Daughter diagnosed with Chronic Urticaria/Dermographism

[Tinker'n'Fun]

In short after taking an antibiotic, two days after she started with itch and hives. This morphed to large heat spots/hives. Then to Dermograpism where when she is warm and something touches her she gets a welt/hive.

Anyone deal with this? How do you handle it. They put her on Zyrtec at bedtime. Told her she could try to go off if she goes a week without a symptom and a nose spray for seasonal allergies. She also is bruising so I insisted on a full blood panel and thyroid, liver, and others.

If you have this or know someone any suggestions or help for her would be appreciated. She is 22 and starts a job with an accounting firm in July. She is embarrassed by the marks and is looking for all help.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[cabanafrau]

Best wishes for a quick recovery to your DD. Sorry I don't have any suggestions to help.

 

[asta]

I developed this in my mid twenties and I am now in my late fifties so I have dealt with this for about 30 years. It has gotten less severe with age. Initially anything that touched my skin might show up as a itchy welt up to a day later. It was kind of spooky. If I wore a belt, a full day later a welt in the shape of the belt might form. I cope by taking an oral antihistamine daily and using Flonase nose spray. Sometimes I add Astelin nose spray also. I have done this every day for 30 years. Without all of these antihistamines my skin gets incredibly itchy but I no longer get the visible imprints.

The frustrating thing is that there doesn't seem to be an explanation. My doctors have told me that this is not an allergic reaction. My body just produces excess histamine. I wish I knew why.

 

[Christine]

When did your daughter take the antibiotic? Just trying to gauge if this has been going on a long time or if it will go away as the antibiotic leaves her system (which can take weeks). You said "chronic" in your post so I am left thinking this has been going on a long time?

Anyway, I do have a mild case of dermographism as do both of my kids. I don't get the big welts, but I easily get red marks and smaller bumps. It's kind of embarrassing sometimes because people always point it out. I remember one of my DD's homecoming photos. She had on a strapless dress and she had big red marks all over her right shoulder and chest from the seatbelt. They lasted about an hour or so.

The only real way to keep them down is by taking a daily antihistamine such as Zyrtec. I have also heard that the H2 blockers help with less side effects (these are meds like Pepcid or Zantac).

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Thank you for the responses. She finished the antibiotic just over three weeks ago. The hives started two days after finishing the antibiotic. While she hasn't hit the 8 week chronic stage they did diagnose her with it because of the increasing symptoms not decreasing.

They put her on zyrtec and flonase same as asta. Same age also.

I am going to research the Pepcid/Zantac help.

Again, thank you. She had to go for her professional picture for her new job today. They had to wait because the photographer moved her around for the picture and she welled up. Can't wait until the new meds at least start to help..

 

[kjpotter]

My daughter came down with Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria when she was 5 years old. We currently see a rheumatologist. Request a full lab workup paying special attention to your ANA counts and your thyroid.

We had to do a 6 month round of steroids to get things under control and let her body adjust to the new meds. At one point, she was on 8 pills daily. She took Predisone, Zytrec, Zantac, Claratin, and Plaquenil. She now only takes Zytrec and Plaquenil. Most days she is hive free. If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[kjpotter]

Zyrtec can be taken twice daily if needed. Also, take a Benadryl if the itching gets too bad. My daughter used to carry an antihistamine cream (like Cortizone 10) to put on any really itchy spots that were bothering her.

 

[Lilliputian]

If I were in her shoes, if conventional medicine weren't working, this is the time that I'd move to alternative options and see if they worked. In her case, I'd probably look into detoxing gently. Starting a new job isn't a good time to start a full colon cleanse or anything, but she can add raw apple cider vinegar to her water a few times a day and eat lots of cilantro and parsley. I'd also start immediately eating a low inflammation diet. At the very least, that would include no processed foods, no white sugar (maybe a little honey and/or maple syrup), gluten-free, and low starches (no replacing bread and other baked goods with gluten-free alternatives, unless they used coconut flour or almond flour). Removing dairy from her diet is also an option, but to me, that requires even more work than the above-listed modifications. She probably won't need to do those things forever, but they may help her get over this hump or at least figure out which things help her the most.

