Hives

Dear Dr,
       10 days ago I broke out in hives on my stomach,thighs,buttocks and knees. I thought stress was the cause due to having two sick children under two,plus a cold myself(sore throat,watery eyes,runny nose,never a fever). I took Benadryl and after 4 days made an appt. with my doctor to get a non-drowsy antihistimine. He prescibed Clarinex which I have been taking for six days. The hives disappear with in an hour, and yesterday I didn't take any Clarinex and no hives appeared. This morning they started to slowly appear again.My fear is that I have some serious underlying medical condition causing the hives. I had my Dr do bloodwork on my thyroid, since I had a baby 5 months ago. I'm 37 and had allergies as a child(hay fever)and received weekly allergy shots. Should I just relax? What would you recomend doing if they continue for more than a month?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

The chances are overwhelming that the hives do not represent any serious underlying condition.  Hives are itchy and disconcerting, but rarely significant.  They almost never have a findable cause.  They fluctuate unpredictably, just as you describe, but almost always peter out over the course of several weeks.  (Of course, they may come back again some day, perhaps years later.)

I advise you to relax, keep in touch with your doctor, and enjoy your baby.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[Hive-boy]

I have been on methylprednisone for 9 months now. I have been on every antihistamine out there. I have taken almost every anitbiotic and I still go into anaphylactic shock if im not on 10 mg of prednisone each day...I don't have medical so I visit my local clinic once  month. I have been tested  for everything ,including my blood. Has anyone ever heard of this?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Please get another opinion about whether you really need cortisone every day to avoind "anaphylactic shock."

Dr. Rockoff

[jannov]

Dear,
I