Chronic hives/urticaria

[supertrooper1]

Have you or someone you know suffered from chronic hives/urticaria and how did you or they get rid of it?

I've been suffering with chronic hives for about 4 months now.  At first I thought it could be related to my asthma medication montelukast but after going back to my allergy doctor, she said it was probably caused by an immune system issue.  Lab results came back normal for everything.  She told me to quadruple my dose of Zyrtec, but so far that isn't working.  I've tried an elimination diet to see if it was something I was allergic to.  Not only can I not figure out what is causing it, but I can't figure out how to get rid of the hives.  I'm tired of being itchy all of the time! 

[gummybear]

I had these for a couple months about 10 years ago. Like you I did everything under the sun to figure out why and how to treat. No answers. And then just as quickly as it came on it went away and it hasn’t ever come back, not a single hive.

Looking back and through my deep dive personal research (university of Google) I think it was probably hormonal and related to me weaning my daughter. There was simply no other explanation that made sense. As for treatment the only thing that touched it was Atarax. Which is also used for anxiety and insomnia (so win win win).

[Leeham Rimes]

Xavier had them when he was 5, the dr told us to give Zyrtec and Pepcid and it cleared them up in about 24 hours. The doctor explained why the combo was effective but I can’t remember, something about something in the Pepcid bringing out an underlying effect available in the Zyrtec but doesn’t show up without the combo. (Or vice versa?). I remember it was super effective.

[abs]

Me.

About 7 years ago I went through this. My allergist ended up doing extensive bloodwork and turned out it was autoimmune related. I was already on thyroid meds but not a high enough dose. Increasing made the hives go away.

[wambam]

2.5 years before I determined I was allergic to wheat via an elimination diet (blood tests came back negative).

In the meantime, Allegra was the ONLY antihistamine that helped at all, and a dermatologist had me taking triple the normal frequency. Sarna lotion also helped when the itching was particularly bad.

[meanie]

My mom has been dealing with hives along her jaw line for the past 1 - 2 years after getting a shingles vaccine. We thought it was just a side effect but she was told it would go away ~6 months later and it just got worse over time. She is on lots of allergy meds and tried multiple rounds of steroids. The hives have a daily cycle, and are super itchy in the evening.

Her latest derm appt with a specialist concluded that it is not an autoimmune response, the dr just told her that if she scratches then it will cause more hives.

I'll be watching this thread for her, she is tired of itching too!

[acr]

My daughter does, though it's better controlled now. Adding in Cimetidine/Tagament is what made the biggest difference for her (in addition to daily zyrtec)

[purplepenguin7]

I had chronic hives for a while. Perscription based Xyzal was the only thing that worked for me (before there was an OTC). I was eventually able to wean off of it and the hives didn't come back but i do get sporadic single hives/areas of itchiness still. Xyxal, Zerytec, Clartin, Allegra, etc are basically the same treatment.

[circa1978]

Oh hi. I had them from my late teens to late 20s. I got them everywhere but was particularly prone when I had an outbreak to getting them in my lips/mouth and eyes, which was fantastic. I took Benadryl with me everywhere and went to the ER when they were on my mouth and they gave me an IV antihistamine because they can close your airways. They came out of nowhere and then one day were gone. Weirdly, my mom also had hives for a few months when she was pregnant with me for the first and only time in her life.


The autoimmune angle is interesting. I do have Hashimoto's but it resolved way before I was medicated for that.

[definitelyO]

yes - my mom. she's 77. they were horrible - raised, red, painful, some spreading the size of the palm of her hand. She had them off and on for a year (sometimes lasting a month) She is immunocompromised and they did not know what was causing it. She ended up on steroids, zyzal, and a slew of other meds.

She just finished a clinical trial in Ohio that seemed to have had success.

[fn2187]

Mar 8, 2024 11:49:04 GMT -5 supertrooper1 said:

Have you or someone you know suffered from chronic hives/urticaria and how did you or they get rid of it?

I've been suffering with chronic hives for about 4 months now.  At first I thought it could be related to my asthma medication montelukast but after going back to my allergy doctor, she said it was probably caused by an immune system issue.  Lab results came back normal for everything.  She told me to quadruple my dose of Zyrtec, but so far that isn't working.  I've tried an elimination diet to see if it was something I was allergic to.  Not only can I not figure out what is causing it, but I can't figure out how to get rid of the hives.  I'm tired of being itchy all of the time! 

I’ve had it and have discovered 3 allergies (if that’s what you call it). When I went to the dr, they never found a cause. The three things that caused me to get awful hives were artificial sweetener (I was drinking a lot of diet beverages), deodorant (I’m only ok using certain brands now), and sunscreen which was a big issue. It’s awful. Hope you find a cause so you can eliminate any triggers.

[eb777888]

My (unknown for a long time) soy allergy was giving me hives.

[turboteal]

I had bad hives for a couple weeks once, what finally helped was cimetidine and fexofenadine (allegra) combo (possibly twice a day). An allergist gave me that combo.

[pierogigirl]

My husband had them for over a year (almost 2). Nothing eliminated them. One day, they just stopped and he's never had them again.

[scout8]

I had them on my face for about a year. Nothing helped. Out of the blue they went away one day.

[audry80]

I have had chronic hives for 15 years. The best guess is that a bad burn freaked out my immune system I started Xolair about 4 years ago and it’s been life changing. Zyrtec made it managable but Xolair makes them non existent.

[firedancer10288]

Yes, mine were on my face and hands. Allergy testing and elimination diet never turned up anything. Allergist could never find a reason, but a couple rounds of steroids got rid of it finally. A few months later the dermatologist asked what kind of toothpaste I was using (crest 3d white). She said to use plain old fluoride toothpaste, no whitening. Apparently many people react to the whitening ingredients. Switched toothpaste and never had a problem since.

[sadlebred]

Mar 8, 2024 12:04:32 GMT -5 Leeham Rimes said:

Xavier had them when he was 5, the dr told us to give Zyrtec and Pepcid and it cleared them up in about 24 hours. The doctor explained why the combo was effective but I can’t remember, something about something in the Pepcid bringing out an underlying effect available in the Zyrtec but doesn’t show up without the combo. (Or vice versa?). I remember it was super effective.

Pepcid is also an antihistamine. histamine-2 blocker (H2 blocker). You can use it in combination with most OTC antihistamines. Disclaimer: Of course you'll always want to run what you take by your doctor.

[mich1]

Yes. Despite living in South TX for 14 years, we went on vacation in Mexico and I broke out in hives. After that trip I broke out in hives every single time I went out in the sun. Ocean or pool, landlocked or mountains, wasn’t associated with sunscreen or any sort of food. Sun was the only common denominator.

The pattern was always the same. Started on my ankles, moved up my legs. Started on my wrists and moved up my arms. The worst case, it went so far up the back of my legs it worked halfway up my back. It took a good month after I got home for the hives to go away.

I was living on antihistamines including Benedryl. I found the topical Benedryl worked the best to alleviate the itch.

As spontaneously as they started, they went away. I have since been everywhere, often in the sun…..no hives. However, I still travel with th3 antihistamines and topical Benedryl.