I suffer from chronic idiopathic uticaria. This means that every day for no reason i get hives breaking out all over my body. the itching drives me mad. after numerous tests im told ill have to live with it. there is no cure . it might go away on its own.
The dr has prescribed strong antihistamines called fexofenadine and ranitidine - although these medications do lessen my condition quite a bit - I still itch its particually painful when I get it on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet - the dr says its because skin isnt very stretchy in these places so it swells and feels bruised some days i cannot even walk.
I have been told it can be made worse by stress (i have 4 children) but im not particually stressed out except for the itchyness .
so .... if anyone has any suggestions for me I would be most grateful.Any therapys that may be of use? I will try anything ?
thank you
peace and love to all
lunarwolf xx
Hi
I know exactly how you are feeling, I suffered from exactly the same for a long long time and it was down to stress. Your doctor should really refer to you an immunologist who will in the first instance do some skin prick allergy tests, have you had this done? I understand about the swellings under your feet too, feels like someone has threaded marbles under the soles of your feet and its too painful to walk, but what you need to watch out for is facial swelling - lips and tongue. The minute you see this happen I would pop to hospital as you dont want it moving into your throat and brining on an anaphylactic shock. This happened to me and a quick fix of adrenaline fixed it and now i carry an epi pen.
It simply should not be brushed off with you being told to deal with it.
Once you are referred they may even put you on an elimination diet, your body may have developed an intolerance that you may not be aware off...
PM me any time for more information on this as I do know how you feel.
Best of Luck
Sarah x
Hi Lunarwolf,
I have an alternative view. May I suggest you have a ponder on the way that you are presently "thinking" about things which are going on for you at the moment.
Hives may be an indication that you are being irritated about delays happening in your life. Do you have small hidden fears about things, which you have tried to put to the back of your mind? Is there a tendancy within your mind, in your thinking, to make mountains out of molehills so to speak. Only you know how you are thinking . . . . go within and answer these questions honestly and openly to yourself. Let some things going on in your life, go at their own pace and not yours.
Create some new thoughts, even within the "busy-ness" you have of looking after your four children. Focus just some of the many thoughts (most of us have many thoughts which are mainly personally negative to us) you have daily on a phrase like "I bring peace to every corner of my life" or "I am peace with the process of life" and you will be surprised at how quickly things will change for the better for you. The Hives condition you are experiencing will melt back into the nothingness from which it came.
Have a go.
All the best in whatever you do.
Cheers
Hi Lunarwolf
What a difficult situation for you! Itching causes awful stress in itself. Sarah has posted some very relevant and helpful information.
I would very strongly suspect food intolerances also. This is a reaction to foods which causes a different reaction to allergy - it is an IgG reaction (as opposed to allergy which is IgE, and when tested for allergy will not register). This is usually delayed by anything up to 72 hours after eating the food but more commonly in 6 to 18 hours afterwards. This is not tested for by the GPs because the results can vary considerably - obviously according to what you have eaten and when - and they are not really taught about it.
The most common foods to cause these reactions are those that you eat most commonly. In most people this will include wheat, dairy, eggs, and yeast, followed by other foods you most usually choose - and it an be anything! Mine included, apples, onions, garlic, bananas, orange, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and so on.
This can be tested for, either by you ordering the kit yourself from here or [DLMURL="http://www.food-detective.com/faq-food-intolerance/"]here[/DLMURL], OR by visiting a nutritional therapist, which is the route I very strongly recommend - in dealing with food intolerances you need support to help you through chosing what you CAN eat and how to cook it, etc. You will find a registered nutritionist near you here (click the link).
The good news is that the body can 'forget' to react to a substance if you avoid it religiously for long enough - 2-18 months - but the problem is that it is often very difficult to avoid some things when they are hidden ingredients in some things - like it was a while before I realised that there is garlic in tomato ketchup! You will have to read labels very carefully - and even then things are not always listed.
The big supermarkets will give you lists of foods 'without' which are helpful, but I found it best to go round the supermarket filling the trolley with what I could eat - even if I had never tried it before! - and filled the trolley. It was then fun working out how to make meals of those foods.
The other things that will need dealing with are
- to find out why this has happened in the first place and deal with that
- is Candida a factor?
- to heal the gut lining
- to restore gut bacteria to the proper balance
- to make sure you are not nutrient deficient - people with skin problems are often very short of omega oils - from oily fish and like evening primrose or borage oil. So a supplement programme will probably be necessary.
A nutritional therapist will sort all this out for you and - hopefully - you will be a new person! The other person who may sort you out is [url]Dr Sarah Myhill[/url], not too far from you, and just brilliant at helping these kind of problems, but you may have to see her privately.
Wishing you the best of health
Glad I found this thread
I am on fenofexadine as well. Luckily Ive never had it on my palms or souls of my feel.
I am finding that if I 'over eat' certain foods it reacts for me. Like too much sugar or sugary food. Also lack of proper hydration (sp) effects it so try to make sure you take plenty of water.
I am going to the Body and Soul Fair in Glasgow in a couple of weeks and I had been thinking about EFT coz stress is definitely a factor for me.
I find E45 cream cools and hydrates the skin and dulls the itch some too.
Ciu
To you and every other person with CIU, I will give you a piece of information I learned many years ago that will cure your CIU in 4 days. I am a physician and I sometimes know what I am talking about!
To get rid of CIU, go to the tanning bed for a 30-minute session on 4 consecutive days. Get a little burned. After the 4th day, your CIU will have disappeared never to return.
Do it and you'll see.
I suffer from chronic idiopathic uticaria. This means that every day for no reason i get hives breaking out all over my body. the itching drives me mad. after numerous tests im told ill have to live with it. there is no cure . it might go away on its own.
The dr has prescribed strong antihistamines called fexofenadine and ranitidine - although these medications do lessen my condition quite a bit - I still itch its particually painful when I get it on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet - the dr says its because skin isnt very stretchy in these places so it swells and feels bruised some days i cannot even walk.
I have been told it can be made worse by stress (i have 4 children) but im not particually stressed out except for the itchyness .so .... if anyone has any suggestions for me I would be most grateful.Any therapys that may be of use? I will try anything ?
thank you
peace and love to all
lunarwolf xx