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Very interesting. Sounds to me like the problem may have a glutaminergic or GABAergic element (likely both.) Next time you’re expecting physical exertion or heat reactions, try supplementing with L-Glutamine and GABA–you can get them both for cheap from Swanson. As a bonus, these supplements will increase your overall physical endurance. Let me know if it helps the hives!

Oh, and make sure you’re getting enough B6 and B12, too.

Thanks for the comments David. I’m not sure where you get the info that it has to do with a glutaminergic/GABA-ergic response. If you have any links/info supporting I’d appreciate it.

Also considering that your body synthesizes its own L-Glutamine rather well, I have doubts that supplements would do much. Same goes for GABA really. Again if you have links to research let me know.

thank you for your wikipedia article. ive had cu for seven years now, and your article helped me learn a lot more about it. im 17 years old, and i had never really looked into the technical side of it before, so thank you!

I’ve had cu ever since I could remember. It does peak in cycles, but it’s always been there to some extent. I’m 52 now and going through peri-menapause. If the symptoms of hot flashes aren’t enough it triggers the cu and it’s peaking. I got hives yesterday when i sneezed. Two different times that it peaked I went to the doctor for little or no help. Both told me I had the worse case they had ever seen. Lucky me. I’m going to try the anti-acid meds. Thanks for sharing.

Just wanted to assure you that there are other CU sufferers out here. I have had issues with cholinergic urticaria since I was about 22 (I am now 32). It is much, much worse in the winter (perhaps in summer, I am more acclimatized to heat?). I can’t even work out at the gym for more then 10-15 minutes before that horrible itchy, hot flush that gets worse and worse if I keep moving. It’s awful! I can’t even enjoy long walks with the kids or the dog, because I am afraid of getting stuck more than a 1/2 mile from home. Ugh…

Hey Tiare, Thanks for the kind words. I feel for you. Winter I don’t see too often as I live in San Francisco, so I don’t know how that would effect me. It was the heat especially exercising and my trips to the desert that really did it.

Thankfully my CU seems to have disappeared for the most part. I was really overjoyed when I didn’t see even a hint of it during my last trip to the Black Rock Desert. I used to go to Burning Man and just deal with being covered in hives all over my limbs and torso — I could usually ignore the itchiness but they were unsightly.

Mine started in when I was 29 and then seemed to begin to disappear about a couple years ago around when I turned 32. It wasn’t a diet change or anything — just age and time causing my histamine system finally deciding to stop being so unruly.

I hope you have similar good luck.

I came across your Wiki page this morning. Thank you for all the great info! A few years ago (12 to be exact) I started getting a red, itchy rash whenever I went out in the sun. Then I had to stop taking hot baths because when I got out of the tub I would I would be in pure agony for the next 30 to 60 minutes. I sometimes have the same issue with showers, especially on cold winter mornings (like this morning was). My palms itch and turn red whenever I hold anything hot.
Doctors really haven’t helped much. I asked my G.P., a Dermatologist and a Naturapath what it might be and what to do about it. Their answer–”Don’t know what it is. Stay out of the sun and don’t take hot baths.” DUUUHH! I can’t believe I paid them just to tell me the obvious?
Now I have a name for it. I know what my triggers are (anything hot!) and I have some pretty good suggestions as to what to do about it. I’m going to take it a copy of your Wikipdeia page with me the next time I go to the doctor to prove to him that I am not nuts!
Thank you so much for putting the page up. You might never know how many people it has helped. But I want you to know that it has helped me.

I happen to have this problem at this very moment, and its agonizing… argghhhhh…

I didnt know what this condition is called so I have been running through the internet just to check what it is all about, and i finally found this..

FYI, this is the second time I had this cholinergic urticaria, and the last one I had was 6-7 months ago, so I thought it was probably because of my diet, but it was not. It come and goes and finally after 4 days, its completely gone, so I thought its not going to happen in the future, but tada… it happened again…

Anyway, thanks for the information. It helps a lot.

I hear you all. As some have said, and in my case, it is more prevalent in winter months moving from cold to hot (warm) areas. In the summer, my body is more acclimated to the heat so I do a bit better. In my case it manifests itself intensely in my face, neck and arms.

