Abnormal allergy

can someone be allergic to pain,or the neurotransmitters of pain?everytime i have a swollen muscle i get hives,that would last until the muscle is healed specially around the area of the damaged muscle,symptoms take 36 hours to appear and they stay for 3 days and then they disappear gradually.the last stage of the symptoms are hives in the area of the damaged muscles,i only get hives when i damage a muscle and i get it on all of my body,doctors said its allergy,but i ruled out being allergic to an external allergen since this happened with me 5 times and only when i had a swollen muscle especially in my arm.i slaped my arm with my finger and did the same to my cousin,with equal ammount of force,to compare our reactions,mine become red and then became a hive and then swell up to twice the size for 30 minutes,his became red and gradually started disappearing in the matter of 2 minutes.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The picture that you have sent shows the rashes to be hives. Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. They have a tendency to change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours.

Many cases of hives are "idiopathic," meaning no cause is known. Others may be triggered by viral infections or medications.

The other phenomenon that you are talking about when you slap your skin and you get swelling is due to dermographism. Dermographism is a normal physiological response of the skin. The term literally means writing on the skin. The exact mechanism of dermographism remains uncertain. Trauma may release an antigen that interacts with the membrane-bound immunoglobulin E of mast cells, which release inflammatory mediators, particularly histamine, into the tissues. This causes small blood vessels to leak, allowing fluid to accumulate in the skin.

Both of them can be controlled by antihistaminics and steroids.But as the underlying cause of dermographism and hives are not known, it can last for many years without relief.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.