Hello,
I was wondering if using a steam room would be good or bad for cholinergic urticaria (heat hives)?
Thanks in advance,
-Simon
Reply by Hivesguy:
Simon,
Thanks for your question. Steam rooms (aka saunas) can make the body become warm quickly, which does help some individuals with cholinergic urticaria to sweat faster and minimize reactions for the rest of the day. This is a technique known as “sweat therapy.” If you want to read other people’s experience with it, you can search “sauna” or “sweat therapy” on this site to see what they have said about it.
Using sweat therapy or a sauna (steam room) is not ideal for everyone, because some individuals have extreme reactions, and some also have a condition known as anaphylaxis, which is where the body reacts so severely that you can actually die. So it does help some people, but it may be dangerous (even life-threatening) for others.
Whether a steam room or sauna would benefit you is something you should discuss with your doctor. Some questions to consider include the following:
- Have you ever had a severe, anaphylactic shock or reaction? If so, this is not safe for you.
- Do you have a severe case of hives, or only a minor case? People with severe case may not be the best candidates for sweat therapy, as it can be extremely painful and severe.
- Do you experience relief for a day or so after a hives reaction, or are they consistently severe? People who benefit most are the ones who tend to have relief after they force an attack.
Even if your doctor does approve you to try this, I’d recommend having an Epi-Pen on standby, as well as someone who could rush you to the hospital or call emergency care in the worst case scenario.
I hope that helps!
Hivesguy