med allergy?

i have been getting hives about every four to six weeks going on seven years now... i began getting the rash my junior year of high school i was sixteen. all with no explanation. I first thought it was a nut allergy. eliminating nuts did not work, then i thought it was my birth control containing estrogen and progesterone. I went off that birth control and opted for another as my MD told me that only estrogen is responsible for any sun allergy i thought i might have. I chose an iud with a small amount of progesterone in it. i am still getting the rash. the rash appears first on my lower arms in  the form of small bumps and then it appears on my upper arms in the same fashion getting worse for the first two days and then peaking about the third day and then flatten out and eventually go away. the rash also sometimes appear on the backs of my lower legs and the tops of my thighs. sometimes it is worse than others. this time i have not been in the sun for over a week. i am pulling my hair out trying to figure out why i am bumpy and gross. i need an answer! please help.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Urticaria, or hives, is truly not one disease, but a reaction pattern of the skin.They (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 mainstay of treatment of hives is antihistamine which may be necessary for prolonged periods (in excess of 6 weeks). Double conventional doses of non-sedating antihistamines may be needed to get symptom relief. Sedating antihistamines are used at night to get urticaria control. Short courses of oral cortisone or steroids are taken for short periods (one to three days) to settle more severe symptoms.
You may take Vitamin C along with the prescribed treatment. Vitamin C is a general anti-allergy supplement. It helps stabilize mast cells so they are less likely to release histamine.

Very severe cases may need immunotherapy.Talk to your allergist about that option.

If the hives don’t go after 6 wks of treatment also, then it can be a case of chronic urticaria which needs further evaluation as it may be due to auto antibodies.

Hope it helps.Take care and regards.