Cholinergic Urticaria

How can I help my son?

by

Hi,

My son developed cholinergic urticaria nearly 2.5 years ago. We moved houses and within a week he developed CU. At the time he was in grade 11. It was so severe that he ended up having to drop out of school and could not leave the house. He started suffering with depression as a result of CU. He was not diagnosed with it to nearly 2 years after.

He had been tested for allergies and had a severe case of dust mite allergies, we did everything for it from antihistamines, bed coverings, washing clothes in high temps and using dryer after it his bedding and clothes were dry. Nothing worked. We even moved 1 year ago and broke our lease, bought a house, ripped up the carpets and replaced with floor boards, etc.

He had a few good months and summer. Then winter hit and it came back. His depression became severe due to having that glimpse of hope when moving and then it came back, he did not take it well. It has been an extremely hard road. Not sure what else I can do. I let him vent, and I spend time with him when the rest of the family are in bed, as I’m really the only one he talks to 100% about his frustrations.

There have been times were it has been really hard to hear what he is feeling and not being able to take it away. Is there anything else I can do? I don’t want to lose my son over this horrible disease.

-Denise

(The post above was submitted by a reader)

Comments

  1. Denise,
    I’m so sorry to hear about your son. I know how hard it is to deal with, but I honestly think your son can and will overcome this in time. It’s a good sign that he had a period where it wasn’t bad, because that definitely makes me think that he can overcome this.

    You seem to be doing a lot for your son right now by emotionally supporting him and trying to help him as much as you can. That’s great, and I’d urge you both to keep a positive attitude and not give up. It may take time to get his symptoms under control, but I think you can in time.

    The biggest thing that helped me was removing food allergens/intolerances. I went on an allergy elimination diet, and I eat a restricted diet now. This has been the biggest factor in eliminating my symptoms (you can read about in my book or on this site).

    A lot of people with CU have dust mite allergies or other allergic disorders, so it’s important to make everything as hypoallergenic as you can (soap, detergents, bedding, etc.). I also use Eucerin calming crème to keep my skin in good shape, and a shower filter to remove excess junk in the water.

    A lot of people have posted ways that they’ve been able to overcome this as well, so you may want to spend some time each day reading over other posts. This may help reassure your son that he isn’t alone and that others have suffered just as much and were ultimately able to overcome this disorder.

    I hope that helps, and I pray you son is better soon.

  2. Something that helped me get through my colleg days was keeping in a good frame of mind and buying a cold drink when an attack was coming. Simply telling myself “I’ve got this far with urticaria and I will continue with it, I’ve done well already and fight every day so why give up now?” Diet helps a lot apparently and also sweat therapy worked for me, running till I was soaked every day and after 2 weeks mine went away 🙂