Non drowsy anti histimanes

[mickismommy]

I am having a serious hive reaction. It has lasted 2 weeks this time. It gets worse at night, but it keeps burning and itching all day. I am knocked out by benydryl, but it works really well. The claritin doesn't touch the hives. Is there an otc that helps but doesn't knock ya out? Better yet, is there any herbal remedies? anything? Nothing my doc told me to do is working. He said to use lotions to help the skin from getting too dry and making it worse, and to use all allergy free bath products, as well as allergy free laundry soap. That ain't working. New hives are developing all over! argh!

[TryingToMoveOn]

Zantac?  How does it work to help with hives?  At what point would you take it, before the outbreak or during?

For the past 3 months I have been getting patches of hives on both sides under my armpits and around the waist line.  They usually appear after 7 or 8 PM.  I'd take a Beneryl or loradtine to help reducing the swelling, and they disappear next morning.

I am trying to figure what could be causing this?  My diet is pretty much the same as always.  I didn't use a new detergent.

At this point the only thing I can think is the McDonald's coffee I drink every morning!  It kind of tastes "un-naturally" sweet, not the same kind of sweet when you put a lot of sugar.

[Dr Santos]

How are you? I'm sorry to hear about your serious hive condition. Hives can occur as a
reaction to stress, food, environmental toxins, and viruses. Coffee, tobacco and alcohol may aggravate this condition. It is best to avoid these triggers to prevent hives from happening. There are some FDA approved non-drowsy antihistamine such as Claritin or Alavert (loratidine). You can also try Actifed (chlorpheniramine and pseudoephedrine).

Here are some herbal remedies used for hives:
1. ALFALFA Cleanses toxins from bloodstream.
2. ALOE GEL Is applied to hives to reduce inflammation and prevent infection.
3. CHAMOMMILE Added to bath to reduce inflammation.
4. NETTLE Juice applied to hives to speed healing.
(http://www.herbalremediesinfo.com/Hives.html)

I hope this helps. Take care and keep us posted.

[Suffering_in_OC]

Hello, I understand since I've had chronic urticaria for the past 8 months and breakout in itchy painful hives every day. What I'm doing to treat this is to layer the antihistamines. Try taking the OTC Claritin along with Zantac (yes, you heard me Zantac 150), and Zyrtec. Only at night if it's really bad will I take Benadryl. Now this really helps and believes me when I tell you that I've been to my Family Doctor, A dermatologist, and three different allergists. I've had a lot of testing and they have determined that I need to live in a bubble, but since this is not an option I'm taking a truck load of drugs and the occasional steroids. I don’t want to feel sleepy, but I have to do what I have to do. Soon they will have finished my serum for desensitization shots and over the course of about a year I should be better. I have both food and environmental allergies and it completely stinks. I’m allergic to most foods, all meats, vegetables, fruits and it makes living tough. Then I’m allergic to all grasses, trees, molds, animals and so much more. I hope you find some relief my heart goes out to you.