I also feel that there is a trigger in my nervous system - when stressed, angry, embarrassed, etc. I have suffered with this for approximately 13 years. I am now 33 and see no sight of improvement. It greatly constrains my activities as the suffering and embarrassment is not just worth the pleasure of taking part in these activities. I take Atarax in varying doses and it helps… and sometimes it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.

any other suggestions?

The wiki post has a good write up on the various types of treatments out there. That’s a pretty heavy anti-histamine you’re on. I never used anything like that just Claritin and occasionally benedryl (but not too often of the latter as it knocks me out).

How are the Atarax side effects for you?

What worked best for me was combining a regular dose of Claritin (H1 blocker) with Zantac (which is a H2 receptor blocker). Zantac doesn’t have much in the way of side effects short term but long term may be different so ask your doctor if you start taking it regularly.

I was just recently given this diagnosis after a week of hives. It wasn’t until early this morning that I realized I had made an addition to my prescriptions; prescription fluoride tooth paste. It seemed benign enough, but I got numerous hits on the topic right off the bat. One of the chief side effects is hives. Even using some of the fancier non-script strength tooth pastes can have this affect on someone who is highly sensitive. I’ve only been off the tooth paste for the last 24 hours, but it appears to be making a difference already. Just thought I’d throw this into the mix.

@becky Allergies to medicines are usually different than CU. Also considering the transitive nature if the disease it’s highly likely that any improvement you are seeing is purely a coincidence. You could also be right but the anti-fluoride brigade is more prolific than factual. Few if any people really have allergies to fluoride.

Oh my God I thought I was the only person in existence with this syndrome! Visits to doctors have amounted to nothing and through my own research, I realise that I have CU. I first got a reaction on my 40th birthday when suddenly the inner area around my eyes swelled up and I had to put on a pair of sunglassess to hide the hideous outbreak. I have suffered with this now for 12 years and it seems that when my body overheats - as in strenuous exercise, or if I get stressed or am rushing etc - this causes the tissue around my eyes to swell up almost immediately - beginning with the inner eye area near the nose then spreading down towards my cheek. I apply cold compresses and witchhazel but usually walk around looking like a freak for at least 24 hours. I take an antihistamine called Telfast and I buy the strongest dose I can find. The whole thing is humiliating and really cramps my lifestyle as I love to be active but have to always make sure to keep my body cool. It seems I am stuck with this for life. I just wish it would go away :(

dear patients i am an egyptian young doctor 24 years old
i have experienced cholinergic urticaria over the last 5 years
really it is a very very agonizing disease it limits my activities too much i cannot play tennis or football i cannot go to closed places
it arouses me at night

i seeked medical advice as i experienced some symptoms after the attack as mild dyspnea and sedation and headache and recently i developed parathesia in my hands which hinders my job as a docotor

i donot know what to do
i tried claritine and aerius and zyrtec and zaditen
now i am under atarax and telfast 120mg and zaditen
i feel better but i still complaining from cu

i would like to ask about the role of corticosteroids in treatment of cu

@Dr.Motaz Abusabaa other then what I wrote above and what’s on the wiki page I have nothing else to really offer in way of advice. I’m pretty sure that corticosteroids are fairly useless for CU.

colin i just found your wikipedia page and then this and it is so good to see so many others with the same types of symptoms i’ve been having. i am 31 and this just started for me about 6 months ago. i also have asthma and wonder if it’s related. mine was mostly in my childhood but is still induced by over activity and/or cold or humid weather. i’m actually in the middle of an elimination diet challenge under the supervision of a naturopath for this and a few other symptoms (mainly joint pain and ear problems) but the hives have been coming almost daily still. it’s frustrating! mine usually start with an unbearably itchy scalp and then they are like jill’s- first my eyes get a reddish discoloration around the edges and then the hives come and spread to my cheeks and shoulders and torso. only a few times have they gotten severe and spread over the rest of my body. anyway, i had another naturopath mention that she thought my GABA was under active (via kinesiology which i’m skeptical of) so i would be interested to see more info about that as well. but thank you thank you thank you for all of this valuable information!

I have cholinergic urticaria. There is a case where it was successfully treated with Omalizumab (Xolair) - check it out on PubMED.

Thanks for the details. I think I might have cholinergic urticaria - over the past week I have been experiencing the painful, itching, burning feeling when my body temperature rises. It started last week for the first time - it was my second day of a 3-day trek, and it crept up my back to the point where I had to tear my rucksack off my body. It felt as if I was being stung by jelly fish. I searched my rucksack to see if some sort of bug or creature was there biting me. I couldn’t understand it.

