Extremely Itchy "hives"

[klp28]

Hi everyone,

So I've been having this EXTREMELY itchy rash for 8 weeks now. I've seen my PCP, dermatologist and an alergist (who is still in the process of running tests), but nobody seems to have any idea what it is...the most any of them have told me is that it's probably some type of allergic reaction (hence the referal to the allergist). Basically it looks like hives, is extremely itchy and is relatively symmetrical all over my scalp, neck and chest. It has been varying in severity, but at it's worst it was basically all over my body. Like I said, it's super itchy and uncomfortable. What's most annoying to me is that none of the doctors I've seen seem to be too worried about it, even though I've had some odd bloodwork results (low liver function and anemia). Last week the allergist did a skin prick test that showed what he called "sensitivities" to soy and walnuts. I hate walnuts so that's not an issue, but since then I've cut soy from my diet with little result yet (but I'm still hopeful). I've read that sometimes soy allergies are correlated with celiac disease, so now I'm wondering if that's what it might be. I'm definitely a bread lover and consume a lot of carbs in general. I'm wondering if anybody is familiar with this particular kind of rash...after reading a lot of these posts, I understand that DH usually presents as blister-like and my hives are definitely not like that but I'm just hoping to come to some kind of answer here!

Thanks so much!!!

[Mother of Jibril]

Welcome!

It could be chronic urticaria, which can be triggered by pain relievers, food allergies, environmental allergies, chemicals, exercise, pressure, cold/heat, or even your own body (autoimmune urticaria). Here's a very helpful resource:

Open Original Shared Link

BTW... "chronic" is defined as occuring longer than six weeks.

[N.Justine]

I'd still get tested for DH -- the itch factor alone calls for that testing.

[one more mile]

Rice makes me itch and gives me what my family has called the traveling ichies. I will get this red nasty looking rash on a part of my body, usually my face , chest, arms and stomach and it will move around. I can eat some rice at times then at other times I can not. I Think that I just have a tolerance for so much rice and then my skin goes nuts.

good luck

[mushroom]

Soy makes me itch like this; I was three months gluten free before I figured it out. There is a lot of soy added to many gluten free foods; you have to be just as thorough in your label reading as for gluten if that is your problem.

[ang1e0251]

If you're wondering about celiac disease why not have your dr run a celiac panel blood test? They are not always conslusive but it is a starting point. Also read the DH section from the home page so you are familier with the correct way to test DH. You can also have that biopsy. It's a place to start. Do you have other symptoms that might point to celiac disease? How about family history? All those are helpful to find a DX.

[QueenTechnoGeek]

Oh my. Hives are absolutely the most frustrating thing... I've been getting them off and on all my life... but certainly not non-stop, until this last time. I had chronic hives that were so bad, they wouldn't respond to any of the normal allergy medications they give. Steroids would knock them back, but as soon as I came off the steroids, they would come right back. My lips would swell up, and I spent Easter Sunday on the sofa in border-line anaphylactic shock. That was my wake up call. It was over 8 months of pure hell.

PCP referred me to an allergist. Allergist said it wasn't allergy, even though by that time I was suspecting wheat had something to do with it (that was the common factor - every time I had been eating pizza, pasta, or some other bread heavy dish). He said, "You've been eating wheat all your life, right? So it can't be that." Never mind my history of hives off and on all my life, but his take was that it would be constant if it were allergy. Technically he was right about the "allergy" part. I have Hashimotos thyroid disease, and he was insistent it had something to do with my thyroid, claiming he had seen that on several occasions. "Get the thyroid under control and your hives will go away." So I went to my endo. He laughed at the prospect that my thyroid was causing the hives. "Your thyroid is just fine." Endo said it was probably all the pesticides I was consuming in non-organic foods. Talk about frustration.

I finally found a holistic medicine doctor. I was always leery of them, but traditional medical doctors had failed me and I was desperate. I took all the info I had, including my thyroid test results. One visit. That's all it took. Funny thing is that it was related to my thyroid, but that wasn't the cause. My thyroid antibodies were so high the test couldn't accurately measure them. The root cause? Gluten. It was causing my thyroid problem and the hives. No, it's not allergy. It's intolerance. I went on a gluten-free diet and within 4 weeks all hives were completely gone. I've been gluten-free and hive-free for 9 or so months. I miss my old favorite foods, but the hives were bad enough that eating the foods isn't worth it.

