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Chronic urticaria (hives)

20 replies

hellymelly · 26/10/2013 13:27

I have this following an allergic reaction to antibiotics, I don't do well on antihistamines, so I wonder if anyone has found anything "alternative" that helps? I saw an allergy specialist who thought I might be reacting to salicylates in food, so I tried a low salicylate diet for a few months- the hives did subside but it was hard to tell if it was the diet. I also tried taking omega oils and thought they had really made a difference, as back on a normal diet but the hives had all but gone. However this week they have returned. I can't face the low salicylate diet again, it was really hard (salicylate is in most fruit and many veg, and I am vegetarian), so am longing to find a solution. Stress does seem to make them worse, that much is clear.

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hellymelly · 26/10/2013 22:12

anyone?

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Babysealion · 27/10/2013 00:45

I have recurrent hives and eczema as well, as part of an autoimmune problem.
Have you looked up histamine intolerance?

RawCoconutMacaroon · 27/10/2013 00:56

Might be worth excluding gluten containing grains and maize(corn) for a few weeks to see what happens.

hellymelly · 27/10/2013 13:18

I can't eat any gluten anyway (probable coeliac). I do have an auto immune issue, in that I have an underactive thyroid and it is the auto-immune type, so could that be a factor? I am covered with hives today, and they also make me feel a bit jittery and miserable aside from the annoying itch. So strange as they had virtually gone and I really thought it was over and done with, as looking online had suggested that the urticaria can last a year or so and then go. (I've had it for a year). I will go and look up histamine intolerance now.

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goodasitgets · 27/10/2013 13:24

I've tried homeopathy, chinese medicine, diet change and no joy Sad

Babysealion · 27/10/2013 13:28

I really do feel for you, I know how awful it is when you get flare ups :( I use steroid cream to control mine, and I find Aveeno works wonders at soothing the itch.

goodasitgets · 27/10/2013 14:30

Mine is cholinergic urticaria. Worse when massive change of temp (like exercise in winter) and it comes on when my heart rate goes up
Doing star jumps in a hospital gown with no sports bra to bring it up was a low point Grin

hellymelly · 27/10/2013 15:16

I seem to get palpitations when mine is bad. I do get them anyway, and they are worse when my thyroid is under par, but I have noticed that when the hives are flaring up I get more runs of palpitations. They scare me and make me stressed which probably increases the hives. I have tried accupuncture, and I may try homoeopathy again. I would try anything as it is driving me maaaaaad.

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RawCoconutMacaroon · 27/10/2013 22:44

Re gluten - about 10% of people who react to gluten also react to similar proteins in maize/corn (one reason why a lot of coeliacs don't get a complete resolution of symptoms when they continue to eat "gluten free" products like fake bread and cakes.

Histamine (like tyramine) is interesting as its difficult to pinpoint individual food triggers as each person has a tolerance to so much eaten over the course of the day, imagine an empty cup, you can keep pouring water(histamine) into it, and it doesn't create any problem but once the cup is full, even adding a little more will cause a flood (symptoms)!

IME and IMHO... Any kind of autoimmune problem does seem to be strongly associated with having other autoimmune conditions and intolerances and various symptoms that don't have diagnosis (headache, joint and muscle pain, brain fog and so on).

Tyramine and histamine are present in a lot of the same foods (and cause a lot of the same symptoms. Will me it's headache, migraine and itch with some urticaria.

Foods I find worst are blue cheese, bacon, wine and canned fish. Other strong cheese I would only have in very small amounts. Pork and canned fish make me itch, bacon, cheese and wine tend to give me headache and migraine.

You can google lists of tyramine and histamine, the lists are a good starting point but of course not everybody will react to the same foods - it would depend on how intolerant you are, and what your portion sizes are, as well as what the rest of your diet contains.

Interestingly it wasn't until months after I completely cut all grains from my diet (leading to many health improvements), that I was able to pinpoint the reactions I was having to other things, as it became a lot easier to see what was causing symptoms.