I took an antihistamine at the suggestion that it might be an allergic reaction, and also rubbed some aloe cream all over my torso, which seemed to help. But mostly, I tried to just stay in the shade during the trek. Out for a run this week, the same thing happened - my stomach was covered in almost invisible small white bumps, in a large red patch. And yesterday morning, while cleaning my house, it started as well. My son said he could see small white bumps on my back.

I am very concerned, as I like to stay active, and haven’t worked out for a couple of days because of this. I live in a very hot climate, and am worried about summer, so have been online for the past couple of hours trying to figure this out. I came across your WikiPedia page earlier, and now your blog. Thanks for the info. I am going to print the Wiki page to take to my doctor to ask for help.

I’ve had these symptoms since I gave birth to my 3rd baby 4 months ago. Any excercise will bring on a bout. Rushing to get out the door on time or even getting stressed out with the 2 babies yelling in the back of the car when I’m driving will do the trick. I thought I was a bit mad and overreacting, but am relieved that I’m not the only one. Is it worth going to the quack though? Or shoud I just battle through it and hope it buggers off the way it came?

Hello,

I also have suffered from cholinergic urticaria for quite a few years. I have tried the various anti-histamines, I have had a steroid shot, I have tried diet changes, etc.

I have had it for about 7 years now. Actually, at one point it did go into a remission. But it came back.

I have started a website so that others suffering from cholinergic urticaria or other heat related hives can come & talk to others on the forum about it. I have posted pictures, & more. They can discuss treatments, & I also am setting up surveys & questionnaires so we can see if we have anything in common that could be causing it. I also hope to add some more medical articles, videos, & more about cholinergic urticaria.

The website I have started is called http://www.HeatHives.com. It has a forum on it, as well as my personal story & struggle with cholinergic urticaria.

Anyways, thanks for the great article. I hope your hives clear up soon, and best of luck to you!

Ben
(HivesGuy)

hi..
i am aLso a victim of this CU..
i tot i was the onLy person in the worLd who experience it but yeah..
it’s not only me..
my Life is Like a chaos because of this aLLergies..
my grades are effected and my Leisur Life became duLL ever since i had this..
it was Last year when it started and after that.. i became a LittLe paranoid whenever peopLe Look at me.. i just want to meLt whenever we have recitations in cLass and whenever i get pressure it’s aLways there.. (my graduation, my bday,christmas party—–it’s aLL there!)
i can’t wear the cLothes i love cause i shouLd aLways be comfortabLe..
sadLy with my undies straps it aLso appears!!
damnheLL!! shouLd i not wear that?!
im reaLLy down because of this..i just aLways wana hide to peopLe and die!!!! im bitter about it..
but anyway thanks for this bLog..it makes me feeL a LiL normaL..
i hope this wiLL just disappear out of the bLue..
CU!! Leave me aLone!! argh..

Hey!

Ok so last night I went to a disco and it was really hot with people dancing everywhere sweating etc.. I had on a coat and stupily didnt take it of! I was dancign for like 40 mins getting v sweaty when I felt my face sort of start to sting. I went back to my house and saw small red marks on my skin appering and small red dots apper of my for head (it all happend on the face, no where else!) i took a shower and went to bed then got up and played soem gentle tennis. I took antihistime and it sort ofhelped bu they are still here! is this CU ? I am 17 and have never had this before!

ty!

I to think i have CU .. If i work out for more than 5 minutes i get 100’s of little red dots that arent raised, nor are they itchy!.
Really hurts your self-esteem.
Antihistamines help a bit, but i still get it every other day.
Im 17, this sucks.

Hi!

MY scalp started itching about 2-3 weeks ago, it was maddening. Then the itching started moving around, I had it in between my eyebrows and about a week ago it went like crazy all over me. But not everywhere at the same time, it’s as if its moving. my legs, arms, armpit, belly, back. I don’t know if small bumps appear or not, but I start scratching and then it spreads and you can see the bumps all over. Yedterday and today I have had the worse so far. It started itching inside my mouth and throat and my eyes. It’s horrible because I can’t scratch. I have been stauding a lot for this class I hate and I know I have been under a lot of stress, so I assumed this rash was some psychological reaction. But all I could find on-line was about CU, the thing is I don’t think it has to do with body temperature in me. I don’t know.
Thanks for the wikipedia article though…I don’t know if I should feel ok because now I kind of know what it might be or bad because apparently it’s a long term condition.
I have a final tomorrow and I can’t sleep because I am itching all over…this is horrible.

