Severe hives - too afraid to touch anything. Sat on office chair naked and crying

Could be viral, when I had covid I got hives all over my face for about a week after I recovered from the initial virus. I assumed it was my immune system going crazy.

I get this sometimes.

what I find helps:

cut fingernails immediately.
cold baths. I need to breathe through them as the cold is unpleasant but it really reduces the itching and burning.
ice packs. I wrap them in cloth.

I do actually find painkillers help - so I do take ibuprofen and paracetamol

hydrocortisone cream and Lanacaine can also help reduce swelling.

So sorry to hear that you're suffering so much OP. Have you heard of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome? Take a look at mastcellaction . Com

My daughter has this and gets particularly itchy feet as one of her symptoms!! Hives are one of the symptoms but there are many more ..there is treatment that stabilises things. I hope you get some help and feel better soon!

Please don't go into work...give your body time to rest and recover and prioritize your health! Take care

Hope you’ve called in sick by now! Obviously seeking medical advice is top priority. Instead of scratching apply a cold compress. Scratching only makes the inflammation worse. Cool showers, air dry and wear loose cotton clothing.

I've just had that. Turned out to be an uncommon symptom of COVID. The spots started coming out before I felt ill too.

fexofenadine antihistamine is better for these sorts of things - gp can prescribe a higher dose of 180mg (normal 120mg) but my daughter takes 120mg twice a day on drs suggestion

Get to the doc. I've had full body flare ups of horrific hives and itching before (still haven't got completely to the bottom of them.) The only things that have helped have been steroids.
And- Do. Not. Itch. You need to stand in a cold shower for as long as you can tolerate and it will soothe the itch. But don't itch, it always makes it worse.

Also, get on Amazon and get Avene xera calm. It's the only thing that works on my skins.
Note - I'm convinced mine is actually some kind of weird fungal reaction thing but my (doctor) husband says it can't be 😂

I don’t have much advice but sending sympathy because I’ve experienced this too. The welts would move around my body and I had to wear my clothes inside out because the seams left such painful imprints ☹️. I remember the lack of sleep, it’s soo miserable. It turned out I’d suddenly become allergic to thrush medication and that had triggered an allergy to shampoo. Did you take anything for your cold or period that you don’t usually take? Hope you have a speedy recovery

There is a solution, you can ask GP for referral to immunology and they can prescribe a biologic from this. I was fobbed off with all the same issues until I was at a party one evening and got talking to a lady who was a specialist immunologist nurse and it happened in front of her. She urged me to go to GP and ask for immunology with a view to biologics, had to argue with GP a bit but mine are totally under control now. Havent had a flare in months.

Hope you can get to see a clinician as soon as possible. In the meantime, this might sound a bit mad, but years ago when I had something similar I managed to get some relief by powdering my sheet with bicarb of soda. I'd already tried many of the other excellent things others have already suggested including antihistamines. It was eventually traced to eggs, we'd been on holiday in Wales a couple of days previously.

I hope you feel better soon and the docs get to the bottom of it.

DH gets similar occasionally, huge welts, face swells. Fenofexadine is the only thing that works - you can buy it over the counter now, luckily as it used to be available on prescription. He had all sorts of allergy tests but we've never found out what causes it.

Sounds like your immune system is really stressed. I get an urticaria that comes and goes and the itching is beyond belief.

Different anti histamines like cetirazine and loratatine together might help you, as does me.

My mum had this. The GP sent her to A&E and she was put on a steroid drip. By the next day she was better.

Make sure you tell the receptionist you need an emergency appointment today.
Phone in sick to work.
Tell friend how ill you are.
Sending love.

Go to A&E, they’ll take it seriously. You might need steroids.

OP I had something similar last Christmas. It turned out that I was allergic to a seed topper that I was putting on my porridge. It was honestly one of the most awful things I have experienced as I was constantly scratching and sleep deprived like you and would just cry for days.

Like PPs have said please seek medical advice as soon as you can. I got steroid cream from my GP which did bring relief while we worked out what it was (took months and several flare ups) - once I stopped eating the seed topper went back to normal in no time. But honestly I was paranoid about everything and that has a real psychological impact. Sending hugs OP.

Also, patting can be better to help scratching, read it. somewhere reputable recently

I really hope OP is sleeping peacefully at the moment and gets another couple of hours sleep.
Then inform work you are ill.
Then GP get appointment/help for this.
Have a peaceful and restorative day.
And let us know how you're doing - if you want to and in your own time.

I had this a few years ago, reaction to antibiotics and was following on from bad cough. GP gave
me steroids and told me to take antihistamine. Was worse at night as the warmth of duvet made it worse, spent a few nights watching tv for distraction moving a bag of peas wrapped in a tea towel from place to place. Take some photos in case it’s not showing when you see someone. If there is a pharmacist open early you could go there for advice, I had it from tops of my ears to my toes, really horrible, my sympathy , hope it’s better soon.

You you haven’t been on antibiotics have you? Especially penicillin, my mum and sister allergic to penicillin and get that reaction.

It's horrid. I get one after every bad infection, norovirus, a really bad chest infection etc. I take fexofenadine maximum strength and it does help but time is the only thing that truly does. Why do our bodies do us twice lol, once with the infection and then again with the rash. Charming 🤣

But also see a GP or go to the out of hours drop-in.

Ask the pharmacy for fexofenadine antihistamine, it's stronger than piriton. I needed it last week for an allergic reaction to a bite, definitely helped more.

I had an allergic reaction of unknown cause about 10 years ago. My face started swelling up, ambulance was called. I still don’t know the cause but my GP recommended taking two cetirizine hydrochloride (as opposed to a different antihistamine) if it happened again. It hasn’t but I have had other reactions, like hives, and use this immediately. I always carry it with me.

You need Allevia Hives over the counter tablets. £9.00 for 15 but I hotvthem on prescription so doctors said 4 a day not recommended 1..
I take them and takes a while to get in system but definitely helped me. and calamine i use Rona Ross for prickly heat but normal calamine to soothe as above pp have said. The itching is relentless isant it. Cold flannel and cold sprays too helped me