cold urticaria

I am a 24 yr old female who lives in Australia... I was diagnosed with cold urticaria at age 14, after I went swimming in a cold pool, I fainted when I got out of the pool and nearly went into anaphalctic shock... I have had to carry an epi-pen with me everywhere for the past 10 years... I never take any medications such as antihistimines...I just avoid cold triggers, never go swimming, never go to the snow... only limit myself to how much of an ice-cream i can eat, before my tongue and lips start to swell up and hurt.... I have read many forums regarding cold urticaria, and many people and drs have said that it usually onlys lasts for 5-6 years..... I have had it for 10 years now, ans have learnt to live with it... My only concern is that I have a 6yr old son and a 2 yr old daughter, and I worry that they may develop cold urticaria later in life from me? Is is possible to carry it onto your children? Any info from anyone would be great! :) Bek

[margypops]

I have chronic Urticaria and Dermographism, the heat doesnt cause it but makes it worse, go online you will find other people who have it there is a Hive society!!  I am hoping mine will go as quickly as it came I have had it for 5 months, came on after Dental work, am still researching it and what could I be allergic to, the Meds ets The Docs here pescribed were useless and made me sick, and forget Prednisone I had that pleasure years ago with something else, so I am going the Natural route to the best of my knowledge no one had Hives in my Family but my Father had Dermatitus , your best bet and hopefully you will get some help here would be to go online and put it in I did theres a lot of information out there.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

There are two forms of cold urticaria, a rare familial (hereditary) form and a more common acquired form.The possibility of your children acquiring it is always there.

To check whether your children are having it or not,pls get a cold allergy test done from an allergy specialist. Cold urticaria is diagnosed by holding an ice cube against the skin of the forearm for 1 to 5 minutes. A distinct hive should develop if a patient has cold urticaria.

Regarding your condition of cold urticaria persisting for so many years(usually it goes after5-6yrs), Sometimes cold urticaria is a symptom of another problem, such as cryofibrinogenemia, cryoglobulinemia, or syphilis.So please contact a dermatologist/immunologist to get a more confirmatory diagnosis.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted in case of any additional queries and how you are doing.

[frother]

Try going gluten free with your diet......i have seen results from this...

[Tam296]

I have only found out a few months ago I have cold urticaria and have booked a trip to Canada skiing with my family. I have skied all my life and want to go. Has anyone been to Canada skiing with Cold urticaria?