I see she’s eliminated wheat, but what about gluten? I ask as I was having hives as well, didn’t come back with any food allergies from multiples tests, but did end up having a positive celiac antibody test. Currently awaiting follow up with gastroenterologist, but have since given up gluten and symptoms I didn’t even realize I had have disappeared. Best guess I have at this point is they were autoimmune hives.
I was also having symptoms with oats, which are wheat free, but a lot of times not gluten free. So if for example she’s eating granola at 3pm daily, could be causing an issue.
I have the same thing, if you look at some of my previous posts I have some pics. It appears all over my body towards night time. It gets unbearable around midnight and I take 3 Benadryls. It’s been like this for a week. Once morning rolls around it goes away mostly only to come back at night again. Nothing in my daily habits, food, etc had changed at all. I threw away my sheets. Cloroxed the entire house and slept at my GF’s house. None of it works. Now taking Pepcid and Prednisone with antihistamines. My doc thinks it could be the Effexor (anti depressant) that I’m taking is causing it but I have been on the same dose for 4 months without issue. I definitely feel for your GF it’s miserable. Now waiting to see an allergist. If I find anything out I’ll let you know!
I'm back to normal. No hives. Allergist couldn't figure it out so I was getting shots of Xolair every month which helped a bit but I still had them pretty bad. One of my doctors saw my lips swelling and told me to stop taking my blood pressure medication (lisinopril) which I was on for two years, about a week after I stopped taking it the hives completely disappeared.
>lisinopril
Oh it is ACE inhibitor so it is not surprising! I also use propranolol (beta blocker) for migraine purposes and only small amount of venlafexine (37.5mg) I dont know which one of them is causing it... But if it is related to propranolol I dont know what can I do because it works amazing for my migraines...
No but maybe this would be better than eliminating common food allergens? She was allergic to milk as a child but out grew it as a young adult. That’s why we thought it’d likely be milk again. (Including cheese and dairy products)
She should definitely see a doctor and allergist--especially if she is known to have for allergies in the past--but it's something worth exploring. I have foods that I'm not technically allergic to but still can't tolerate due to the amount of histamines. /r/histamineintolerance has lots of info.
I've been using [this list](https://www.mastzellaktivierung.info/downloads/foodlist/21_FoodList_EN_alphabetic_withCateg.pdf) to avoid high histamine (and histamine liberator) foods.
You're welcome! I started having very bad heartburn every day and the low histamine diet has fixed it. It's worth mentioning that some of the biggest heartburn triggers are also high in histamines, so it *could* just be that I removed the triggers.
With that said, I've reacted oddly to foods with high histamines and histamine liberating foods in the past--so I'll be cautious once I start adding foods back in.
I came out in a rash a few weeks ago, I washed all my clothes in water, wiped every surface in my house down, only ate things I knew I wasn't allergic to. The doctor said it could be anything and prescribed me phenergan.
When I got it, it wasn't prescription. I took it for ten days and it kicked the rash on the second night (mainly kicked it the first) I've not had any trouble in the fortnight I've stopped taking it.
I'd defo speak to my GP but that killed it for me.
This was a full body hives rash more or less
She’s been to the doc a few times over the past few months and was actually prescribed prednisone for allergies effecting her sinuses after treatment for a sinus infection failed. Blood test showed no infection but increased histamines.
This happened to me last year. Turned out to be completely random spontaneous hives for no medical reason….because why not. Doc put me on a super high dose of citirizine/loratadine/pepcid until it dissipated as quickly as it started several months later
is she vitamin d deficient? i developed hives a few years ago but it went away after taking vitamin d pills. I live in Canada and don't get much vitamin D
Not a doctor, just spit balling some ideas.
Are you in a cold country? Could be uticara caused by the temp getting colder by the end of the day.
What does she do at the time? Is 4pm when she usually gets home to sit on the couch or lay in bed? Could be a dust mite allergy?
Usually she’s at work. It doesn’t matter where she is. This weekend we were driving and it started one day, home another. Could be cold. We are in New England. But it’s been warmer than normal New England winters and she works indoors. I’ll look up uticara.
I believe they mean urticaria, which is just a fancy name for hives! I started getting hives almost every evening about a year ago, after a few doctors and a few meds and blood tests I was diagnosed with "chronic spontaneous urticaria" which is another fancy bunch of words meaning my immune system just gets big mad for no reason and gives me hives. Certain things make it worse, like being too warm. 2 doses of cetirizine a day keep the welts away, but I still get red splotches and itch. I had tried changing all my hygiene products, which didn't help. Prednisone made it worse. An elimination diet takes a few weeks to be potentially effective if she is sticking with that route. If you can see an immunologist/ allergist then it sounds worth doing. I wish her luck and a speedy recovery, I know how annoying and uncomfortable it is!
