Hello once again, I had previously submitted a few threads before here, updating my health status, sharing my story, asking related questions and so on, but right now I am literally walking through hell and I had never felt worse. This time this thread is going to be much longer than my threads before, so thank you for your patience for reading this.
I am 17 years old, finishing school, my exams are coming up, I get nervous easily and I had some tough times before, but now, since the spring has started and it’s warm outside, usually around +8 C and classrooms in the school get heated by the sun through the windows and opening a window doesn’t cool you down like it did in the winter, it just sucks out the hotter air out instead of blowing in, gladly today and yesterday were a bit colder, around +2 C, so I am happy as I am writing now that I can step outside or open a window any time to cool myself fully, but warm weathers are coming back soon again, so I’m afraid.
I always had something wrong with my body temperature, because for example in the winter, when everyone is wearing several layers of clothes and are still cold, I always wear a short-sleeved shirt and autumn-type thin jacket, so even in school, when I open up all the windows to make a wind inside and cool myself down everyone is shouting that they’re too cold so I must close them and go out and cool myself in the corridor or something.
Anyways, I always liked it, that I’m always warm and don’t feel cold as much, but now, living with CU, this just makes it worse I believe. (I first came across CU this year, in the end of autumn and starting of winter, I take Zyrtec and Kestine anti-histamines). I gave up drinking for winter, I am not using drugs anymore, so it doesn’t get worse, but.
Yesterday, I, with a friend, together we drank a 0,7l bottle, after the first few shots when I got warm I got an attack, itching was as worse as usually, but the bumps on my arm were something that I had never seen before. When I first got UC, my bumps would appear on my upper chest, and on my inner arms, usually in the middle, in the arm bend. After a few months it moved up all the way to inner wrist and now I get red bumps on my inner wrists and a bit on my inner bicep, going to the shoulders.
But yesterday, when I got an outbreak after drinking, I mean my whole arms were covered in the red dots, EVEN on the outer side, where I had never had them before, after 5 minutes of running outside I cooled down and got fine again, it didn’t occur again. Let’s hop into today, today in school, after yesterday’s drinking, I got nervous and had a heat hive (I didn’t get heat hives before, I mean I did, but very very rarely, maybe the most in the beginning, but not now, last time I had a heat hive was probably like a good few months ago,
I only get the terrible itching), so today after getting the hive, itching started and I had to walk out of the school, and thankfully it was cool outside so it disappeared quickly. Anyways, my point is that I do not recommend using alcohol while having UC, even though I don’t know for sure if alcohol caused it, but still.
What worries me the most is that in the winter or autumn it was cold outside, and it was my best relief, I could just open a window or run outside after having an attack and get better, but now, with spring weather coming up, the only thing that made it better for me is slowly fading away and I will not be able to cool myself down outside, that is what scares me so much. Even though my UC started during early winter, I still hope that it is seasonal and will go away soon, but while it is not going away, I am literally so close to breaking down in my life, that you can not imagine.
Focusing on more important things, I got exams very soon, one of them is coming up the next Wednesday, and I know I will get nervous and get the itching, so I am planning to go to a sauna a few times, one on the Sunday evening and one on Tuesday evening, just before the exam, I hope it will make it better.
I know, you will probably tell me something like “oh you got to start sweating now, etc.”, well, I can’t start running in the evenings to start getting used to sweating and break through, because one of my legs is screwed after a motorcycle crash, I can’t just go to a sauna every day to do a sweat therapy, because I don’t have a sauna and the closest one is in another city, which is not so close from me and I got to take a bus to it, and currently I am not in the financial status to buy a portable one from amazon.
Also, I wouldn’t break out so much if I wasn’t scared so easily of everything, everything makes me nervous, resulting in a breakdown, and I am trying to control my mind to stop that, but I just suck too much to achieve it…
Anyways, thank you, if you’ve read it all, I am going through a hardest time of my life right now probably, and I am just on the edge of breaking down mentally, but I still am going. I still have a dream that one day, soon, I will just wake up one morning without CU, if it is a seasonal one, but only time will show this.
Thank you for your time!
-Tomas
Hivesguy says
I’m sorry to hear of your torture, Tomas. The outbreak you described sounded bad, but it was a daily occurrence for me. I could do virtually nothing without being stung with needles, scratching myself frantically. I’d be covered in red dots from head to toe with the slightest increase in body temperature. I was a prisoner in my own flesh.
What cured me? The same thing I’ve posted about many times on this website, in the book, and in the videos I made, which few people take time to read/watch, and even fewer take time to actually try.
Yes, alcohol will usually make your hives much worse. Sweat therapy is certainly not safe for everyone, but many people find a benefit in it. I’ve made videos on ways you can ease into it, if your doctor thinks its safe for you to try. Diet alterations have also helped many people on this forum. People have also posted other ways in which their hives were either cured or brought under control.
