About 2 months (December) ago my wife came home with a bad cold. My children caught it, then I caught it. Everyone got better except for me. I got worse and went to the doctor where I was diagnosed with atypical pnuemonia. I received an antibiotic, cough medicine and some prednisone tablets. The wheezing and chest congestion got better.
A few weeks later I noticed that the congestion had returned. It is hard to explain. When I exhale, there is a wheezing at the end of my exhalation and feels to be at the bottom of my lungs. Occasionally, I cough up some phlegm. The congestion is there some days and not there on others.
I also started itching with these episodes. The itching is generalized and is usually on my legs, back, or upper arms. It feels like a prickling sensation. I often get a swelling under the skin on the itching area and get hives when I scratch. Sometimes the areas are in red blotches. Anyway, it seems that after I have one of these itching episodes, the wheezing starts.
The itching episodes are strange. It starts in one location and then spreads to many different locations quickly. It almost seems like the more I think about it, the worse it gets. Also, the redness and hives always appear and then are gone in less than an hour. I take benedryl and it helps (but makes me sleepy).
Some days I have these episodes, some days I don't.
Also, I feel like there are some small brown spots that have developed on my torso, arms, and legs. But, I have always had many many moles and these spots could have always been there and I just never noticed.
All of this may not be related. The symptoms kind of seem like an allergic reaction, but I have no idea what may cause them. I mostly seem to have the itching attacks at night, not long before bedtime. This is not always the case though. Occasionally, I itch at work during the day, but it is never as sever. It is often the morning after I have an itching episode at night that I have the wheezing the next day.
Please give me some input.....I'm a worrier and Its all about to drive me nuts! Thanks!