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

[Dancerk]

So for the past three days I’ve had some sort of reaction. I’ve got hives/welts all over (scalp, bum legs, hands) plus blotchy skin. Hands and feet swollen slightly. Mostly it’s a mild nuisance. But a few times a day it just fucking gets so intense that I have my dogs comb brush I am just basically sanding my skin off to keep the itchiness at bay. Talking 30/40 min flare up where my body explodes. My body is so raw from scratching using all sorts. Even used a butter knife and blunt scissors to get a bit of relief

I haven’t eaten anything new and I have no food allergies that I am aware of. I do randomly get hives maybe once a year but normally it goes after half a day.

Just had a flare up which left me crying as it was so uncomfortable. Felt like my whole body was erupting.

I’ve convinced myself it’s either my detergent or dust mites. Im so scared to touch anything so im
sat on my plastic office chair butt naked. Crying. My feet are very itchy. Tbf everywhere is but my feet are so bad that everything pales in comparison

ive taken piriton but nothing helped.

i did have a stubborn cold I’m getting over (chat gpt said it may be linked)

im just hoping for advice. Im so paranoid. Literally shivering from the cold but worried it’s my detergent I have issues with. It’s been 7 days of shitness (period, cold, hives). My joints have also started to hurt,

I’ve got to leave the house in 3 hours. Not slept 😢

x

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 😂

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

You need to see your GP.

It probably isn't an allergy, unfortunately hives can just turn up because they fancy it - I speak as a chronic hives sufferer.

Piriton is an old anti-histamine which seems to have captured the imagination despite there being a lot more and better anti-histamines out there.

I use cetirizine, in the past I had fexofenadine as well. It may take several times the dose on the packet for it to go away - I think at my peak I was taking 5 fexofenadine and 5 cetirizine a day.

Ive called in sick. Im absolutely shattered.

Managed to get 40 winks. Sleep was quite disturbed as I have developed a really sore shoulder, elbow and wrist which really is quite uncomfortable. I have done absolutely no physical activity (dog was walked by a friend) for the better part of a week so I’m convinced it’s connected. Plus I have a tight/pressure sensation in my throat on the same side which is coming and going.

God I just want a break from this body

I would normally take an ibuprofen for the joint pain but I’m bloody terrified to put anything on or near my body.

I have copied all the suggested antihistamines and will ask the pharmacist for the strongest combo. I’m counting down the seconds until the pharmacy opens.

I TRULY cannot thank everyone on this thread enough. Your advice/sharing of similar experiences has helped so much! I didn’t know itching made hives worse. I was in a pathetic state last night with really no one to call in the middle of the night. I was crying out of sheer despair! To find a group of empathetic people offering advice made such a difference. I’ll never forget it xxx

I had random hives that lasted a few days and realised it came from some sort of detergent used at the dry cleaners. I could not fit my duvet into the machine so took it there to be washed. It took me a couple days to figure it out. Were you fine with the old detergent?

OP this happened to me about 7 years ago. Also all over my body. Definitely go to the docs and get Feno. Also ask for a referral for allergy patch tests. I went through this and discovered I had become allergic to MI which is short for Methylisothiazolinone.

It’s in washing powders/liquids, shampoos and shower gels. Even washing up liquid.

When I saw the specialist he said they think about 20% of the population are allergic to it and it should be banned.

Its worth checking your products for this whilst you get an appointment.

A pharmacy isn't enough, you need to be seen by a doctor.

I get this. Calamine helps.

I took my dd to a treatment center for a reaction like this (,were in spain). They gave her steroids, immediate high dose and tablets. Aswell as antihistamine. They come stronger than piriton

Please call the doctors NOW

I took my dd to a treatment center for a reaction like this (,were in spain). They gave her steroids, immediate high dose and tablets. Aswell as antihistamine. They come stronger than piriton

Please call the doctors NOW

i had this a few years ago with no explanation.. horrible! Turned out I had worms!