Hi

I have been suffering with the same condition for the past 4 -5 years. I am now 43.
I am looking at articles which have linked the urticaria to a H. Pylori infection. Have any of you tested positive for a pylori infection. I am sure that could be a common thread.
It would be intersesting to get some feedback from fellow sufferers.

I’m so glad I found you guys. I’ve had CU since age 14. It started alittle while after I started taking the medication Accutane. I had severe acne and was prescribed this med. Its suppose suck all the oil out of your glands to prevent breakouts. I know CU has to do with the oil glands an sweating. Even though my docotor said no accutane has nothing to do with CU I beg to differ. Im 24 now and had to change my entire way of life around this and it hasnt been easy. I will stay positive through this and know one day someone will find a cure… Good Luck Everyone

I had CU for a year when I was 25. The onset of visibly diagnosable symptoms was preceded by about six months of occasionally feeling like someone was driving nails through my feet. My doctor found this puzzling but had no recommendation. Once the visible rash appeared, a diagnosis quickly followed, and I tried the usual drugs. Nothing helped. Along with the standard list of triggers, laughter had dreadful results, and sex was out of the question: accompanying the rash, the nails-through-the-feet problem returned, and not just in the feet, causing in uncontrollable spasms. This is not fun, and it kind of spoils it for your partner, too.

My bout with CU ended suddenly one day when I got into a shouting match with my boss at work. Presto! No more CU! Seriously. It took less than two minutes.

One old dermatology textbook I read had the usual pages of color photographs alongside descriptions of symptoms of various kinds of urticaria. At the end of the chapter, there was a little section saying that, according to some old wives’ tales, the different urticarias are associated with specific repressed or unprocessed emotions. The author clearly didn’t give much credence to this, but still felt the need to mention it in his textbook. In my case, it was right on the money. As for my “cure”, my boss was understanding, especially since my solution to the engineering problem we were fighting about turned out to be better than hers. Lucky me.

I am now 52. I’ve had some periods in the intervening years in which my CU was making itself known, not in great strength, but more as a subliminal threat. I’ve managed to control it with frequent heavy exercise and an awareness that my usual mode of emotional repression really doesn’t work for me. No, I don’t go around getting in fights with people. Mostly, I take it out on the asphalt while riding my bicycle, and that’s usually good enough.

If you’re someone who is skillful at repressing anger or sorrow, I suggest you take this seriously. Part of the perniciousness of this disease is that it gives you something else to learn to repress, which just makes it worse. A few minutes of letting the genie out of the bottle might fix you right up. If you are this kind of person, you also know that that’s much easier said than done. Good luck.

just reading this is making me itchy - I have had undiagnosed hives since September of 2007. Been to a few derms and my internist. NO ONE knows what this is but because the hives are so itchy some areas have turned into exczema patches. Bad enough I have psoriasis now this is all over my stomach chest, legs and arms….steroids have done nothing. I take benedryl at night so i can sleep . I havent found anything else that works to stop the itch and clear up my patchs….

Hey…

just to let you know…THERE IS A CURE!!!!..do not stress as your days of suffering are over..I used to have cu but now that I go to church, said the sinners prayer and put my faith in god..it has finally gone! who said you need to see a docter,waste of money and time. Just see your nearest pastor and ask him to pray for you and the aim is to have faith!

:-]

Sorry Chloe, but I just don’t think that going to church is going to cure my CU!

Anyways, I am 26 years old, extremely active/athletic. I have lived in the mid-west my whole life. This past winter I began getting cold urticaria & cholinergic urticaria. I went to a doctor who suggested I take Zantac, and Benedryl. I stocked up, but the meds didn’t work.

My symptoms appear when I am introduced to cold. This can be cold weather, or a room that is air conditioned. I get hives all over my body, but mainly on my sides (flanks), arms, and legs.

As I also stated, I am very active and athletic. During 75-80 degree softball games you can find me in my long sleeve Under Armour and softball pants! Going to the gym is also something that I love. Before this past February, I never had any symptoms or problems with hives. Now, when I go to the gym, it’s a double whammy, an air conditioned gym, mixed with my rising body temperature from the work out. I can always predict getting hives by the end of my workout.

