Hives and other breakouts

[Carrie]

Dear Doctor,

     Hi! Maybe you can answer a question for me that several doctors that I've seen in the past year have not been able to answer. Over the past two years, I have had a problem with hives. It seems to me that they only appear at the extremely stressful times and have mostly appeared on my legs. I have been prescribed various medications for it, from antidepressants to antibiotics. None of which really helped. So, I decided to just eliminate the medication and some of the stress. The hives have gone away, but they have left horrible scars. Probably because of the itching and picking. Unfortunately, I have had to keep my legs covered the entire summer because no doctor would discuss any kind of treatment for the scarring. They didn't feel that the hives could be explained. I know they are caused from stress because I know my body. Is there anything I can do for the scarring? I don't want next summer to be so unbearable. Also, I have more breakouts on my face than ever before. I'm 24 and never had a problem with acne. Until two years ago I had beautiful skin. Could I have developed acne in adulthood? What can I do about it?

Thanks Doc, Carrie

[Lynn]

herpes zoster virus

what is the cause for rash on the face and on the tongue can stress alone cause this. tested 3 times in five years for hiv all negative test. no sex in five years. would test be correct.

[Lynn]

herpeszoster virus
can stress cause virus on face and lesions on tongue and what else could be caused on face and tongue.

[brian]

I have a red rash on my legs right next to my scrotum.  It itches
and goes away for a period of time then resurfaces.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Carrie:

Nearly all hives have no specific cause.  Even if stress brings out yours, it's hard to eliminate stress.

My usual approach is to minimize the symptoms by using antihistamines and topical (external) anti-itch measures.  This usually suppresses the hives to a reasonable extent and minimizes future scarring.

As for the old "scars," at least some if not most of them will go away if you leave them alone and give them long enough.  Hives are high up in the epidermis, so permanent scarring is unlikely.

Best.

Dr. R