In the holistic view of health, the liver is often linked with hives and other skin issues. To that end, taking supplements like milk thistle could help support her liver.

 

[Dancind]

I have not heard of this, almost sounds like an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. But I would take slightly different attack from Lilliputian. Antibiotics cause problems because they kill ALL the bacteria in your system, good and bad. We kind of really need the good bacteria. Without it, everything can get pretty messed up. Colon cleanses clean out the good stuff too. She won't react well to strong probiotics, but maybe add some local whole milk yogurt with good cultures, some Bubbles or home made sauerkraut (juice first) and see how she does. Couldn't hurt, right?

 

[gemini2727]

ITA. If anything, the antibiotics have depleted her body of beneficial bacteria. No offense meant to Lilliputian, but a colon cleanse is a terrible idea. As is any drastic change to her diet. When did the OP say her daughter was diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity or dairy allergy? I would leave any medical recommendations to the professionals.

 

[si-am]

I have been dealing with random hives (mostly on the tops of my feet and around my eyes) for several years. It gets pretty bad. I've found that Zantac combined with Zyrtec can help. It's pretty frustrating when there's no known cause.

 

[CaFeeney]

I have had this my whole life- I get welts and hives from all sorts of things - just carrying a cardboard box gives me red welts and itchy hives for the next hour. Even carrying my lunch bag over my arm will leave a mark. I have gone to dermatologists and have had allergy testing but it is always inconclusive.
I take a Zyrtec everyday and it seems to help lessen (but not eliminate) the symptoms. I know compared to other ailments people have this is very minor so I just live with it!

 

[Dancind]

A quick search turns up that this could be a penicillin allergy reaction.

 

[Ana mari M]

I had this problem for long time I thought is penicillin that trigger it, but after lots of exams, it wasn't. …i tried everything(antihistamines, loooooottttssss of medical exams, eliminating coffee, sugar)nothing worked untill I give up gluten.
After one month of going gluten free my skin was glowing ànd no sign of dermographism anymore.
Now Is been 7 months of gluten free and never felt better.

 

[bcla]

OK - zombie thread again.

That being said, I had problems with strangely enough certain types of foam bandages. Never had an issue with regular plastic bandages or Tegaderm style dressings. I would get these tiny blisters mostly around the primary wound area.

I also get contact dermatitis from all the common antibiotic ointments. I switched from Neosporin to Polysporin to generic bacitracin and they all made it get worse.

 

[DisneyOma]

I stopped taking my Claritin a few weeks ago to give my body a rest from it, and just had to start up again because a hive showed up this morning...

I have red finger marks on my shoulders (off the shoulder wedding dress) in most of my wedding photos because my cousin squeezed my shoulders in the receiving line - ugh! My younger daughter has the same issues. Clothing leaves red marks like outlines - socks, underwear, seams - and the clothing is loose, not tight, not even snug. Just enough to keep them from falling off, LOL!

Not sure what triggers it, but we are both very fair skinned. Diet is high on carbs, but we are both pretty skinny. I've thought about the gluten aspect, but not ready to take the plunge.

 

[DisneyGwen]

In short after taking an antibiotic, two days after she started with itch and hives. This morphed to large heat spots/hives. Then to Dermograpism where when she is warm and something touches her she gets a welt/hive.

Anyone deal with this? How do you handle it. They put her on Zyrtec at bedtime. Told her she could try to go off if she goes a week without a symptom and a nose spray for seasonal allergies. She also is bruising so I insisted on a full blood panel and thyroid, liver, and others.

If you have this or know someone any suggestions or help for her would be appreciated. She is 22 and starts a job with an accounting firm in July. She is embarrassed by the marks and is looking for all help.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

I know how frustrating this is. In my early 30's I was diagnosed with the same and lived with it for more than a year. Allergy tests came back inconclusive. Because I was also suffering from a number of GI issues, I decided to go gluten free and the hives disappeared almost immediately as well as the GI issues and a rash on my upper arms that I'd had my entire life and was told was just 'bad skin'. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to give medical advice but I would highly recommend talking to her doctor about an elimination diet to see if the cause can be found. Best of luck!