Chronic Itchy Rash-PLEASE HELP!!!

[KLC88]

I had a small patch of itchy skin on my left hip in the spring. It would come and go and eventually went to my right hip.  I don't remember it much over the summer (if it came or went) but it was manageable.  Once September hit the rash spread to my back. It would look like acne bumps (without the whitehead part). It was incredibly itchy!  After a visit to the dermatologist she increased my antihistamines to 3 Zyrtec a a day and a singulair. She also prescribed a cortisone cream. None of this helped the itch which was super intense at nighttime. By new years eve I was on a 3 week round of prednisone which finally gave me some relief.  However the day I came the rash started back up again.  I had a skin biopsy which came back as "general inflammation".  It test negative for DH, Scabies or any other bacterial component. I went to an allergist who says it is Chronic Hives (even he admits though they have all the hive characteristics they look nothing like hives.) He did not do any allergy testing because where the patches of inflation are are not consistent with food or contact allergies.  The rash is symmetrical on my body, it does not come and go for the most part when it flares it stays in that spot. I am on Hydroxazine now which is helping a little. My next step is Xolair. I am just not convinced it is hives!   Any help/advice ?!?!

[maatson]

While it could well be dust mite allergy, despite the negative test for DH, it could well be a case of false negative reaction in people already on gluten free diet or selective IgA deficiency.
The photograph is consistent with DH.

[MayaT]

This look slike it might be dust mite allergy. Try seeing an allergist and getting tested for dust mit allergy which might be from your bed and sheets. Make sure you wash all sheets in hottest setting to kill all dustmites; warm or cold water doesn't kill them. And it's their feces which causes the allergy so washing everything often is important. Also, covering the bed with an allergen cover is important to 'trap' the mite poop that's in your mattress and create a barrier between your clean sheets and mattress.

I also like to keep a sticky lint roller nearby so that I can run it over my pillow and on the area where I sleep every night in between washings. This should all help tremendously.

If it's not dust mite allergy, see an endocrinologist who can check for an autoimmune disease, but that is extremely rare.