Chronic Urticaria

[AvonCallingBarksdale]

Has anyone had/does anyone have chronic urticaria (seems to be a posh way of saying hives that have lasted for more than 6 weeks?) I had it before Xmas, was prescribed anti-histamines, it pretty much cleared up, but then has come back with a vengeance, so I'm back on the anti-histamines in the hope that it'll clear up. GP says to come back for blood tests if it hasn't gone in a couple of months. But.. the itching is driving me absolutely insane It's just awful My arms are covered in weals, as are my legs, back, backside, fanjo. What can I do? Google is not my friend, suggesting it may last indefinitely in some cases . Any advice very gratefully received!

Hmm I think I'm on year 6 of chronic urticaria! I take anti histamines year round. But I have loads of allergies so that doesn't really bother me. Sometimes if its really bad my Dr will give me two types to take at the same time. It is better than it was right at the beginning. Never had tests done as most of the time they don't know what it is that causes it and I'm a very allergic person anyhow. These are my main triggers 1) tight fitting clothing especially bras pants etc. 2) temperature change. e.g. cold out side and coming into central heating.

Mine was possibly triggered by medications. I have two friends who also have it both triggered by pregnancy.

Ooh, nostress, 6 years!! Does it come and go, or do you have it constantly? My skin is an absolute mess at the mo I have hay fever, allergic to cats, used to have mild eczema as a child, so I guess I'm in the more-likely-to-get-it camp. What a pain!

I'd say it is pretty well controlled at the moment. I did do a trial of not taking antihistamines about a month ago but it came back. So just started taking the meds again and its fine. Just take care not to over heat. I also get sun allergy and thats really really annoying.

Are you stressed at all OP? Years ago I suffered (&suffer is definitely the right word!) with chronic urticaria for about 18months. I'd touch my face, back -anywhere you name it- & huge weals would appear. Also the nettle rash /hives would drive me mad with itchiness at times. I found that anti histamines helped, sometimes I'd apply ice cubes wrapped in cloth to some areas. Plus as a distraction my GP suggested slapping my own arm as your brain would then concentrate on pain rather than itching iyswim (this was a last resort ) I strongly believe that stress/anxiety plays a large part in this, so if you can get to the bottom of the cause you might find the cure.
Good luck.

Not had it, but ds is prone to hives.

Try steeping some chamomile tea bags in hot water and cool down with ice. When icy cold apply the tea bags to the hive(s). You can use the water/tea to bathe the affected areas with.

Pure essential oil of lavender helped too. (Check you're not sensitive to it first) either in the bath or mixed with some almond oil and applied to the skin.

And I was told a cool bath with milk with a mix of essential oils of lavender and chamomile would help, but I never tried it.

toldmywrath, interesting you should say that. I am under a lot of stress with elderly parents at the moment, coupled with financial stresses at home. My GP initially asked me about stress and she did say it could be attributed to that. As if I'm not already feeling rubbish!!
DoItTooJulia, I'll have a go with the chamomile and Lavender. Thank you.

Poor you, I can suffer mildly when under stress, and have just come off anti histamines after taking them for around eight months. One of my friends had been on them for ten years she has it dreadfully, she swears by Dream Cream from Lush to help call the itch and burn (she is also takes anti histamines all the time, the cream is an extra, not an alternative).

I took antihistamine for 12 years but then grew out of it in my late twenties. Temp change was the killer for me - putting a nice cube on my skin would have meant you could literally draw pictures with it but stress was a big aggravator. Talk to doc about leapfrogging different types and try different types. Cetirizine worked well for me but several others didn't touch the sides. Pregnancy brought it back in the late stages (great!) and it stayed for early bf, and I found a spray thing on amazon which helped a little - began with z... Will try and find it.

I ended up in hostpil due to this was told by doc im allegric to stress !! Take antistemics stay out of heat and light I have had it for 3 years doc said it could take 15 years to burn out of my body its like a coldsore viris that comes back when upset stressed sigh

Yes, the more I read about it, the more I learn about it being related to stress in the case of chronic urticaria. I think it's an autoimmune response when it goes on for ages. starsandunicorns, if you don't mind me asking, how come you ended up in hospital with it? Sounds v scary.... I hate my body sometimes, bloody letting me down

Yes I take cetirizine and when its really bad acrivastine.

I had it all over the body this was the first breakout already gone to the gp earlier in week and couldnt breathe propley so dp took me to AnE 6 hours later I got to the ward was given oxyen put on a heart monitor for a bit then they tried to get blood out of me 17 trys for that my veins just kept collasping my stress levels went up as on my own for five of those hours dp had to go to work got given vaulim to calm me down as even the slightlish touch to the skin hurt let alone stabbing me with a neddle I was in for 2 days on a drip so I looked stunning mega lumpy and bruised from the neddles