Chronic Hives

[Doug]

Dear Dr. R,

I wrote you last month on Dec. 22, 1999.  I explained how all of a sudden one morning I came down with these hives.  At that time you said to write back if they were not gone in a month.
Well, it has now been three months since this started and there is no improvement.  I still take antistimines day and night.  I keep thinking about your letter to try and keep my spirits up, but this itching and burning is getting old and stressful.  If you can please write me with some advice.

Thankyou,

Doug

[rose]

I started getting severe hives about 3 years ago. The first time I had them they lasted about 1 year. I have been to 3 doctors with no luck until I saw the third. I have had many tests done all with no success. I was finally put on dapsone and doxipan. After a few months they went away. Now after being hive free for 2 years I am once agian "breaking out". My hands and feet sweel like balloons. I suffer form joint pain and often look disfigured. I have tried every antihistime on the planet, every cream, and I have also been put on steriods. Nothing has come remotely close to helping. I feel that I am in need of serious help.

[Ed DeVenne]

Please be aware of the efffects of prednisone when used to alleviate hives. I took prednisone for my chronic hives on and off for two years with the result that I still have hives and now have two artificial hips. This drug can deteriorate your hip joints as well as your shoulder joints, when used continuously.
I am now on a regime of 3 different allergy medications to try and suppress my hive breakouts.
Please use whatever else you can but by all means avoid prednisone.

[Michelle]

I have also had hives for what seems like an ETERNITY. Mine started the day after a traumatic counseling session 6 years ago. I think that the stress was just a small part of what started the hives. I think my body was overworked by other cronic problems . Previous to the start of my hives, for years I had these problems -  heartburn almost daily for years, depression every few months varying in severity [mostly mild], and BAD sinus infections several times each year. Even now I get hives daily even with Claritin and Zyrtec, now I'm trying Allegra. These questions plague me daily .....Was stress the catylist that caused my body to get hives? Do I have a stomach problem? Could it be thyroid related? Could it all somehow be related to depression? I'm sure some of you have simmilar stories of doctors acting like you're crazy. Everything but the hives started in my teens. My hives started in my early 20's. you're not alone.....

[g.b.]

I itched like mad for more than a year. I'd tried every antihistamine in the book, with no results, and was both depressed and scared that I'd never have a normal life again. My doctor tried cortisone shots and tablets, and I even tried acupuncture.

Finally I discovered the cause of my itching totally by accident: I took apart the air conditioner in my bedroom to try to stop a rattle, and discovered that it was full of mold. New York is very humid, but I had no idea that mold was growing in my building, which isn't very old.

I bought a duhimidifier and a new mattress, and things are almost back to normal

[Katie]

Let me join the club.  I have had hives for 2 and a half years.  Had all the allergy tests with no success of finding the cause.  I am told that only 20% of the time can a cause be found for hives.  My sister is a doctor and she says that doctors get very frustrated with us because it is so hard to find the cause.  I take Zyrtec everyday which helps a lot.  If I forget one day though I am in misery.  One of the posts mentioned stomach problems at the same time as the hives.  I have had chronic heartburn for quite some time.  Maybe there is a relation?  Never though of it before.

[m.r.]

I have had hives for a year and a half.  I have been to 4 doctors. They all said the samething. (give the medication time to work, or I don't know what to do next.)   When I went to Rochester, Minn. the doctor told me I had sinus infection, he put me on
Leviquin, Sinequin, Hydroxyzine and Furosemide.  I did real well for the month I took the Leviquin. He took me off of the Leviquin, and I continued to take the other medication.
The hives are gone for now, but now have deep red blisters on my hands.  They are very painful. I am using clobetasol cream on my hands, but it only takes care of the itch, not the pain. My doctor told me to stop using the soap I was using to wash my hand with. I'm using Dove now, I hope it work for me.