The following forum post was submitted by a reader:
Hi,
I first experienced the symptoms of cholinergic urticaria about four years ago, although I have never had a rash, hives or any reddening or welts to the skin. I have tingling and itchy arms or torso and it is triggered only by showering, never in a bathtub (which we don’t have) or a swimming pool. At it’s height I get waves during the day or night too.
I have ‘episodes’ once a year and they last for a few months, normally in the summer, which would correlate with the over heating of the body. However, I live in the tropics, the Caribbean coast of Mexico and spend most of my time hot, but I don’t have this condition all the time. In fact it came back today and the temperature/humidity has actually recently dropped here as we come into fall.
But possibly the trigger for me could be stress and anxiety. I have recently resigned from a very stressful job, due to – well, the stress – and for the past nearly two weeks have been holed up in my apartment trying to decompress. When I say “holed up,” I mean exactly that, I am borderline agoraphobic and just “want to be alone!” So perhaps the fact my skin has had zero sun (I read this may influence things) and I have not been outside where I get hot and sweaty. Maybe I need to sweat regularly to prevent it? Who knows!
But I have very tingly ‘pins and needles’ in my hands which feels like nerve pain, and I also get that when I get a fright. When my husband brakes suddenly in the car and I yelp, I get a wave of the pins and needles over my hands. Weird. Adrenaline I guess, but the cholinergic urticaria feels similar, and having browsed the forum I see some comments about adrenaline. After the initial random tingling and uncomfortable prickling I then get a feeling of burning, like acid being wiped over my skin. I don’t get it on my back, I get it on my neck up to my exact jaw line, but not my face, the worse areas are arms, legs and torso. Regarding histamine, I often wonder if mosquito bites have anything to do with it, as they have been itching more recently.
I am also a ‘highly strung’ person, quite anxious is a norm and I have battled, quite literally, with anxiety/depression for many years. As a 44-year-old now though, I’ve accepted it as part of my personality and try to work with it. I also have medium OCD, which causes me anxiety, so again this is linking to many thinks I have read about in the forum.
When I first had an episode I thought it was an allergy, had I changed my laundry liquid etc. But I’ve never been allergic to anything! I researched and came up with hives, but as I didn’t have the rashes I thought it might be something else. But finally this CU diagnosis seems to fit the symptoms, even though I can’t see or feel any raised rashes or actual ‘hives’.
I did see a doctor here a few years back, who tested me for thyroid issues, which came back normal, my brother-in-law is a GP, a couple of years back he prescribed aspirin and antihistamine.
I’m hoping this episode wont last long, as it is very draining. I try to explain that to my husband, who works long hours, but I don’t think he gets it. I’m tired after an episode following a shower and really grumpy! It puts a real pressure on us, making me feel selfish as I am moody afterwards and leads me to want to stay indoors even more! It’s surprisingly very incapacitating, considering it’s ‘hives’. I guess as there is no treatment as such or cure, quite overwhelming.
I’m glad to have found this forum though, apologies for my epic first post! I guess I am lucky I have time to relax to get over it this time, or ‘manage’ it as well as I can.
-mexiflor
Hivesguy says
Hello, mexiflor. Thanks for sharing your experiences, and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry to hear of all of your hives/itching/tingling issues. I’m also sorry to hear about the stressful job. I’m a pretty big introvert, and I totally get your desire to want to be alone sometimes. This has been a big issue for me the past few weeks, as my 10 month old son has kept my wife and I up with two different bouts of illness. The sleep deprivation, huge workload, and exhuastion has made me not really want to be social until I can catch up.
Anyway, one thing that did stand out in your post was the prickly hands/feet thing. Does this happen constantly, or only during short periods when you become hot? Because if you have this kind of pain constantly, you may want to look up Fabry disease. A common symptom of that is the prickling hands/feet thing. I’m not saying you have that, but it seems to me that you were saying you have this for a long period of time. Most cholinergic urticaria reactions are short-lived.
Anyway, I’m glad you found this site, and I hope you can find some information that helps you.
mexiflor says
Hi thanks for your reply and your compassion regarding my stressful job, luckily I don’t have it anymore as I resigned, now I’m just stressed because I DON’T have a job! Bit of a double edged sword that one!
I only get tingly hands, feet are fine, I looked up the Fabry complaint, but doesn’t sound like the random tingling, prickling, and burning that I get randomly all over my body. Arms, wrists and shoulders are normally the worse, then legs and I ONLY get a severe bout after showering. I try to have the shower on cold to prevent over heating, but it comes after the shower. There is mild tingling and I dry myself off, then it gets unbearably worse 5 minutes or so after getting out of shower when it’s at its climax and lasts for maybe 20 to 30 minutes. Like just now, I’m now sat under the air conditioning and will remain here until my head is quite frozen.
This continues for a few months, always centered around showering. But the relief when each bout passes is huge, and I feel exhausted, washed out, but relieved. Puts me off showering though, which is another stress, as that doesn’t make one feel too good.
The last time I had this I was going through another ‘agoraphobic phase’, so looking at the articles and comments I have read here and elsewhere on the web, perhaps vitamin D does play a role, as I have been indoors for two weeks.
As I mentioned I live in the Mexican Caribbean, so I am normally exposed to sun regularly, so perhaps this sudden lack of sunlight and vitamin D has triggered it? Perhaps I’m clutching at straws, but I know I need to try and get out of the apartment to see if I can improve it, which adds another challenge to my predicament.
Maybe I need Xanax or something? I’m quite desperate at times like these.
Thanks for your response and I hope you get some sleep and down time soon!
Hivesguy says
Ah, okay. Thanks for clarifying that. I’m glad to hear that it doesn’t sound like Fabrys.
I know how job situations can be frustrating, and I don’t blame you for quitting. I hope you can find a new job soon that is much less stressful.
I know exactly what you mean about feeling exhausted after a bad CU reaction. I used to feel horribly exhausted after bad reactions–and frustrated. Vitamin D can sometimes play a role, and a couple of people have reported that their hives improved after supplementation. It never cured me, but it is relatively inexpensive to try. I take a multivitamin now, and it contains vitamin D. The biggest factor for me was diet.
I find it interesting that you seem to still have reactions when showering with cool water, and that your severe reactions seem to be centered around showering. I also used to get reactions in the shower, but only when the water was hot. I’ve actually used cold showers to stop reactions in the past. It makes me wonder if perhaps something in your water could be making it worse?? I found that chlorine and other junk would dry out my skin and make reactions worse. I use a simple shower filter that I bought online for around $12. Or, perhaps you have a slight touch of aquagenic urticaria AND cholinergic urticaria? Who knows. I’m just trying to throw out some ideas so you can try to improve your hives issues.
Either way, I certainly hope you can get your hives back under control soon. Keep us updated, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Ladie West says
Hi,I too did not know what was going on,As a black american, the skin looks different but the symptoms are the same,I once accussed a hotel of having bedbugs,because I could not stop itching. Finally I went to a dermatologist, he told me I had sun poisoning, I knew that was untrue I don’t hang in the sun.So I did my own reserch and here I am, finally. So now Zyrtec has become my best friend
Hivesguy says
Hello, Ladie West! Yes, cholinergic urticaria affects all skin colors! It’s funny that you accused a hotel of having bedbugs, because cholinergic urticaria does feel exactly like you’re being bitten by a bunch of bugs. I’m glad you found this site so that you know you aren’t alone.
Ladie West says
I’m glad too, Again Zyrtec works great
Hivesguy says
I’m glad it is working for you, and I hope it continues to do so.
God bless,
Hivesguy