I went to a dermatologist, and got a little more helpful information. Was given a cortisone shot and a perscription for hydroxyzine. The steroid shot didn’t relieve much of my symptoms, and only received the shot one time. I took the hydroxyzine more often in the winter, and don’t take it now unless I have an especially bad outbreak of hives after I go to the gym. It knocks me on my ass for a good 6 hours after taking it!!

I refuse to change my life or activities because of having CU. While it is very uncomfortable having hives, and I am quite irritable when I get hives, I know that it won’t last long, and that within an hour or so, the hives will subside.

I had it 20 years ago. After a few months it went away. It started again 6 months ago. Miserable. Terrible. Medrol works and is amazing. Took 64 mg for 6 weeks but can’t do that forever and got really fat and bad for bones. Now trying every anithistime. Nothing works. Got the lips, eyes and my skin, oh my. Have been eating not much, vegetables, a little beef and fish. This is true misery.

Wow, um thanks Chloe for your completely useless comment.

Stephany has the right attitude. Push on and don’t let it stop you doing what you love. Personally, I found that when I just pushed on and set my attitude right the itchiness was a lot less. The hives still were there but as long as I didn’t concentrate on them, they didn’t bother me.

…thanks again to all the people who commented with words of encouragement and advice!

My 8 year old child has had hives for over a year and a half. They always appeared after showers. A dermatologist finally diagnosed her with aquagenic urticaria and gave her hydroxizine , but after lowering the temperature of the water, the hives improved. A big problem seems to occur during bedtime. She is now sleeping with one sheet and a thin quilt to avoid significant body temp. increase, however she has to sleep with her hands above the sheet and palms up or else the heat generated by putting them under the covers produces pain in them that lasts about 30 min. to an hour. Exercise can begin the itching process and standing can produce extreme foot pain. She is only 8. Claritin helped the hand problem, however I was worried about it possibly influencing the foot pain. I noted it to be a possible side effect. PLEASE any advice would be helpful.

I meant to say ALLEGRA, not claritin.

I am no medical expert, but I too have the pain in my feet (and hands) and I don’t think it is a side effect from the medication. I do not take Allegra, and I get extreme pain in my feet and hands. For me it begins when I am cold, in cold temperatures, or in an air conditioned building. The pain in my hands and feet come before the hives appear. It is almost a warning sign, where my body is telling me, “hey, warm up, or do something, or else the hives are coming.” In the warmer weather the pain in my feet subsides but I still get the pain in my hands on occasion.

@ Stephany Hives are itchy but not really painful as you’re describing them. If you’re feeling pain you should see a doctor cause that’s something else.

Thank you for your response Colin, I am under the care of a skilled dermatologist. The reaction I have with Cold Urticaria concerning pain in the feet and/or hands has to do with my body’s reaction to the production of histamine. It is not uncommon for this to occur in SOME patients with CU. I did not say that the hives were painful. It is another effect of the production of histamine in some patients to have pain in their hands/feet.

Hi. So glad I stumbled on this site. I have been blog hopping for too long now trying to figure out what this itching is about and not getting anywhere. I believe this is it. Mine started about 6 months ago in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy. The itching is on my legs and arms mainly, and occurs right after I shower, after exericise, when it’s unseasonably hot, or when I first wake up because I was rolled up like a burrito all night.

My question to you all is, can you have CU and not have hives? I seem to
exhibit all of the same symptoms described in Colin’s Wikipedia article about CU, except for that fact that you cannot see any manifestation of this problem on my skin. My skin can look completely normal and I feel as though I want to scratch my legs with barbed wire. I would think that it can affect people in a variety of ways though, as everyone’s system is different? One thing that has really helped me is to shower at night. for some reason, I will only get mild itching at night. I am not sure why that would be. But it does help.

