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Chronic hives

bwb
I have had hives for almost three years now. Every antihistimine and stomach pill (that has a histimine blocker) has been tried. The only relief I have gotten was when I went on Cyclosporine for six moths. This is an antirejection drug. I do not want to stay on this, but have been off of it for five months now, and hives are starting to return. Sometimes they are red splotches on my skin, other times they are thick welts, both itch unreal. My eyes, lips and feet swell also. My eyes and lips swell till I look like someone has beat me...Any sugestions???
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Avatar universal
I am beginning to understand how difficult it would be for a doctor to try and find an infection or imbalance somewhere in the body. It seems the cause of chronic hives can be caused by a large number of things, hence a needle in a haystack scenario.  

To be honest, my experience leads me to lean more toward herbal remedies.  If researched properly for one's own safety, they tend to be less mysterious and dangerous when it comes to long term negative side-effects.

After just 2 days on a gentle full body detox cleanse, my hives have been reduced drastically. It turns out that histamines rule the digestive system and are directly linked to the immune system.  This is starting to make sense to me. When I am done, I will wait 2 weeks and do a parasite cleanse...and perhaps a heavy metal cleanse down the road.  

Careful to do my homework as to not overdo it, I am also taking garlic supplements, goldenseal, and black walnut hull. These are great for fighting fungi, parasites, and infection. Some herbs, such as the later two should not be taken for long periods, and it is crucial to know one's allergies. Cats claw is also wonderful for most parasites and numerous other infection, but cause the worm giardia to thrive.  Most organic herbs do not interact negatively with one another, but again, it is crucial to research them.
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Avatar universal
You said that your son's hives get worse right before he goes to bed.  Does he take a warm shower or bath at night?   If so, that might be causing the hives to worsen at that time.  f so, if try the cool compresses after his bath.  Or, it might be what he had for dinner.

I just looked at the chronichives.com site yesterday and it has diet recommendations.  I tried them yesterday and today.  Actually, for the first time this morning, I awoke with minimal hives.   And, they faded and stayed away all day.  Usually, I'm hivey all over when I awaken and they stay with me all day.  So, I will be switching to their diet.   It's very restrictive and it's all about healthy eating.  It's going to be hard to change my way of cooking and eating.... but that's better than being hivey all day.

By the way, has your son been tested for autoimmune problems?  See if his allergist will request an ANA.  How's his thyroid function test?  Some of the posters here have had thyroid problems that caused their hives.

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Avatar universal
I hope you're still reading these comments.  Since I had some relief by changing to an alkaline (natural Ph diet), I would think it would be a good thing to try on a child.   You'll have to cut out all processed foods and just go completely natural.  I just recently noticed that I had some sensitivity to maltodextrin and corn starch, which are both found in a lot of processed foods.   You'll have to keep all sweetened drinks away from him.   Even sugar substitutes are very acidic.  I use Stevia, which is a natural plant sweetener and is not acidic.  You can give him lemon juice in water with Stevia, as an alkalizing drink.  Who doesn't like lemonade?  For some reason, the lemon juice becomes very alkaline when it enters the body.  Get him to eat apples as a snack.   Try for a diet that is 80% alkaline and 20% acidic the first 2 weeks and then switch to a more normal ratio of 60% alkaline and 40% acidic.   I posted a site that has a good alkaline/acidic list of foods and you'll have to go back to one of my first posts in order to get it.   It was this month, so you don't have to go too far to find it.  Sorry I can't post it right now.

See if he will allow cool compresses if his hives itch too much.   I'm an adult, so I was able to tolerate using icecubes rubbed over my arms, etc. when I had extremely bad hives.   It stopped the itch right away.  Maybe he could tolerate a slightly tepid bath that has a couple of handsful of oatmeal mixed into it.   I put the oats in a processor and blended until fine.   This might come in handy when he has outbreaks in the summer.

If his hives itch too much, do try applying some Jergens Aloe lotion.  Show him how to put it on his CLEAN hand, rub hands together, pat it onto the hive area and then lightly rub it on until not so wet.    It really does calm the itch without adding another drug to a young system.

Children get cavities about this time of their lives.   Make sure he goes to a dentist in order to rule out any tooth infection.  A couple of the previous posters have said that having a bad tooth extracted relieved the hives completely.  I'm going to the dentist to see about one of my teeth.

I'm so sorry you have a child with this problem..... poor boy must be miserable...... take him to an allergist right away.   At least he can prescribe something that a child can take for relief of the symptoms.
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Avatar universal
Ben... I was glad to read your comments about changing to a healthier diet and getting to a more natural Ph state.   I notice that on the days that I eat more alkaline (green, leafy veggies... less meat, eggs, milk, no processed foods), I do better with the hives.  They are subdued and sometimes completely gone, but I still have to have my Rx meds.  My doctor negates the alkaline approach and has added 4 more antihistamines to the other 8 that aren't working..... I'll keep up with trying to stay on the healthy diet, but I do backslide every few days.

For years I was a diet controlled diabetic, which meant that I HAD to eat healthy and no processed foods.   Then I got kind of relaxed with watching what I ate and started to eat a lot of eggs and meat.   I would also bake cakes and have homemade desserts everyday.    After a year of that and some added stress, I suddenly had hives that wouldn't go away.  I don't know if eating healthy will get rid of the hives, but it will keep the blood sugar in check.
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Avatar universal
Clevedelhi.... Thanks so much for your input and especially the mention of the sulfasalazine that worked for you.  I'll mention it to my Dr. on my next visit.   He wants to try Dapsone and I'm not too excited about the side effects that it has.    Right now I'm on Cyclosporin (w/o Prednisone this time) and it hasn't helped at all on this 2nd round of treatment.   I hope some of the others on this blog get to try the sulfasalazine with good results.

To everyone here.... Today, I've decided to look into doing a parasite cleanse in a few weeks.  Yes, I'm grasping at straws.  Also, I'm going to DC the hormones that I take.   Maybe the hormones are causing the hives; maybe the filler in the pills is causing the hives.   And, I'm still looking into the sensitive root canal tooth as being the cause.   I really want to be off the 12 prescription antihistamines that I take everyday to no avail...... the wrinkling of my skin from the neck down is noticeable this year.  For the first time in my life, I'm glad to have an oily face; which I think is part of the positive ANA (autoimmune problems).  I wish I had some of the natural oils on the rest of my body.  Who knows, maybe my body lotion is the problem.  Most of the time I use a natural oil right after I shower, when I'm still slightly wet and then I pat dry with a towel..... I could probably go on all night with possibilities.  Maybe it is stress in combination with the ANA.....

Thanks to all of you

I'm going to make some of the Nasalcrom lotion that was mentioned by a previous poster

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Avatar universal
I am a physician and have felt the frustration of chronic hives myself twice so far, each time lasting around 5 months. I dread the times i used to take 50 mg of benadryl before starting an er shift and repeat the dose 4 hrs later midway into my shifts. All tests were negative.

For everyone on this forum, there is some literature regarding the use of sulfasalazine (an agent used for inflammatory bowel disease) in chronic urticaria showing benefit. I achieved slow remission on this medication and thus far have not had a recurrence for more than a year now since the last episode. It has no bad toxic effects like for cyclosporine or prednisone. Do not take if your allergic to sulfa drugs, other things, can cause photo sensitivity and in some predisposed individuals might result in hemolysis.

Please discuss with your physician about this option.

I understand the frustration of physicians trying to manage symptoms only, but at times it gives us insight into the disease process itself and I really hope we develop better understanding of chronic urticaria.

Hope this helps a few people on this blog.

Thanks
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