Prednisone and Hives

[nUUts]

I have been suffering from hives for 6 months.  Right now I am out of town on business and have hives on arms, inner thighs, and hands.  These are the big ones that don't itch as much as they hurt.  I have taken Benadryl and  Prilosec which is a histamine 2 antagonist.  I have 10 mg Prednisone tabs with me but the directions are to take 40 mg for angioedema and gradually decrease dosage.  I know that if I take this dosage I will be up all night but am really uncertain about how much I should take.  Using Aveeno to sooth the welts with minimal effect.  I empathize with anyone going through this experience.  Any suggestions appreciated.  Am thinking of thinking an immunologist since the allergist was absolutely no health.  Or as I read somewhere a physician would rather see an elephant in his office than a patient with hives.

  
  

[cindylou53]

its so wxpensive to get the allerdy testing to see what im allergic to and they may never find out what ULTRACADIA IS FROM

[BRC200]

I too have suffered from hives for over 10 weeks.  I have seen 4 different doctors, including an allergist, ER physician, ENT, family physician.  I have been on prednisone for 10 weeks.  I have been taking 2 Zyrtec a day; 2 Zantac a day; Atarax 2 every 4-6 hours.  I have determined that mine is related to Red #40 dye and preservatives in foods such as pre-packaged salads.  I have also determined that mine is related to fast food restaurants such as McDonald's and Sonic, where at both restaurants I ingested hamburgers.  With the Sonic Hamburger I ended up in the ER with my throat and tongue swelling.  I have been on an elimination diet and so far so good.  I eat grilled chicken or turkey, white rice, salt, sugar, olive oil, Sprite or water and have introduced steamed vegetables.  It still amazes me that out of the blue this developed.  I learned my lesson by drinking Gatorade which contains Red #40 and resulted in swelling of my lips and face along with hives.

This has been my experience, Hope this helps someone else!

[FairLadyinSoCal]

I, too, am suffering from a miserable outbreak of hives. At age 64, I have gone through my whole life without medical problems until I got married (less than two years ago) to a dear, but very messy, disorganized man and have been getting hives, urinary tract infections, and kidney stones ever since.   His sister kidded me recently that maybe I am allergic to HIM.... her brother/my husband!   I am trying to get him to spend time cleaning out his messy stuff rather than running me to the doctor's for treatment of these ailments which may likely be caused by the piles and piles of messy papers he has sitting around.  I have always been a neat freak who never needed any medical help.   I think it is the stress I am put under by his disorganization and messiness that is causing my health problems.  I love him in many ways..... but am going crazy otherwise!

[sickofhives]

I have swollen eyes and top of nose so I look like a lion, huge red welts and hives and itch like nothing I have ever felt. i am pretty much allergic to everything so i am used to this but this time it is NOT getting better only worse. It actually looks like I have chemical burns where stuff has leaked out of my eyes so under my eyes are purple clack in PERFECT circle. I broke down and found some prednisone in my house and took 20mg. I vowed to NEVER take cortsione again since last time I came off I a,lost killed myslef from the depression. I would tell ALL to saty away from fabric softeners or dryer sheets!! Killer and NO mineral oil ever. I cannot stop scratching and am hiding in my bedroom soa s not to scare my kids friends. i ahve now been locked in here 3 days which is not easy since I own a business! I still have NO idea what caused this one but I may need to go to water diet and reintroduse foods back into my diet until I find the culprit. Nice to know there are others out here with this. Is anybody suffering with the depression that goes along with this??

[mlmrmc]

My 8 year old daughter had hives for 6 months...red welts, swelling, itchy bumps, swelling lip, etc.  The hives just came on one day.  We had all kinds of testing done to try and determine what it was with her doctor and an allergist, all to no avail.  Based on my extensive research and determination to find out what was causing it as she cried herself to sleep some nights, I wanted to share my information.  First she was taking Zyrtec, this is bad stuff and can cause hives and/or itching as well as eliminate them, feel free to research this stuff on the web...I literally had to ween her from this medication and I am convinced over time it made her extremely itchy and prevented the elimination of hives.  As I weened her I gave claritin to help with the itching, but here is what I truly believed help her become hive free....Probiotics and colostrum (we used 5 LAC and childlife Colostrum w/ probiotics), along with high daily dosage of vitamin C, we used emergen-C.  At first she showed some signs of improvement, but then got worse for a day or two as her body rid itself of the toxins in it.  We stuck to the plan even though it was hard and again she began to show more signs of improvement even better than before for a longer period.  Then another relapse and even better for longer...eventually, her bodys immune system rid whatever was causing the hives and she now has been hive free for a month+.  The process was not quick and took about 3 or so months, but worth it.  She no longer takes any medication.  Do not give up, you can beat Hives too!  Fix your immune system.  One other thing we gave very small amounts on and off was Echinacea, although I am not sure how much this helped.  

[Keilla]

This is the fourth time in my life that I have had hives.  The first two episodes occurred when I began each semester of University.  The next when I got a new job.  The current one when I started interviewing for a new job.  I now have the new job, but am not sure if I will be able to keep it...all because of my hives.  My hives normally last for about six months and then just disappear.  I started high doses of Prednisone in November and because of the effect they have on my immune system, I have gotten sick twice.  I also gained 14 lbs.  I decided I had enough of the steroids and opted for a homeopathic remedy (my hives are obviously due to stress).  It was working for the most part - more than 90% of the hives gone.  

I feel sad for all of you that have to go through this.  Thanks for listening.

Well, I've been sick for 3 weeks.  At first I was told I had a virus and to just get lots of rest.  I did that - working from home when I am brand new - not good.  Yesterday I found out I do not have a virus - it is a bacterial infection and I have to take antibiotics for 10 days.  I started them yesterday and within a few hours, my entire face had swollen up.  Today, the hives are all over my legs, chest, butt, arms and hands.  My body wants nothing to do with the homeopathic herbs and vitamins that were working so well.  I have to take this medicine to get better and don't want to go back on the steroids.  It is so difficult - some are itchy, but most are very painful.  Just moving my hands around is extreme pain.  I wish I could just take a leave of absence from work and get through this at home.  Assuming I won't have that choice and will have to go back to work soon - I am wondering how many funny looks I am going to get with the hives on my face.  So tempted to wear a scarf, but that will cause just as many stares??