What is this?

Dr. Rockoff,  Thank you for this forum.  I have had very weird rash outbreaks for about 6 monthes now.  They started out on my inner thighs and are what I would call hives(slightly raised pinkish with no fluid, that itch like crazy) they will appear and then go away on their own in a couple of hours or sooner if I put hydrocortizone cream on them.  I also get them around my underwear lines or at the tops of my feet where shoes and socks fit tight.  They are usually about the size of the tip of your pinky and can be just one or a group of 4or5.  I am also waking up with a fat lip, strange but seems to be related.  Also if i lean against something I will get a raised rash the size of the area that pressure was against.  I went to the Dr. and they ran all kinds of blood work,  all normal or negative except slightly high on the liver test.  The Dr. put me on Allegra 60 mg. once a day which controls it fairly well for most of the day.  So, basically Itchy hives, swollen lips(occasionally) and big hives where pressure is exerted against my skin.  This has me really nervous that there could be a serious underlying condition that my Dr. is missing.  Please help.  Thank you in advance.  Mike

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Don't worry, Mike, your doctor has got you covered.  You've given a very nice description of hives, including the fat lip, which represents fluid deeper under the skin than what there is in the regular hives.

Hives come and go at random.  They tich like crazy.  They can be aggravated by pressure.  Most of the time they are caused by nothing--not allergy, stress, or the rest of the usual suspects.  I'm not surprised the blood tests your doctor ran were normal, though it's reassuring that they were.

Eventually (weeks, months) the hives go away as mysteriously as they came, though they may come back years later.  You might want to ask your doctor to consider increasing the dose of Allegra to 60 mg twice a day, or 180 mg once a day.  That might help suppress the symptoms a bit better and if not, there are other antihistamines to try too.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[soi]

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