Joan? Anybody? Question about hives

[fruitvine]

My 25yo daughter has been having hives on her arms and legs for about a week. They come and go and are worse at night. She is nursing a 2mo so she is limited on what she can take. She has taken Benadryl a couple of times but it doesn't seem to help much and the hives return. We can't figure out what is causing this. Any ideas?

[rskontos]

Has she changed anything in her diet. I know I got a terrible rash when my thyroid became sluggish. She probably should go to the doctor about this. HE/she could do some blood work to see if anything is going on internally. Then she could also go to a dermatologist. Maybe her gyn/ob might have some suggestions too. It could be a hormonal inbalance which Dr Rob Carlson says happens often especially due to sleep deprivation right after having a baby.

Good luck

[pamelaw]

Charlotte, has she EFT'd on it? Is there anything going on that can cause this kind of stress reaction? I'd EFT on it. I was stung by stinging nettle and EFT'd and even though I'd been pricked 4 times, within 5 minutes we couldn't even see the marks and it never burned and itched, either.

[MommyRose]

My mom has gotten hives by eating fruit that had a spray on it...sulfur I think. The fruit was from a different field then she usually picked fruit at.

My oldest has had hives from eating something but it usually goes away within' a few days. He had one case that was head to toe! He had crawled near the ground we had just thrown fertilizer on. We did see the doctor and he gave us an internal anti-itch medicine which did help him when he needed it.

Has she changed skin products?

I had an awful case of hives about 5 years ago. It was going away after a few days when they reappeared worse then before. It was then that we realized I'd eaten at Taco Bell prior to both outbreaks. (It had been years before that that I'd eaten at Taco Bell). Needless to say I will never eat at Taco Bell again. The reaction was worse the 2nd time.

So, perhaps the hives aren't going away as her exposure is constant?

An oatmeal bath would be calming. I have no proof tea would be helpful but I would try calming teas...like Chamomile. Perhaps that could help to calm her system. And, of course, Red Raspberry Leaf would be excellent for the hormones.

[JoanS MH]

So sorry for her! The "itch" can be caused by so many things - and great suggestions have been offered! Constipation will cause toxins to get out any way they can so that is my first check. Food allergies and contact allergies are common causes. Has she changed detergent, softener, lotion, or anything like that. Perhaps even starting to use new items for the baby... If it is contact allergies it would not necessarily appear every place there is contact but can appear only in more sensitive areas of the skin.

Here are some recommendations from Dr C http://www.herballegacy.com/Itch.html

Chickweed is great for itching. Plantain will draw toxins out of the area. Black Walnut will help particularly if this is fungus related. She has to be careful of secondary infection if the itching gets worse to the point she scratches unknowingly (in her sleep) so she needs to keep the area clean.

[schoonma]

Oh Charlotte....I feel her pain.

After the birth of my third and last child, a boy, I got hives. He was born Oct. 24th and I was in the ER on Christmas day. They started when I put the lights up on the Christmas tree and would get pricked by the tree branches. First they were little itchy bumps, but the more I itched them, the bigger they got and the spread almost everywhere!!

I know she probably knows this, but itching them makes them worse! Mine used to itch SO BAD that I would grab car keys and scratch my skin:( And hives can be brought on by so many different things....they never found out what caused mine, the ER put me on prednisone, which was a blessing to me because I finally received relief. My hives got so big that my skin started splitting. I would get hives from too heatt or cold, pressure induced hives, etc. Never found out what triggers this and I take Clairitin every day and have for the past 9 years.

Hope she finds some relief!

Mary Ann

[Allie loves Mike]

My 25yo daughter has been having hives on her arms and legs for about a week. They come and go and are worse at night. She is nursing a 2mo so she is limited on what she can take. She has taken Benadryl a couple of times but it doesn't seem to help much and the hives return. We can't figure out what is causing this. Any ideas?

I had a virus in 2008 that caused a bright red rash on my legs, torso and upper arms mainly. It was an adult virus similar to Roseola. Very strange as I got it 20 years later than people normally get it.

I would see a doctor :)

[Lori French]

Funny, I've been following this poor breastfeeding blogger with a similar story.

This post is a couple of weeks old, there have been updates. Maybe something will

ring a bell and be of help???

http://balancingeverything.com/2010/01/09/the-last-time/

[iowagirl]

I have had chronic hives of unknown origin (chronic idopathic urticaria according to modern medicine...) for periods of 6 months to two years a number of times in my life.