It's not easy tho- takes time Smile.

hellymelly · 29/10/2013 22:08

I don't eat the foods that are your triggers rawcoconut, aside from occasional tinned fish. I looked at high histamine foods and aside from chocolate I don't particularly eat large amounts of them, but I do eat more of foods that can cause histamine release. I suppose I could try cutting out all grains. Am very fed up of limited diets though, as I can't eat gluten and I don't eat meat, I am trying to not have too high a level of salycilates (although I am not sticking to the low salicylate diet at the moment as it made me feel generally rough, far too high in fat and far too little fruit or vegetables. And the no spices rule was really hard, as who can eat things like chickpeas without seasoning? )
Am miserable today as I have hives and welts all over my back, down my legs and even in my ears. I am scratching and feel wheezy and horrible. If I take piriton I feel dopey and get a nasty headache, if I take a non-drowsy antihistamine I get dizzy, racing heart, and feel weak, faint and frightened. I have some Telfast that I haven't tried but as the list of possible side effects are all the ones I usually get with other non-drowsy AHs I am too scared to try it!
I wonder what has caused this big flare up? I am completely fed up. Saw a man on tv last night who drinks his own wee as he is convinced it has cured his asthma, and actually thought that I would drink my wee if it would cure hives..!!

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Lorelei353 · 29/10/2013 22:17

I had chronic idiopathic urticaria for a few years, thankfully gone now.

I can't take anti-histimines either. All varieties, including non-drowsy, just knock me put completely for at least 12 hours, and the I'm stoned for about another 12, but Telfast didn't have that effect on me. I got very slightly drowsy on the adult dose (180mg) but I found that if I took it at night, by the time I got home from work the hives would come back. I eventually was prescribed the child doses (30mg) and took two twice a day, so 120mg in total. It really helped control the hives for me.

In terms of triggers, I have no idea what started mine, but getting too warm definitely made not worse and red wine made them worse.

hellymelly · 30/10/2013 14:59

Lorelei, so yours just disappeared after a while? That is heartening at least. I am steeling myself to try the Telfast, maybe I will try a half dose at first. It is the possible racing heart that scares me, as I am prone to palpitations. The hives are at their worst in the evening with me, then they usually resolve while I am asleep, (although sometimes I will break out at night and the scratching will wake me up ). I don't often have them in the morning, which does suggest a food link I suppose.

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Lorelei353 · 30/10/2013 15:46

Mine were worse in the evening too but there was no food trigger. I was told that something had started it but now it was self triggering and it would just go away by itself which could take anything from 6 months to years. weirdly my dad has had the same thing in the past. His faded with time too.

RawCoconutMacaroon · 30/10/2013 18:58

I think that's the problem- once a reaction gets triggered, then other things set it off that would normally be ok, and it becomes a vicious circle.

Antihistamines- they don't all work for all people, try different types (look at the name of the actual drug, not the brand name, and try the different ones.

Also try this! A long time ago in Australia I got bitten by something, and broke out in the worst hives I've ever had, they were egg sized, the dr I saw actually listened to me when I said antihistamines don't work very well on me, and he gave me the antacid ZANTAC which did... Apparently this works for people with a particular metabolism...

goodasitgets · 30/10/2013 19:34

I've used Zantac before its apparently a different type of inhibitor. I tried that combined with an antihistamine
Beta blockers worked for two blissful weeks. At one point I was on 28 antihistamines a day Shock and nothing
My last option is cyclosporine to suppress my immune system

RawCoconutMacaroon · 30/10/2013 19:51

Goodssitgets Shock, that sounds very heavy duty!

Lorelei353 · 30/10/2013 20:53

I was told that anti depressants might help if the Telfast didn't.

goodasitgets · 30/10/2013 21:23

Yeah I've been to an urticaria specialist. I think it started when I was about 12 and it hasn't been away since
I just put up with it now Smile

hellymelly · 30/10/2013 22:38

goodasitgets- that is horrendous. I feel pretty wimpy having a whinge about mine now. I think stress makes mine worse, who knows if salicylates are a factor with me, I hope not, as a future without curry would be a bleak one! I wonder if there is also a hormonal link, as I am 49 so hormones must be shifting. I have an underactive thyroid, perhaps that plays a part? I just long for something to help without having ghastly side effects. The allergy doc wanted me to take double dose antihistamines plus an anti-asthma drug at night, but I chose to go on the very limited diet instead. However I feel so rough now that maybe I have to start taking meds to try and suppress it. All the comments are really helpful. Just knowing that other people have dealt with it is helpful in itself.

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goodasitgets · 30/10/2013 22:57

For me I have to keep bringing the hives up. That sounds totally the wrong thing to do, but the more I exercise and sweat and bring them up, the milder they are Hmm
It can be anything from a hot bath to being stressed to exercise that brings them up but all mainly heat induced

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