My advice is to take time to read/watch the resources already provided on this site, and then work with you doctor to try things until you find a solution that works for you.
Hang in there.
Calvin Graves says
Get a portable sauna off Amazon works great
Lisa Lee says
Hi Tomas. Try using one of those sports cooling towels. I got a bunch of them for my son and he would drape a slightly damp one around his neck at school so that he’d have it on-hand to cool his body off quickly. Else, he would be running to the restroom to get wet paper towels to write himself down to cool off. You can rewet it as it starts to feel dry. When it’s damp, you shake it in the air and it makes it feel colder.
My son has had CU for 2-1/2 years now. It started when he was 20. He struggled physically and mentally for about a year until he got a better handle on what triggered his heat hives. This forum really helped so much. We read the book, read the articles, watched the videos,… It all helps to get more informed and hear what might and night not work. He is doing better now. I’m sure he is also concerned about his condition since summer and warmer weather are coming soon. Praying for you!!
Lisa Lee says
*to wipe himself down to cool off.
Cyndi Aler says
My hives are always precipitated by indulgences in too much sugar or processed foods. Try cutting way back on your consumption of products that contain an abundance of sugars. Alcohol is a prime candidate. I hope this advice helps, I definitely understand the agony you’re going through and that you’ll find relief of sorts. Unfortunately the hives only seem to back off for a time, but never long enough that you forget! Hang in there!
Linda Starr says
XOLAIR works so well for me (injection once per month) that I forget I ever had hives!! As a precaution, I now have to carry an epi pen, but may never need it. If you can get it, try it.
Anonymous says
Hey.
As I said, today, on Sunday, I took a bus to another city to go to a sauna complex and a pool, I took a steam sauna first, it itched at first but quickly dissapeared, then I took a few minutes break, went to a dry sauna, break again and to a steam one again, I tried to sweat as much as I can, but I noticed that my inner arms weren’t really sweating, when everything else did, or maybe it just looked that way, i’m not sure. Anyways, after the saunas, I didn’t get red dots on my body, instead, I got red patches all over my body, like patches of red spots, and they went away only after a hour.
By the way, my trip using the bus to get there was horrible, it was a sunny warm day today, and a long big bus came to pick me up, that bus has large windows on the sides so sun heated it inside so much, that as soon as I sat down and took my jacket off, I felt that it’s not going to end well, it was hot as hell there and dry also, I opened the little fans up top and tried to concentrate on something different, and it went away, gladly. At one point I thought I’ll need to start screaming to stop the bus, but it didn’t happen, thankfuly.
. says
I can live normally with a portable steam sauna. Get it on Amazon for $70-$200
L. C says
I’m a 34 year old black male and I’m new to this and still haven’t grasped what is going on with me or even what it is that’s occurring. But I can’t really remember exactly when it started happening or why it’s happening but it spooks me at times cause I honestly don’t know how harmful it is or how worse it can get. But I honestly can’t seem to do much of anything that I like to do or want to do anymore. Which includes working out, or even just a simple good hard laugh it appears. I use to get that little mild itch on my (chest areas) a while back but it was never that serious. But now months and years later it seems to be taking effect. I use to think it was the soap(Dial) that I was using. But I switched it and I’m still having the same problem. So one day I get down and begin to workout. And as soon as I start to doing pushups I got to about 50 and all of a sudden I started to itch uncontrollably all over my Arms, Chest and back. So I jumped up quickly not knowing wth was going on. It’s as if I’m being stung by bee’s or being run over by a pile of fire ants. I removed my shirt but I don’t or haven’t seen any spots, bruises or anything. Which makes me think it’s something on the inside of me that’s wrong. So I decided to get online on Google to try and search for what could be wrong with me. I come across so many things that could be wrong but not really sure what is what and what’s the truth. All I know is if I’m calm and cool and relax I’m fine. But the minute I get nervous, or trying to workout or anything like that then that’s when it tryst to start back up again. So if their’s anyone who can point me in the right direction with tips and meds that can help or fix this please let me know. Any tips would be be very helpful.
Pablo says
How long has this been happening? if it’s less then 6 weeks pray that it isn’t just acute urticaria
L. C says
I honestly don’t know tbh. And why did u say that Pablo?. And why should I be tested for?
Anonymous says
I am in a similar situation to you. I am within a year of you age and am currently facing examinations. I also have to walk out of classes when I get attacks and it is getting worse now that the outside temperature is increasing. I too have always never needed thick lays of clothing in winter, much to my friends’ surprise when I turn wear a t-shirt to go sledging.
For my examinations my school puts me in a separate room with air conditioning or a fan; do you get these accommodations or could you ask for them if they would help?
I wish you well with your condition and I hope it does go away soon. I have had mine for over a year.