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

See, for me, when I've had urticaria, that makes mine worse! Mine is heat related though, so I have a horrible hot heat rash that makes me want to scratch my skin off. Cold showers and ice packs take the worst of the itching away and I can't put any moisturiser on as it holds in the heat.

OP - hopefully what the doctor suggested will work, but do go and speak with a pharmacist too to ask what combination of things you can take to help.

Honestly you need medical assistance- go to A&E or GP and get some serious antihistamines! You need much more than a piriton! Hope you feel better soon xxxxx

Not great, is it?
DS had a phone consultation last week with gp, obviously from home, complete with noisy toddler interrupting throughout. DS has chronic depression. It wasn't a helpful experience.

OP you need to be seen. It sounds horrendous.

I suffer from hives occasionally. GPS take them surprisingly seriously. They’re considered to be quite a serious allergic reaction. I do hope you see someone today.

Omg the Aliavea and steroid cream have been phenomenal. 60% improvement! Kicking myself for not getting yesterday

I’m actually feeling the raw skin the most. It didn’t even register pre Allevia. So relieved. Still red and still have hives but it’s all calmed down massively. I can’t feel the ants crawling over me sensation

I would take some photos before the welts and swelling have gone down (if they haven’t already) just in case you need to refer to the date, or compare location if it happens again, or show the dr if you decide to get allergy testing

HRTFT but for what it’s worth, I’ve had allergies like this my whole life which were made worse by environmental factors (living in a city which meant lots of pollution and mold in our house). Additionally, certain fragrances can trigger a fragrance allergy sending you into overdrive with reactions.

Most antihistamines don’t do anything for me anymore - Allevia is Fexofenadine (sp?) and you can get higher strength ones via GP as the OTC ones can only go to a certain dose. For skin itching, I used to use Diprobase and Doublebase which did help - one of the best things I found was Sudocrem due to the mild skin numbing effect.

You have my complete sympathies - mine did this out of nowhere moving into a new flat and dust was another big trigger for me. If you can manage, perhaps a proper hoover behind every surface (including sofa, in between cushions and mattress) could help. I wear a mask whilst doing this to help mitigate any additional exposure to allergens. Perhaps washing your sheets on a very hot wash might help - and using vinegar as a PP mentioned.

ETA: Not trying to scare you but there is an illness that can cause extreme allergies to lots of things you weren’t previously affected by - someone I know has this and it’s referred to as a histamine bucket being full, meaning you can only tolerate minimal things without a reaction. I can’t remember the name - think it might be MCAS? Could be worth following up with the doctor to explore this. It’s usually a sudden onset of allergic reactions including lots of hives and flares - I am absolutely not a doctor but it might provide a bit of reassurance to rule it out.

I did find a link also between my hormones being out of balance exacerbating my symptoms - whenever I was due on or ovulating, it would be worse and I could be more sensitive. I did also get achey joints which is common with a Vit D deficiency, as well as the allergies according to my GP, but obviously each individual is different.

Sending you hugs and I hope you start to feel a bit better soon - it’s frustrating when doctor’s don’t take things seriously/give you enough time to explain your symptoms!!!

💐

Ask GP for an urgent emergency appointment.

Thanks, you mean like xolair? I know it's very expensive so no wonder they aren't handing it out.

I don't like the look of the potential side effects - including cancer which you don't usually see as a listed side effect for medication! Also hair loss which is something I've suffered in the past and have no desire to repeat.

I'm on a couple of chronic hives fb groups and it seems like results are hit and miss for those who do use xolair. Glad it works for you though.

Hello OP, I totally feel your pain with this - two years ago I suddenly developed large, itchy hives spreading all over my body at an alarming rate,
seemingly out of the blue. Cue me having a million different GP and nurse practitioner appointments (I even got so desperate I went to a private GP) who all give me different diagnoses and were largely dismissive (the private GP was great and it turned out her diagnosis was correct, which the NHS GPs dismissed). The issue with skin conditions is there are so, so many so I went though the gamut of diagnoses (at one point even ringworm was touted - that was a horrendous two weeks!!). The only thing that alleviated them was oral steroids; antihistamines (even double doses of fexafenadine) did nothing). After this dragging on for three months, I finally met with a lovely sympathetic NHS GP who referred me to dermatology after she saw the hives ravaging my body and, after attending dermatology 5 months later (waiting list) I got a diagnosis of urticarial vasculitis (the non-hypocomplementemic type which affects my skin only). No known cause, just one of those weird autoimmune things that can come on in your mid-forties. I was put on the correct meds and have been fine ever since. I would insist on a face-to-face appointment with the GP if things don’t clear up for you, so they can see how bad it is and how debilitating it is for your life. It was only me standing crying at the GP’s reception and down the phone that got any results.