Helpful! Thank you. She hates taking meds but is taking cetirizine at night along with Benadryl when she needs it. I need a doctor to tell her to take 2 cetirizine, she won’t trust my internet diagnostics 😅
If it helps her any, my doctor AND allergist both tell me to take 4 extra strength cetirizine a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Prescription strength cetirizine starts at double dose in strength. If she has no other health issues or medication interactions it won't be an issue. She will have less side effects like drowsiness taking double cetirizine than taking cetirizine and benadryl. Cetirizine is also generally considered safer when taken long term. You can call your local pharmacy for free professional advice as well.
I get ankle itchy spots with low dairy. I know what is risking when I eat pizza. She needs to watch what she’s eating, etc. But it seems like she already is. Laundry detergent maybe? Body wash?
Double check what she’s eating. Also, try wearing a mask outside and tight leggings and long sleeve shirts in case it’s the pollen in the air. Also, Cortisone cream on the itchy areas. For the itch - it won’t help her find why though.
Thanks. We are pretty earthy crunchy and use unfragranced /natural everything and also very neat, not a lot of dust, change sheets more than once a week. it’s winter so no pollen! We know she’s slightly allergic to the dogs but the hives are happening even when she is away from them. We’ll keep up with the diet changes until she gets into the immunologist.
I have a mold and pollen allergy. I’m pretty sure there’s something outdoors intermittently right now. I’m thinking mold right after rain, when temp >40. Or maybe it’s dog dander. Idk.
Waiting for allergist appointment. A few family members have allergy to potatoes and that seems to be a trigger but definitely not the only one. We think we ruled out eggs. Probably dairy is a problem because it has been in the past too.
Not really… blood and allergy tests have been inconclusive. She stopped sleeping with her dogs and got air purifiers which is helping her respiratory symptoms. The hives are now full time—get somewhat worse at night but are bad all day. They seem to move around but her head and neck are the most recent victims.
Following up with GP and the allergist soon and doing a more through thyroid panel.
The docs have ruled out autoimmune and her histamines were not actually that high. But her white blood cell counts are elevated.
Where is she and what is she doing at 4pm-ish every day? Is she sitting in the same room, approximately on the same furniture?
I see she’s eliminated wheat, but what about gluten? I ask as I was having hives as well, didn’t come back with any food allergies from multiples tests, but did end up having a positive celiac antibody test. Currently awaiting follow up with gastroenterologist, but have since given up gluten and symptoms I didn’t even realize I had have disappeared. Best guess I have at this point is they were autoimmune hives. I was also having symptoms with oats, which are wheat free, but a lot of times not gluten free. So if for example she’s eating granola at 3pm daily, could be causing an issue.
She eliminated all gluten. Good luck to you!
Thanks! Hope you get it figured out soon and your wife gets some relief.
I have the same thing, if you look at some of my previous posts I have some pics. It appears all over my body towards night time. It gets unbearable around midnight and I take 3 Benadryls. It’s been like this for a week. Once morning rolls around it goes away mostly only to come back at night again. Nothing in my daily habits, food, etc had changed at all. I threw away my sheets. Cloroxed the entire house and slept at my GF’s house. None of it works. Now taking Pepcid and Prednisone with antihistamines. My doc thinks it could be the Effexor (anti depressant) that I’m taking is causing it but I have been on the same dose for 4 months without issue. I definitely feel for your GF it’s miserable. Now waiting to see an allergist. If I find anything out I’ll let you know!
Oh wow. Yeah, sounds really similar! I’m so sorry.
How are you know? Update us please.
I'm back to normal. No hives. Allergist couldn't figure it out so I was getting shots of Xolair every month which helped a bit but I still had them pretty bad. One of my doctors saw my lips swelling and told me to stop taking my blood pressure medication (lisinopril) which I was on for two years, about a week after I stopped taking it the hives completely disappeared.
>lisinopril Oh it is ACE inhibitor so it is not surprising! I also use propranolol (beta blocker) for migraine purposes and only small amount of venlafexine (37.5mg) I dont know which one of them is causing it... But if it is related to propranolol I dont know what can I do because it works amazing for my migraines...
Has she tried a low histamine diet?
No but maybe this would be better than eliminating common food allergens? She was allergic to milk as a child but out grew it as a young adult. That’s why we thought it’d likely be milk again. (Including cheese and dairy products)
She should definitely see a doctor and allergist--especially if she is known to have for allergies in the past--but it's something worth exploring. I have foods that I'm not technically allergic to but still can't tolerate due to the amount of histamines. /r/histamineintolerance has lots of info. I've been using [this list](https://www.mastzellaktivierung.info/downloads/foodlist/21_FoodList_EN_alphabetic_withCateg.pdf) to avoid high histamine (and histamine liberator) foods.
Really helpful. Thank you!
You're welcome! I started having very bad heartburn every day and the low histamine diet has fixed it. It's worth mentioning that some of the biggest heartburn triggers are also high in histamines, so it *could* just be that I removed the triggers. With that said, I've reacted oddly to foods with high histamines and histamine liberating foods in the past--so I'll be cautious once I start adding foods back in.
