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

I’ve only read your posts OP as haven’t time to read all replies but I’ve experienced this when I developed an allergy to penicillin (after previously being able to have it with no problems). It’s awful when you can’t bear anything touching your skin. I was seen at A&E as it was New Year’s Eve and I couldn’t wait for a GP appointment and given strong antihistamines which acted quickly and made me very drowsy which helped me get some much needed sleep! Hope you get sorted soon.

You can become allergic to something you have used for years. I became allergic to hair dye. Women can have new allergies develop especially around the time of menopause or their allergies worsen, mine did and I sought medical help.

Waiting on a call back. Might just pop to the pharmacy and get something in the mean time as I still am quite uncomfortable . Just not experiencing a flare up. Thank God.

Oh I didn’t know that. Might just drink water today.

Your reasoning that this is a post viral complication is very sensible OP. Too much of a coincidence otherwise.

Will reply to direct questions in a bit.

I had something like this years ago. Rash that would flare up and down. Could NOT get to the root of it drove me mad eliminating things. Steroids were the only thing that helped (antihistamines did absolutely nothing). A shower, either hot or cold, sometimes helped get through an itchy phase.
It also started with a cold/ flu thing that I thought was unrelated at the time and I ended up having swelling/joint pain. Lasted years on and off. Rheumatology helped to a certain extent but I was passed around Dermatology/GP etc for a long time!
In hindsight I strongly suspect it was post-viral. Talk of long covid years later rang a lot of alarm bells for me. Totally fine now though, no medication or long-term effects (although the whole saga did last a few years!)

Oh you poor thing.
I had this 30 years ago - turned out to be an autoimmune reaction to the cold. The only thing that helped me was lying in a warm bath.
GP gave me steroids which really helped within a day or two.

OP could it be Hand, Foot and Mouth? This also affects the bum and thighs, and can be brutal in adults. The rash tends to follow cold symptoms too, I think...

Echo all others, absolutely get it seen too. Feel better soon!

I confess I've only skimmed through the answers, but Anthisan from the pharmacy helped me until my GP finally came up with some (evil smelling) lotion that cleared it
We never did find out what I was reacting to.
Miserable isn't it, you have my sympathy.

My allergies are severe and nothing helps them. Cold touch makes them worse or any touch. When I have a reaction there are two things that save me EpiPen and then a course of high steroids orally, my allergies are touch and inhalation. If you don’t know what has caused it and it is this bad you need to go and get an emergency GP appointment and I mean emergency or go to A and E. I carry priton, steroids and EpiPens at all times. My allergy is not food it’s a chemical I can come into contact with. It may or may not be food

I had really similar, incredibly itchy, blotchy face/neck, throat started to close. Ran to A&E, they gave me steroids and a lot of anti-histamine for 2 weeks. The doctor (was during the junior doctor strike) said it can’t harm to take up to 4 piriton at once. Obviously they won’t give you steroids except during a flare up. Hope you don’t have a reoccurrence.

I had this years ago. The culprit was caffeine tablets . Not an allergy as such more a catalyst for something else the doctor thought. Have you vpbeen taking ofc cold medicine which contains caffeine?

Agree you need to see a doctor, I was prescribed steroid cream and had to not drink any caffeine for about 2 months.

You need steroids ASAP. My BIL developed a shell fish allergy in his 40's.
It was horrendous.
His throat started to feel tighter after 2 days.

Just to let you know that iron deficiency can cause skin itching too. So picking up your prescription and starting in the course may also help, as well as helping your immune system.

If it’s an allergic reaction, over the counter antihistamines won’t touch the sides. This is a job for a walk in centre. They might at least be able to give you some prescription drugs and then you can see your GP for more tests.

I have Cold Urticaria (its hives in response to a temperature change) and when it used to kick off, it was horrendous. One time I put the AC on in the car and the itching was so extreme I had to pull into the Services to have a big scratch. I’m on daily prescription antihistamine now and very rarely have a problem.

Sorry I didnt see this - 4x the dose of piriton can be prescribed for you, 2x is safe for anyone to take when experiencing an allergic reaction.

If you can take photos and videos of the flare ups so that if it has calmed down by the time you see a GP you can show them how bad it was. A ruler also helps show the size of the hives on camera too.

I hope you get sorted out. Hives are awful.

Can you see the hives come up? If so it's definitely an allergic reaction as viral rashes are not that quick. Eat a low histamine diet for a few days https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/-/media/johns-hopkins-childrens-center/documents/specialties/adolescent-medicine/cfs-low-histamine-diet.pdf

Dont scratch if you can possibly avoid it, antihistamine cream may help.

I became allergic to my deodorant. Got to the stage I'd put it on and it would burn like hell so I'd rub it off - not really effective so I changed brands.

Have you bought new clothes recently? I went to the Dr with hives years ago. Turns out I was allergic to my new 100% cotton pjs. Apparently it's to do with chemicals used in the country where the fabric was made. I refused to believe it and over the years have attempted to wear the pjs and every single time come up in welts, regardless of how often I've washed them. Finally they got binned.

As much as scratching feels good, it ultimately makes things worse

This kind of extreme allergic reaction with hives is well-documented and not uncommon as a post-COVID immune system response. You need to be seen by a doctor and also consider that this is your body giving you a very clear sign to slow down and not push your recovery from whatever virus you might have just had/still have. You don't want to kick off a long term post-viral condition like Long COVID or chronic fatigue syndrome.

I suffered from constant, severe urticaria (hives) for many, many years.
Eventually I discovered it was a reaction to an ingredient in gel type oil capsules, I think maybe glycerin but never really found out exactly what it was. I avoid all forms of gel capsules.
It also flares up if I touch certain fabrics such as microfibre and the papery stuff sometimes used on duvets.

I had this last Christmas, it’s hell! I was taking cold showers at 3am when the temperature was freezing outside. You need a strong antihistamine. And a high dose vitamin D. I found that low vitamin D Had triggered mine and even a double dose of strong antihistamine took a week to take effect. Please try not to scratch and use wet cloth to calm the skin. See your GP or pharmacist asap.

I’ve never heard of post viral urticaria, but I think DC started having this on Saturday night. Thanks to all for some very helpful ideas and OP I hope you are feeling better soon.

I know this feeling all too well. I know it won't be helpful immediately but these are great for helping get that relief without damaging the skin.

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