@Dancerk - please avoid 'self help' anti inflammatory medication.

Specifically, it is advised not take aspirin, ibuprofen (and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or opiates, such as codeine unless essential/prescribed, since these medicines may aggravate the condition.

Get yourself to a doctor. And they'll also prescribe the most appropriate antihistamine(s)

fexofenadine is in Allevia. I take 180g. I have votamin d deficiency and now take vitamin c as my immune system was in over drive too. Had a 6mth warning at work as sick so much. Caught everything so be careful going into authum/winter with sickness around. Also you may qualify flu jab

Hope you get some relief via the GP.

If your skin is raw get Cetraban cream. Having been through a number of creams for the raw skin caused by eczema this is the only one that really soothes as well as moisturises

So glad to read your update OP. I got covered in bites (either sandflies or harvest mites) a few months ago and they itched like nothing I've ever experienced before (I'm in my 60s), I was utterly miserable. I went and spoke to the pharmacist at Boots who gave me Fexofenadine and Eurax cream and the relief was incredible.

Allevia is brilliant

for the skin, have a mild bath with oats in it (put them in a sock so you’re not just in porridge!), it helps massively

I read with interest as I had similar over Easter this year.

I had chronic childhood eczema and have had flare-ups over the years, usually face and hands. But never anything like this. Intense itching and hives over my entire body - every part of it except my face and hands, ironically!

I eventually ordered some Betnovate cream online (been to GP's and derm's so many times about my eczema over the years that honestly, I lack faith and I was in too much pain to move far, anyway. Plus, I knew I needed steroid cream). I have used the steroid over the summer along with Certirizine (I find this more effective than other anti-histamines). I was taking 3 or 4 anti-histamines a day at one point.

I was also using a knife to scratch and the only relief from the itch was hot water from the shower head (I am currently still using this to relieve the itching on my feet).

I have managed to get on top of it with the Betnovate and am still taking 1 anti-histamine in the morning.

I am amazed at the number of friends I have spoken to this summer who have had eczema flare-ups, especially it seems on their legs. A couple of close relatives ha this and they've no previous eczema. I am starting to wonder if it's some kind of pollen. One thing I have noticed is that oddly, the itching is worse when I get home from walking so am wondering if it is pollen or sweat that I am reacting to.

I hope you feel better soon, OP. You really do have my sympathy. I could easily have cried on a lovely stop assistant in Boots while I was on holiday visiting my son as it was so bad, so painful I only just managed to walk from the hotel to the shop.

One things I did find was that when my skin was very flared-up, it would react to anything I put on it except the steroid cream. I think this is quite normal for a lot of people with eczema. I am allergic to a lot of the emollients, anyway but putting any moisturiser of any kind at all just angered my skin more. So at those times, I used salt in the bath and just the steroid cream for a few days until it calmed down.

uritica/hives you need a course of steroids call an ambulance now I got to the point I had bruises and swelling on my face from itching. The only thing that works is medication, creams and ice or as cold as possible baths loose clothing and I was allergic to bleach cleaning products.

I had something similar out of no where and hadnt had anything new BUT it turned out my regular daily medication had changed. The prescription didnt specify brand so pharmacy gave me the equivalent cheaper one which had a different coating on the pills. Once I went back to the previous brand it was fine.

I’ve got that. It’s stress related. I take antihistamines for that. When not stressed or away from busy family home, no hives!

Please check your shower gels etc for Methylisothiazolinone, Acrylates, SLS, Acetate….all these can cause severe rashes. And you should see the Gp face to face and ask for patch testing.

I similarly get hives about once a year and last time when antihistamines didn’t work and was in utter can’t do anything discomfort went to boots. Pharmacist there explained to me there’s two types of antihistamines and a bit like you can take ibuprofen and panadol together in extremis gave me them and said it would be safe to use both for up to three days otherwise see gp. Thankfully worked so maybe a good avenue, and quicker than getting gp appointment. Good luck and really feel for you

Glad to see it’s getting a bit better.

when this started happening to me, we eventually figured out it was things I had been using for years. For the longest time I was convinced I was allergic to my own sweat. In a way I was, because when I got warm, I was activating the product residue on my skin from the shampoo or the detergent and giving myself a rash. It took allergy patch testing and a bit of trial and error to figure it all out.

one thing that can help to keep from scratching is ice packs. Cold showers also work if it’s everywhere.

I'm having this same issue at the moment after taking flucloxacillin. I stopped the antibiotic on Monday but the hives just kept on getting worse. The speed at which the hives have been spreading across my body is quite shocking. Can I ask how long it took for things to calm down? I started steroid tablets yesteday but it is still getting worse at the moment.