Hives spontaneously for over a month

[Gmen27]

Hello, I have been getting hives on my body for about a month now. It has shown up on my armpits, forearms, elbows, wrists, back, thighs, stomach, and now recently my head has been itching and my ears have been getting hot and red. I have been to a skin doctor and he said it was hives but it could be a million things. I went to my allergist and he said it also can be a lot of things. I am 21 years old and this it the first time this has been happening to me. I have not had any changes in food, clothes, detergent, deodorant or anything. I also notice that when I go out at night, the next morning the hives appear to get worse and the only thing that is helpful is an antihistamine pill. Can someone please offer any suggestions or anything to help me?

[sngermany]

I have been recently experiencing unexplained whelps all over my body. My wife thinks they are hives. I thought they were bites. I have them on my face, arms, elbows, neck, stomach, thighs, and ankles. I am getting very worried, but can't afford to go to a specialist. I have been taking Benadryl and using anti-itch cream, but it only helps for a short time. Is there anything that I could do myself to stop or prevent it from getting worse?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
The symptoms are indeed suggestive of hives. Hives result from dilation of capillaries allowing fluid to leak out into the surrounding tissue, the epidermis.They are of two types:acute and chronic(when hives persist for more than 6 weeks). The most likely triggers for acute urticaria are allergies to pets, horses, latex and foods, such as shellfish and nuts,bee or wasp stings,allergies to medicines,Viral infections, such as glandular fever and herpes, dental and sinus infections, fungal infections, blood transfusions and vaccines.

The cause of chronic urticaria is often more difficult to identify. Most cases are called chronic idiopathic urticaria, which means they're caused by the body's unexplainable development of antibodies to itself (auto-antibodies).
To confirm the exact cause of hives, I would suggest you to get it evaluated from an allergist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.