Cholinergic Urticaria

Should I be concerned?

by

Hi,

I first noticed this sudden burst of itching on my upper body when I was 19 (lasted less than a min. or a few seconds). This happened 3-4 times that year only in winter and only in early morning while leaving the apartment. I first associated it with drinking milk, but now on hindsight I also remember I did wear a 4-season jacket (pretty warm) every time as it was early morning.

Recently, I had the same sudden burst of itchy feeling while taking bath (mild-moderate hot water) 3-4 consecutive days. It went away as soon as I wrapped a towel around me. Today I had the same burst of itchiness when I entered my house at 12 a.m. (cold outside, warm inside). It went away in a min. as soon as I removed my jacket.

I did look around the website, read, watched a few videos and I’d like to clarify a few things.

1)I’ve had no issues while exercising, laughing, being stressed (I am very rarely stressed), or having anxiety…or hasn’t affected anything in my life as such.

2)Absolutely no issues with exhaustion/sun-stroke… I can cycle around on a hot summers day for more than 100km, or trek in the mountains more than 50-70km and I live in India, temperatures here in summer can go up to 40-44C (104-111F) and I’ve never had any issues even remotely after trekking for hour after hour after hour without breaks or shadows. I’ve played volleyball, basketball, football, cricket for long hours in hot sun… and no issues.

3)Sweat… I particularly sweat much less than my friends, by the time my friends’ shirts are soaking wet, and they have sweat literally dripping from their head, I only have wet shirt on the back where the back-pack is in contact and mildly wet hair, but I’ve never really thought about it, I just thought that i was not as tired as they were(which I wasn’t, and still could be the case)

4)Diet, I’ve had a pretty healthy diet throughout my life (home-cooked food, most vegetables, lots of fruits and the usual etc.) and I eat a lot of spicy food(I’m Indian) didn’t cause a problem… but I’ve had this burst of itchiness twice while eating outside (it was spicy, not very, wasn’t eating for the first time). I have no visible excess fat anywhere in my body, maybe I’ve put on a little amount in the last year, but not much.

5)I never got any hives on my legs or arms…. but I have approx. 10-15 (2-4mm) hives on my back, which kind of stay permanent… or they disappear after a few days and new ones keep appearing.. but nothing as dramatic as I saw on the net.

6)I used to get red patches on my chest while taking bath with hot water(no itching, no pain, no discomfort) and went away 5 min after bath… and now thinking back, i did get these burst of itchiness once or twice when i suddenly entered out in the sun in the afternoon but only once or twice now (I enter out on a daily basis almost all day)

I only get this burst of itchiness all over the upper body (not the face) like pins pricking for less than a min and no hives or formations as such… I’m not sure what this mystery itching is? Is it CU? or more importantly, I was thinking if it would get worse especially if my “fitness” deteriorates? Should I be concerned about this?

I am sorry for the extremely long post, but I wanted to get my situation across, as I’m confused with the mystery itching, and any allergy doesn’t seem to fit, it seems to be related to heat and temperature only. Thanks for reading 😉

-VanderJag

This post was submitted by a reader.

Comments

  1. I am 56 and I was diagnosed with this when I was 14. I played a lot of sports and would come home covered in hives. I would get hives when ever I was hot as easy as eating a bowl of hot soup. When I was 14 I was prescribed to take Atarax when ever I thought I might do something where I might get hot. This didn’t work for me because the side effects of Atarax is that it makes you sleepy. So I would have hives all the time and would have to take cold showers to bring them down. When I was in my early 30 my Allergist prescribed 25 mg of Atarax every evening and this has worked wonderful for me. I have tried to go off the medicine twice and each time I would go back to getting hives. Atarax has been a great medicine for me. Julie

  2. Hello I would like to share my C.U. Experience. I have pictures of the changes my body goes through that I think would shed light on the severity of this condition. How can I send them to you?

    • Wilgen,
      I sent an email to you a couple of days ago with instructions for submitting pictures. You can post your experience on the forum, and then I can manually insert pictures into your article (if you wish).
      Thanks,
      Hivesguy

  3. Hello everyone
    I am 27 years old and getting these hives when i was young but only for 2 days after injection and med life goes smooth.. then hives gone for two years. Then i came to nz to start my PhD starting first 6 month i was fine.. but since sept am getting these hives every day.. injection not working.. am taking med, for the time being it works then same condition.. am just tired.. sometimes wants to cry.. try to search research papers but there is not a single solution to get rid of these hives.. being a girl am scared whenever am out (in university) rashes immediately comes on face and feel like people gonna lough :(.. its really hard and worst feeling.. i dnt know what should i do.. paying money with no results just frustration.. am scared how can i get married with these horrible hives.. cannot focus on my studies.. am the only unlucky child of my parents whos facing this problem.. why meeee?

  4. Hello..I am Adlin.. I started to have this hives from highschool and now I’m in college. Before this my hives were vibrant and occured only when I’m sweating profusely . My whole body will be swollen including my face,lips and even my ears.. I’m a long runner, after run normally I’ll be hiding as I feel dizzy and sick.But now my hives occurs nearly every hour whenever there’s sudden change in temperature or as simple as when I’m walking(not even sweating)..but the hives are not as serious as before. I havent take any medication.I’m afraid and scared to be out. Are there any suggestion for me?

  5. I just wanted to share and put it out there that I get heat rash any time I put lotion or moisturizer on my body or face. I don’t know why and it’s very frustrating. Especially in winter when skin is dry and needs moisture. I feel like my body is allergic to itself. this started two years ago and is very frustrating. I mostly just avoid all lotions and moisturizers but I had eczema recently and only moisturizer helped but now I’m covered in heat rash instead :(. Always trading one issue for another. Depressing. Ps thank you for having this website/blog! I feel less alone.