posted December 26, 2004 10:31 PM         

It began when I was going through a period of extreme anxiety, but the anxiety levels have been pretty much under control for about 2 1/2 years, but the hives haven't gone away.

posted December 28, 2004 08:47 AM         

When I was younger I had pretty bad asthma and eczema and I got hives a lot. I always thought they were related. I got better when I was 17 but it came back when I was about 25. I got really depressed for a while and I got hives - really badly all over my body - just from coming out of the shower. But my skin cleared up when I started taking care of what I ate - no dairy, green tea, lots of fresh veg vitamins etc etc and it helped.

posted December 30, 2004 08:48 PM         

I came down with Chronic Urticaria very suddenly in the fall of 2002, never having had anything like it before. The hives for me showed up, huge patches every night around the same time, and I had no way of controlling them until they released Claritin to be sold over the counter. It was a blessing and helped suppress my hives. I went to a doctor after the Claritin wore off after 4 months and he said to go on an alternate medication until the Claritin was completely out of my system and try it again. He also said the hives would most likely burn themselves out after a couple of years. Mine have pretty much done just that, and it's been a little over 2 years. I took Claritin during the day and Benadryl at night every night to help suppress the hives. If I went off of either, had an immediate flare up that could result in anaphylactic shock...luckily that never happened either.

All I can suggest, is go be tested by a good allergist/immunologist. Sometimes the hives can be caused by so many things in different people such as a tooth/gum infection, sensitivity to salicylates, which are in many, many foods and over the counter medicines such as aspirin, which is a very common culprit which increases sensitivity and hive outbreaks.

There is also a group, ICUS (International Chronic Urticaria Society) that can lead you to more information. The url is www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/

There is a very good Yahoo Group that I believe is called Chronic Urticaria or just Urticaria. Do a search
in Yahoo Groups under either and you will find it. Many helpful and knowledgeable people who have much experience living with this.

I hope some of this information helps - hives are sheer hell to live with.

posted January 09, 2005 07:29 PM         

A couple of viruses can also cause hives such as Epstein Barr, Hepatitis B are the most common ones. Studies have also linked hives to yeast infections and antibiotics. Some people get hives after bad throat infections. Be very careful to be gentle with your skin. Make sure the water is not hot but like warm to cool. Try homeopathic remedies Bovista, Cantharis and Rhus Toxicodendron to alleviate symtoms. These are not expensive and do work.

Please write back and let me know how you are.

posted January 17, 2005 01:54 PM         

Sorry for the wait on my reply... I kind of lost this topic in the shuffle!

posted October 18, 2005 08:37 AM         

Are you still getting your hives?

I still am. Claritin still works for me, but what I really want is for these things to just go away!

Every single day... for three and a half years now.

posted October 19, 2005 12:48 AM         

At the time the Claritin wore off, my doctor gave me a prescription for Zyrtec, which is Cetirizine HCl (generic name), an alternate to Loratadine. He had me take this for about 8-10 weeks to give the Claritin a chance to work its way out of my system and then go back on Claritin. He agreed that Claritin was the most effective and since the patent wore off is now available over the counter and less expensive. Zyrtec is only available prescribed, but I found I could purchase the generic version from Canada (and very inexpensively I might add) sold under the name Reactine, produced by Pfizer.

You might want to check with your doctor before trying any alternate medication to be sure you won't have any problems. I am only suggesting Zyrtec/Cetirizine because my doctor prescribed it.

I went through www.canadapharmacy.com to buy the Reactine/Cetirizine HCL.

Let me know what you find. I really hope you find relief soon my friend. Hives are no picnic. Be sure you have an EpiPen available in the case of severe flare ups of the hives. You know there is always the risk of anaphylactic shock with hives/allergic reactions. Not something to take lightly.

My hives, thankfully have gone away, it was a little over a year ago that realized I was no longer breaking out once when I forgot to take the Loratadine and nothing happened - no hives! When I was actively going through the breakouts every single day, I would dread the 6:30-7:00pm hour when I would experience exactly what you described - the tingling & burning which would soon become a warm/burning/itching mass all over. I'm not talking mosquito-bite itch, but that all consuming itch over huge patches on my legs and hips/waist area. Awful doesn't even begin to describe it. Again, I hope you find relief very soon. Suffering from Urticaria/Hives, don't you get a little consumed with trying to find ways for relief because you literally cannot concentrate on anything else at the time of the breakout? Blech.

posted October 19, 2005 01:55 PM         

When I take the Claritin (actually, what I take is an off-brand version) my breakouts are small and tolerable. However, if I bump my head, for example, I will get a hive there. When I go off the meds for a few days, they start coming back in full force, so I try to take them every few days or so.

What stumps me is that I've had them for 3 1/2 years now! I wish I knew why and what causes them. I haven't been to an allergist yet, and if it keeps up a lot longer, I'll check into that.

I'm just glad to know someone else who has suffered from this same condition. There have been times when I've waken up to find that I've scratched so much in the night that I've drawn blood. Then I have those icky scabs on my legs...

I get them mostly on my thighs. And if I run out of medicine and go off it for a while my head and ears break out. And you're right... it does drive you crazy! You can't do anything when you're that itchy.

Thanks again. Knowing that yours have gone away give me some hope that someday mine will too!

posted October 29, 2005 12:15 PM         

Do a search in Yahoo Groups for the Urticaria group and send in a request to become a member. There are a lot of sufferers like you, your mother and grandmother...it's a very frustrating thing to go through, especially if even the doctors cannot help.

Try Claritin, to see how that helps - take one first thing in the morning because it has a similar effect as caffeine and until your body adapts, you will feel like you drank 2-3 cups of coffee. Benadryl, I was taking at night because of the side effect of drowsiness, couldn't live with during the day having to work. My doctor recommended this combination, Claritin during the day/Benadryl at night to keep the hives suppressed and said they might burn themselves out after a year or two and mine did! When my hives were active, it was sheer hell, they appeared every single night around 6:30-7pm like clockwork, I used to dread it until my doctor recommended Claritin and they began selling it over the counter, dropping the price considerably.

In the case of your mother and grandmother, have them check with their doctor first to be sure neither of these will interfere or cause problems with any medications they might also need to take for other health reasons.

Let me know how you're doing too!