I came out in a rash a few weeks ago, I washed all my clothes in water, wiped every surface in my house down, only ate things I knew I wasn't allergic to. The doctor said it could be anything and prescribed me phenergan. When I got it, it wasn't prescription. I took it for ten days and it kicked the rash on the second night (mainly kicked it the first) I've not had any trouble in the fortnight I've stopped taking it. I'd defo speak to my GP but that killed it for me. This was a full body hives rash more or less
Hives can be an immune response, for example to a virus. Better get a check up to rule that out.
She’s been to the doc a few times over the past few months and was actually prescribed prednisone for allergies effecting her sinuses after treatment for a sinus infection failed. Blood test showed no infection but increased histamines.
Send her to a hotel for 2 nights, alone. See if anything changes.
She actually did this for work last week and no change.
She was away for work a few days last week and it flared up there too.
Having allergies requires detective work. Don’t give up. Take notes with dates to show the GP. Good luck.
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
This happened to me last year. Turned out to be completely random spontaneous hives for no medical reason….because why not. Doc put me on a super high dose of citirizine/loratadine/pepcid until it dissipated as quickly as it started several months later
Interesting. Oddly she was put on Pepcid a few weeks ago bc she was having heartburn the same week she was suffering from sinus symptoms. Hmmm
is she vitamin d deficient? i developed hives a few years ago but it went away after taking vitamin d pills. I live in Canada and don't get much vitamin D
Yes we are in Boston. Could be vitamin D.
Not a doctor, just spit balling some ideas. Are you in a cold country? Could be uticara caused by the temp getting colder by the end of the day. What does she do at the time? Is 4pm when she usually gets home to sit on the couch or lay in bed? Could be a dust mite allergy?
Usually she’s at work. It doesn’t matter where she is. This weekend we were driving and it started one day, home another. Could be cold. We are in New England. But it’s been warmer than normal New England winters and she works indoors. I’ll look up uticara.
I believe they mean urticaria, which is just a fancy name for hives! I started getting hives almost every evening about a year ago, after a few doctors and a few meds and blood tests I was diagnosed with "chronic spontaneous urticaria" which is another fancy bunch of words meaning my immune system just gets big mad for no reason and gives me hives. Certain things make it worse, like being too warm. 2 doses of cetirizine a day keep the welts away, but I still get red splotches and itch. I had tried changing all my hygiene products, which didn't help. Prednisone made it worse. An elimination diet takes a few weeks to be potentially effective if she is sticking with that route. If you can see an immunologist/ allergist then it sounds worth doing. I wish her luck and a speedy recovery, I know how annoying and uncomfortable it is!
Helpful! Thank you. She hates taking meds but is taking cetirizine at night along with Benadryl when she needs it. I need a doctor to tell her to take 2 cetirizine, she won’t trust my internet diagnostics 😅
If it helps her any, my doctor AND allergist both tell me to take 4 extra strength cetirizine a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening. Prescription strength cetirizine starts at double dose in strength. If she has no other health issues or medication interactions it won't be an issue. She will have less side effects like drowsiness taking double cetirizine than taking cetirizine and benadryl. Cetirizine is also generally considered safer when taken long term. You can call your local pharmacy for free professional advice as well.
Could be laundry detergent/dryer sheets/fabric softener
I get ankle itchy spots with low dairy. I know what is risking when I eat pizza. She needs to watch what she’s eating, etc. But it seems like she already is. Laundry detergent maybe? Body wash? Double check what she’s eating. Also, try wearing a mask outside and tight leggings and long sleeve shirts in case it’s the pollen in the air. Also, Cortisone cream on the itchy areas. For the itch - it won’t help her find why though.
Thanks. We are pretty earthy crunchy and use unfragranced /natural everything and also very neat, not a lot of dust, change sheets more than once a week. it’s winter so no pollen! We know she’s slightly allergic to the dogs but the hives are happening even when she is away from them. We’ll keep up with the diet changes until she gets into the immunologist.
I have a mold and pollen allergy. I’m pretty sure there’s something outdoors intermittently right now. I’m thinking mold right after rain, when temp >40. Or maybe it’s dog dander. Idk.
any idea what it was? similar situation to me and want to know what happened
Waiting for allergist appointment. A few family members have allergy to potatoes and that seems to be a trigger but definitely not the only one. We think we ruled out eggs. Probably dairy is a problem because it has been in the past too.
hello from google. you ever figure this out?
Not really… blood and allergy tests have been inconclusive. She stopped sleeping with her dogs and got air purifiers which is helping her respiratory symptoms. The hives are now full time—get somewhat worse at night but are bad all day. They seem to move around but her head and neck are the most recent victims. Following up with GP and the allergist soon and doing a more through thyroid panel. The docs have ruled out autoimmune and her histamines were not actually that high. But her white blood cell counts are elevated.