The first time, I was in high school. It lasted for well over a year. I had allergy tests, elimination diets, and a number of other tests. No cause was ever identified. At that time, I pretty much suffered through cause the only antihistamine was Benadryl. I took it, often and alot, and went through my sophomore year half asleep.

The next time, was for about a year when I was in grad school. Then, a doctor put me on prednisone. I would never do that again, but at the time, I had no idea what it was or it's long term implications.

The other times have been shorter duration. The combination of drugs I use now when I have a flare up are Zyrtec and Zantac, but generic versions. Most o-t-c antihistamines are H1 blockers. The acid blockers are actually H2 blockers, and for me, I need the combination to keep the hives from flaring up. Every couple days, I would try taking half of those meds to see if the hives would appear. Eventually, cutting back until off them. For some reason, I have to wean off the meds instead of just stopping.

What I can conclude from my experiences are
1. there is some hormonal and stress connection for me. times I've had them included puberty, early 20s when I was unhappy with my job, between babies, and most recently last year (when I know my hormones had been going a little wierd). (before I found t-tapp, so I don't know if it would have helped eliminate them sooner.)
2. having hives leads to more stress and becomes a vicious cycle. Learn to relax, meditate, spend time in contemplative prayer, etc.
3. Hives can come for no known reason, and then disappear for no known reason. The search for answers for me became so stressful, (and expensive) I just had to let it all go and accept it.
4. doctors often haven't a clue, but won't EVER admit that. You need to be your own advocate and health coach.

I don't mean this to be negative or unhelpful. Hopefully, it will resolve itself quickly. But hives are fairly common, and when they occur for longer than a week or two, the causes are rarely identified. For many of us, management eventually becomes fairly routine.

[fruitvine]

Thank you so much for all of your replies. She will try the Raspberry tea and some of the other suggestions, including and especially EFT. Stress is definitely a factor with some big life changes, and probably hormones also. She got hives once when she was pregnant so the combination of hormones and stress may be the culprit. It's odd that they get better during the day and then they return in the evening. I'll keep you posted...

[iowagirl]

Charlotte,
I always have a time of day cycle when I'm enduring an episode, also. The hives begin and swell during evening or through the night, and go down through the day. They show up wherever there are pressure points, so avoiding tight socks or tight waistbands helps. I also have a temperature thing, too. The warmer and cozier at night, the worse the breakout would be by morning, particularly on the torso and inner thighs. So sleeping with lighter covers helps. (even though I love to be cozy, especially in winter.)

Good luck. I know our impulse is to want to know what the cause is. But I honestly have searched for years and can't identify it. Everything I've read about the truly chronic cases says they are a mystery. Luckily, they aren't life threatening unless they affect the inside of the throat. And most of those cases are usually true allergic reactions to things that can be identified.

[pamelaw]

Gentle hugs to her and to you, too, Patti. Patti, if you've not tried EFT, please consider it. www.emofree.com will close down in March so you have a limited time to print out the manual. There are great videos to follow along with on youtube with Magnus, for one.

HTH,

[iowagirl]

Thanks for the hugs Pamela. I've tried EFT a bit, but haven't had great success. I did download the manual and read it. I need to practice more.

I'm not having hives right now. I had an episode for several months last year, but it cleared up in the summer. Thankfully. As I said, for some, the main effort has to be in finding a management tool/medication protocol, cause this really is a mystery of the body. And since it's not life-threatening, there's little research devoted to it.

[rskontos]

Charlotte,

I was reading Fat Flush by Ann Louise Gittleman and she had an entire section on hives. Food allergies. She said the problem was that often the food or chemical can be ingested or absorb and it can take days to appear so that makes it hard to narrow down. She suggested a food/chemical (ie new detergent, soap etc) and to write it all down so that when the flare up happens again, hopefully it won't then she will know the products or food to avoid and systematically eliminate one at a time.

I hope she get its under control. I have a bad case of rash/hives for 8 full weeks in which the doctors tried everything. Benedryl would keep it from spreading but did not completely cure it. The docs tried everything. They cut a patch of the rash off my scalp ( it hurt alot) and send it off to be studied. Yield nothing. I had to go to Florida and everytime I got in the sun all the rashes/bumps reappeared and itched so badly. I soaked in vingear. It helped. Honey might help too. Even to this day I can use sunscreen, except the ones for babies. Oatmeal baths might sooth and maybe a little tiny bit of lavendar to help her de-stress.

[outtathere]

I don't know if anyone has posted this yet but someone gave an amazing testimony about hives disappearing during training certs workout...here is the link! Sounds like Teresa knew that they would go away...

http://forum.t-tapp.com/showthread.php?t=65273&highlight=hives