Bumps on elbows and love handles!

[Mayee]

I have bumps on elbows and love handles for about 6-8 months now!!
They are fairly small, like the size of a mosquito bite, in clusters and also single spots.
They are itchy sometimes, but not all the time.
At first I thought they were flea bites.
But the bumps have been appearing continously for months, so I think they are not flea bites.
I noticed that they appear when I go out to eat and also when I play badminton.  They appear for only for an hour or so, and then disappear.
Then I thought they are heat rash.  But they also appear when I go out to eat.
Does anyone know what these might be??  How can I prevent them??
Thanks.

[Mayee]

Thanks for the info doc.
Definitely gives me some insight!!
It's just that I used to have urticaria, but now it hasn't occurred for at least 10 years.
These bumps only happened within the year.  I never had anything like that.
And I have been eating and wearing the same things throughout the years and not alot of changes really.

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Bumps which come and go are typically allergic in nature.When an irritant comes into contact with your body, your immune system sends chemicals, including histamine, to fight it. The sudden spike in histamine levels can cause an outbreak of hives/bumps in the upper layers of the skin.

The potential triggers include physical exertion or exercise, stress, illness, chemicals, cosmetics, textiles, and pressure from materials rubbing against the skin. Also certain foods, medications, pollens and plants, insect bites or stings and exposure to heat, cold, or sunshine can allelicit allergic responses.

Treatment is with anti-histamines and application of Calamine lotion on the itchy bumps.
If you do identify the triggers then avoidance is recommended to prevent recurrences.