Help with Hives, please! Going crazy scratching

[drfrog1]

Water makes them worse for me. Warm, hot, cool or cold - it doesn't matter. I've been getting a little relief by turning my vans AC on max & having all the vents blast my face & neck.
Very rarely have I ever wished a weekend to speed by, but I am right now. I can't wait until 7:30 Monday morning when I can call my doctor's office. I'm trying to avoid going to the ER or Urgent care since my 7 year old was there last weekend after a fall off her bike that resulted in her teeth going through her skin just above her top lip.

As a kid, I use to have severe allergies but as I got older, I outgrew them & once I had my 2nd daughter, they all went away except my blue, purple & green food color sensitivity & latex. But, my latex allergy has lessened quite a bit. I've not had hives like this in almost 10 years & never have they lasted this long. I feel sorry for people who deal with this on a regular basis.

[JulieDB]

You may not want to go to the ER or Urgent Care but you may have to. It's quite possible that you developed some kind of new allergy either to a food, an environmental thing or even to the med you started a month ago.

My daughter and I both got hives from antibiotics and I got them from Zyrtec. We did not get them upon taking the first dose. We had been taking them for a few days and in the case of the Zyrtec for a few years. Allergic reactions can happen like that.

I am very prone to hives. I had one today. Just one. When I get them I usually just get a few. Once, my mom, grandma and I all broke out in them at the same time. We were walking through a door into an ice cream shop. We never did figure out what set them off.

But with you having so many, I think you should seek medical care.

[3timesoccermom]

Mine started on Saturday evening (it's now Thursday AM). I had just taken my last antibiotic for a staph infection and started an OTC supplement my doctor recommended and within a couple of hours was getting hives.

Over the next several hours took generic Benadryl, generic Claritin and generic Zyrtec and used hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl cream. None got rid of them. The only one of those I even saw results with was the Zyrtec (I read it's better for hives than Benadryl) but they were still not gone.

Sunday evening my lips began tingling then swelling up, I had hives in my mouth and inside my chin area and many others were so large that 2 of the spots mostly covered my forearm.

Went to doctor Monday AM, got a cortisone shot and prescriptions for Prednisone and an antihistamine. The shot I got was supposed to be "fast-acting" and last 12 hours but I saw no results at all for at least an hour and no real help for 4-5 hours. I STILL had hives - just not as many - and I wasn't nearly as itchy but they started coming back with a vengeance Monday night even after I began the 2 new prescriptions. Since then they've been about as bad as they were when I went to the doctor but none in/around my mouth.

And none of the antihistamines have made me sleepy - it's the opposite. I've been sleeping about 2 hours a night and maybe 2 hours during the day and that's it. The steroids are making me hyper is what the doc said.

Told him Tuesday AM they are still here and he said to take 1/2 more of the Prednisone at each of the doses and I was already doubling up on the antihistamine. No difference and no help and I'm really wondering what kind of junk these steroids may be doing to me further down the line.

I've gotten hives a couple of times in the past but nothing like this.

Just wanted to commiserate and recommend the Zyrtec - even the OTC.

Oh, 1 more thing I tried - Solarcaine - it's a sunburn gel (there is a spray too) with lidocaine in it (I was desperate - would probably even be willing to try cow dung!!) but it did seem to make my arms feel better for a few minutes at least.

[Doglover8180]

drfrog.... what did your doctor say? Hope your feeling better.

[drfrog1]

I'm on 80mg of Prednizone a day for 3 days, 60mg for 5 days & 40 mg for 5 days plus daily dose of Claritin. Hives have dramatically improved but had a nice little burst of them that lasted for over 2 hours before I could get to a double dose of Benadryl. Doctor is thinking I'm ingesting something that I've developed an allergy to since the hives concentrate on my face & lips more frequently.

I still can't figure it out, but am beginning to wonder if it may be peanuts/nuts. The hives started today after I had a PB&J sandwich. The reactions over the past few days have been after I had eaten a piece of chocolate. I'm going to attempt to eliminate all items from my diet that have nuts or have been in contact with nuts & see what happens. If that doesn't work, I'm going to have to undergo testing & I still might have to anyway.

[3timesoccermom]

Ugh!! You still have them??? Poor thing!!

Please be SUPER vigiliant if you're getting them on your face and lips because that could mean your throat is next. I only had 1 day like that - the day I went to the doctor - and I had them in my mouth, on the cheeks, around my eyes and my lips were puffed out.

I was on prescription Prednisone and antihistamine too and they did not work. I was so pilled out I could hardly stand to look at myself. Never taken that many pills before in my life (and never intend to again).

Not advising this but just telling you what finally worked for me.

From Saturday night - Monday (last week) I took various combos of OTC antihistamines. Monday PM got the scripts. Took them through Thursday AM with no change at all.

Thursday I stopped ALL meds since they weren't doing any good anyway. About 24 hours later I took 3 prescription antihistamines, then a few hours later took 3 prescription steroids. I slept like a stone but by Friday PM they were nearly gone though I was still super sleepy Saturday too. It was worth being sleepy though because from my neck to my knees had been covered in huge blotches and I was miserable.

If I ever get them that badly again I will repeat what I did, only at the beginning. I've gotten hives a few times through the years but never anything like this.

Good luck getting rid of them!!

[CW&M Mom]

Sorry your going through this. I agree to piggy back the clariten (or zyrtec) and benadryl. You can also add an h2 blocker which is actually a reflux med...zantac or pepcid...these are histamine blockers..and can help a bit as well. Hopefully the steroids and all the allergy meds will help!

[cintinative]

Just wanted to say--you need to be sure you have an Epi Pen on hand. So if you don't have a script for one yet, get one today.