So can gluten cause hives? You betcha.

[D Angel]

Oh my. Hives are absolutely the most frustrating thing... I've been getting them off and on all my life... but certainly not non-stop, until this last time. I had chronic hives that were so bad, they wouldn't respond to any of the normal allergy medications they give. Steroids would knock them back, but as soon as I came off the steroids, they would come right back. My lips would swell up, and I spent Easter Sunday on the sofa in border-line anaphylactic shock. That was my wake up call. It was over 8 months of pure hell.

PCP referred me to an allergist. Allergist said it wasn't allergy, even though by that time I was suspecting wheat had something to do with it (that was the common factor - every time I had been eating pizza, pasta, or some other bread heavy dish). He said, "You've been eating wheat all your life, right? So it can't be that." Never mind my history of hives off and on all my life, but his take was that it would be constant if it were allergy. Technically he was right about the "allergy" part. I have Hashimotos thyroid disease, and he was insistent it had something to do with my thyroid, claiming he had seen that on several occasions. "Get the thyroid under control and your hives will go away." So I went to my endo. He laughed at the prospect that my thyroid was causing the hives. "Your thyroid is just fine." Endo said it was probably all the pesticides I was consuming in non-organic foods. Talk about frustration.

I finally found a holistic medicine doctor. I was always leery of them, but traditional medical doctors had failed me and I was desperate. I took all the info I had, including my thyroid test results. One visit. That's all it took. Funny thing is that it was related to my thyroid, but that wasn't the cause. My thyroid antibodies were so high the test couldn't accurately measure them. The root cause? Gluten. It was causing my thyroid problem and the hives. No, it's not allergy. It's intolerance. I went on a gluten-free diet and within 4 weeks all hives were completely gone. I've been gluten-free and hive-free for 9 or so months. I miss my old favorite foods, but the hives were bad enough that eating the foods isn't worth it.

So can gluten cause hives? You betcha.

In regards to your pin prick test. I was told by my allergist that they are not that accurate for some people. I saw this allergist because I was occasionally breaking out in hives with no rhyme or reason. And I have sensitive skin (not like to perfumes and dyes etc...) but, to the touch. If I have an itch and scratch it you will see exactly every line that I scratched for at least 5 mins in a red raised puffy line. So, on someone line me if I were to have a pin prick test I would have a positive reaction to everything because it is my skin reacting to the prick not necesarily an allergic reaction to the substance... In case that helps at all.

[sugarsue]

Hi. I am allergic to wheat, discovered by a blood test. Before going wheat free I used to get this rash that started at my knees and spread to my legs, torso, arms, head.... It was not like hives but looked more like poison ivy, blistery like that, and was just as itchy. It always spread in the same way and happened a couple of times a year. The docs always called it contact dermatitis and gave me a hefty steroid foam that would eventually take care of it but it took forever to get rid of. I'd have to take benadryl 24 hrs a day for the itching.

Since going wheat free (it's my daughters who are gluten free although I generally do gluten free as well) I have not had this rash come back (KNOCK ON WOOD). I believe it was related. Especially since now I will get a horrible dreaded itch, especially in my arm pitts) any time I accidently eat wheat.

My 7 yr old daughter has negative tests for everything but her skin clears up completely when gluten free. Her leisons were not tested for DH.

Anyway, I tell you this story only to support the fact that your itchy hives most surely could be caused by wheat/gluten or some other food intolerance even if the tests are negative.

Good luck to you.

[NYCCeliacMom]

My daughter has frequent hives, which started after her celiac diagnosis. In fact, the GI thought that perhaps she was developing an allergy to the PPI she was on. The allergist sees a lot of celiacs and after testing her for allergies and doing a challenge with a ppi, decided the hives are "just a celiac thing" and suggested she take zyrtec. When she takes it regularly, the hives stay under control. Lately she has developed some small red bumps that are like mini-hives. I was reading this thread because it mentioned hives. She does not seem to have DH, just a celiac related condition.