Urticaria-anyone knowledgable?

[Sparklingbrook]

Had an itchy red patch on my neck for about a week. GP says allergy/ Urticaria and has suggested a daily antihistamine. I took one yesterday, and one today. Itchy patch still there and red and itchy.

Should it have gone by now? Can you suggest any cream to stop it itching?

Bit miserable now.

Hi OP, another sufferer here. I have idiopathic urticaria and it literally drives me insane. No anti histamines work for me, gp said to double up if necessary and even then it doesn't help. If it is a small patch Eurax cream over the counter is brilliant (works for me) it really does stop the itch.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

Thanks Carmon. i am seeing the GP tomorrow to discuss antihistamines or not. It has been mainly pink and a bit flaky today.

Hadn't thought of Eurax. think the DC had that when they had Chicken Pox.

The Eurax certainly worth a try. I tend to get mine on the hands, big red lumps with white splodges and the soles of my feet. I have been known to go out in the garden & scrape my feet on the paving slabs to relieve the itch and pain that comes with it.

The bad thing for me is I'm also allergic to ibuprofen so can't take it for relief, I once took an anadin and my scalp was on fire with huge lumps all over it. it really made me check medication more carefully!

Thanks Carmon, I am off to GP at 11am so will see what he says. different one from last week, I may get to show all the GPs in time.

I'm not good with links but good chemists and H.F. shops sell it Sparkling You can even buy an Aloe Vera plant ! That's pure for sure. You just break a leaf and the gel is in it!

I've had urticaria for 20 years this year. (Yes - 20 YEARS!)

Don't know what causes it, but it is definitely worse with change in temperature or stress, as someone described above.

I get it all over my body, but worse on palms of hands, soles of feet, around waistband of clothes, eyelids etc - anywhere that is getting regular 'touch'.

Antihistamines work (that's how come I'm still here after 20 yrs ) but they take while (several days) to build up to strength in your body, so keep taking them. Ceterizine is fastest acting as you can get Value Health cheapy brand in boots. You can be prescribed a second antihistamine to take (eg one morning, one evening) if first not hitting it.

... fastest acting AND you can get... sorry. Ceterizine is not fast because it is cheap, but despite the fact it is cheap!

I've had hives on and off as part of my wide-ranging allergies for about 20 years (waves to fellow sufferer LtGreggs).

It doesn't sound like hives to me, to be honest. The flakiness in particular - hives are normally lumpy raised patches with redness and sometimes white that itch insatiably. Also while antihistamines work differently on different people even the useless ones (loratadine does nothing for me I have to use fexofenadine or cetirizine) do a little bit. Do keep in mind that if you can't get antihistamines to reduce the effect that you should ask for a dermatologist referral. It may be contact dermatitis or something like that instead.

In the meantime, if it is hives, I find ice helps mine - a cold pack or bag of peas might relieve the itching. Also, hydrocortisone cream as a pp said is great for temporary relief of the itching although won't fix the underlying cause. And the GP should know that the dose is different of antihistamines for hives - I take 180mg of fexofenadine for hives but only 60mg for a milder red-eyed sniffly reaction. But it really should clear up quite quickly if it's allergies if you get the right antihistamines.

My dd2 (10) has had urticaria for over a year. She takes a daily anti histamine or sometimes twice a day. We don't know the reason for it, but agree with LtGreggs as it is definitely worse when she is too hot or cold and when stressed...very very blotchy this morning as she was worried about school.

The worst attacks are when palms of hands and soles of feet itch. They swell up and she finds it uncomfortable to walk.

GP (locum) was uninterested and just told us to carry on taking anithistamine. I'm not sure which is the best one. Sometimes she is doubling the dose as she'll take one in the morning, but need another in the evening.

LtGreggs I'm not telling her you've had it for 20 years She hates it and I keep saying it will go...

I am back. I appear to have Urticaria and dermatitis too. Lucky old me. So got some stuff for the Dermatitis now too.

I am not convinced either GP had got it right. this one got his nail and dragged it down my forearm as some sort of test as to how quick the mark went. Apparently the anti-histamines were masking it.

TBF I was in a bit of a tizz after an hour and ten minute wait, so was hot and stressed anyway.

I think I may be falling to bits.....

Have you changed your washing powder recently? I know that biological powders can sometimes cause nasty reactions.

Forgot to say - mine is helped by diet. I loosely follow an anti-inflammatory diet, and avoid sugar and preservatives as much as possible.

Some things that cause me to get hives, to help you with possible causes: food preservatives (sulfites especially), animal dander, grasses, s

Oops phone sent too soon.

... some types of tree pollen, mould/mildew, dust mites. For the majority of these I only get hives around an abrasion eg a cat scratching me. To get hives otherwise I need to be in the midst of a massive allergic reaction, which I treat with about 3x the recommended dose of fexofenadine for a day or two (daily antihistamines makes mine worse - I find my body gets used to them and they stop working).

Have you tried avoiding dairy whereisshe? DS has the same as you which stops when he does that. Also he finds that turmeric cures his reactions too.

ppeat I did cut out dairy completely for a number of years. It makes me less snotty but not less likely to have an allergic reaction. I concluded that the outcome wasn't outweighing the difficulty in being dairy free so I gave up!

Sugar makes a huge difference for me though, I really notice when I eat it how much more reactive I am. The turmeric is interesting - fresh or dried?

I gave ds the dried organic turmeric mixed with olive oil (to a runnyish paste) and 3 tsp. taken with a glass of water in between or with meals is extremely effective. (i take it when I get a runny nose too it's brill).

You can get the supplements too (Solgar do one with cherry) but the oil helps the body to metabolise it properly.

Interesting about sugar I don't usually have it (i have maple syrup or molasses).We're all different though. D'you reckon that you'd get reactions from natural sweeeteners?

I remember that aspartame gave me urticaria now. You really have to read the labels of stuff, it's in 'healthy' Ricola sweets

Aspartame is horrible stuff! It makes me red and blotchy. Not a bad thing though, I don't miss sweets to be honest. I find the combination of limited sugar and no preservatives forces me to eat quite healthily which is no bad thing. I will try the turmeric though, useful to know (esp if I get pregnant again - 9 months without fexofenadine last time was awful).

I think that I really do need to look at my diet in any case. i could certainly drink more water, and eat more healthily.

Good idea Sparkling pm me if you need\want any support!

I just remembered EFAs which make a huge difference to people (essential fatty acids). Liz Earle talks about them curing her bad eczema especially evening primrose oil.