, I thought maybe there was an insect or something in my clothes.

When I got undressed, I was horrified. Literally my whole body was red, felt like I was on fire with huge red blotches that resembled insect bites. I went to the hospital, and the doctor said they were wheals/hives due to an allergic reaction. Apparently it was an allergy to peanuts. For a week I was in excruciating pain and it wouldn’t reduce because I couldn’t stop the urge to keep scratching.

I used an old remedy that is popular in my culture, 3 actually. First one is boiling neem leaves, taking the liquid and pour it on yourself while you take a shower. Second was having chia seeds mixed in water to lower the temperature of my body because I was feeling very hot. Third one was having boiled mung beans because they help in reducing body temperature. I had all these not because I thought I had heat hives because it was my first week experiencing this, I just did it because it’s a remedy of which I knew and was desperate for the pain to stop. The remedies really helped. I was also taking antihistamines.

After I got through that week, I thought it was just an allergy attack and as long as I stay away from what was causing it, I would be fine. But I was wrong. I started to get hive attacks almost everyday. I was going crazy, didn’t know what was happening to me and why. I became so depressed.

I went to several doctors and they told be I have chronic idiopathic urticaria, which basically means they don’t know why I was getting the hives even though what caused my allergy was no longer part of my diet. So I decided to find out what is wrong with me. I researched everything regarding urticaria and tried to put the pieces together. I started to take notice when they attacks occurred and what I ate or was doing at the time.

I noticed that they occurred when my body temperature increased. If I went out in the sun or wore warm clothes or took a hot shower, that would be the time I would get my urticaria. Also noticed chicken also made it worse, so I have chicken maybe once a week, and that really helped. I have a gel ice pack always around to put on any area of my body that feels hot or have hives on them. I have chia seeds and pomegranates always around me because they help in reducing my body temperature during a hive attack.

I learnt to be a little more calm about it now and learnt what to do in case I get them. But due to the medications I was taking or maybe not because of the medications, I don’t know, I started suffering from dry mouth and dry eyes. I would barely be able to sleep because I would wake up with my mouth so dry and had to drink water. So I bought a humidifier and started taking xylimelts for the dryness but I am still really suffering from these.

As I was researching about urticaria and heat hives and dry mouth, I came across this website and I felt happy that there is a place that I can share my thoughts about this and people with similar issue that can help me. I think I have cholinergic urticaria but I am not sure, wish someone could confirm it to me, because I just want to know, it feels so bad not knowing what is wrong with you and feeling alone in this.

-Salwa