I take a Claritin and Zantac everyday and I do not know yet if it helps per se, but I have read that the combination of the two is supposed to. I am on my third week of this, so maybe after more time goes by I will get some results. Ironically, I work at a dermatology clinic (go ahead…laugh) and the docs there didn’t know what the hell I was describing or how to treat it. You would have thought I grew alien antennae and didn’t know it, by the way they all looked at me. They gave me an RX for Triamcinolone (cortisone) cream .01% to try. I didn’t do squat. They told me it would help me to stop my itch scratch cycle (as if to say it was all in my head). I starting researching the medical books at work and initally came across a diagnosis that I thought seemed to fit (aquagenic pruritis), but then realized, it wasn’t the water causing the itching, it was my own immune system in conjunction with my body’s thermodynamics. I think aquagenic pruritis is an off-shoot of CU though, since water is something that induces itching, just like heat does. Aquagenic Pruritis is supposedly very rare. Alot of people in the blogs I was reading thought that is what they had, but I bet it is CU instead.

To Colin, and whomever else is reading this…go online and read about mast cell overproduction and a disorder called “Cutaneous Mastocystosis”. I came across this last night and wondered if there was any correlation to what I have going on, or maybe some of you too. Maybe overproduction of mast cells goes hand-in-hand with CU? Again, I don’t get any hives, wheals or raised spots. I just have many moles and freckles- probably due to all of the tanning I did in my early years when I looked good. Now I am just white and pasty : (

Let me know what y’all think.

Well, I best get back to itching…
TTFN

I have it too, during exercise for longer than 30 min. I just stop and cool down when it comes and try to take a cold shower after.

An irritating affliction we suffer.

Thanks for the article

Shawn

Hey there everyone!

Well I am suffering with chronic itchining for years and because i am in ireland im not used to heat at all but my parents live in spain for last 7 years so i go once a year! Thats when all hell breaks loose i end up covered up hiding in the shade because i look diseased! so i have spent the last year trying to find out why i have hives at random come and go many times a day!! Doctor told me on Monday that i had scabies lol anythng to get me out of the surgery!! I knew i hadnt so i went to another doctor just 2 hours ago and yes its now official I have CU, in saying that from researching the internet since i was told i had scabies i knew that this was what i had from reading other peoples posts and looking at pictures. I flare up the minute i drink alcohol, have hot showers, eat anything and especially if my body temp rises for any reason.

So because so much seems to flair it up i am on a long daunting journey to re design my whole lifestyle to get this under control, so glad to finally have a name to it and to know there are so many more of you out there.

Thanks for all the info and best of luck to all of us on beating this weird, inturrupting disease.

Luv from Eire
lou xx

I had mixed feelings when I read all the comments and the story of Colin about this unwelcomed intruder, Cholinergic Urticaria. I feel relieved to know that I am not the only unfortunate host of this problem, but in the meantime I feel bad that there are so many others who go through the same anguish as I do.
I used to have an allergy with hot and spicy foods since 3-4 years. Annoying as it was, I would have happily retained it for good if asked whether I wanted to swap it for CU. I have been suffering from CU since more than a year now, and it’s getting worse. The doctor prescribed some anti-histamines but they exacerbated the whole thing. I dread the sun, and any activity that might trigger my allergy. I am hypersensitive to heat now. I get weals within seconds of any physical activity or exposure to sun. I am going to try this new tip suggested by Colin. I wish it works.

Wow - I’m not the only one!

I had to quit uni because of it, I literally couldn’t get there because I’d be in so much agony.
After uni it got a bit better - I think mine is very stress-related. I worried about stuff quite a lot in uni, but worry less at home!
I have excema and asthma and a trillion allergies too :( makes life quite difficult, especially because people aren’t very understanding.
It’s worse for me in winter, I ran up the stairs once when it was freezing cold outside and was in bed for a couple of days afterwards, unable to move. I miss going to the gym too, I used to love it. This time last year I would have been in the gym or jogging right now.

Its quite embarrassing too, that’s the worst of it. I used to refuse to go out and I actually split up with my boyfriend because I didn’t want him to see me looking so ugly :’(
But we’re back together now :) and the dermatologist has prescribed me ceritizine [sp?] so hopefully that will work. I will probably get some sort of psychotherapy stuff too, since mine is so stress-related

Going travelling soon, will probably die on the way though :( but wish me luck… i can’t just hide away!

You also got cholinergic probs?
It’s been five years, I’ve pulled two teeth (past abscesses) and it’s become more manageable. But like all you folks there’s no getting rid of it.

Makes me wonder sometimes?
Hey, life is worth living and it’s not a couple of red spots that’s going to change that. Hi to all the girl Vikings out there.

Let’s go live in the snow and party like never before.

My son also has CU. When his core body temp rises he has intense PAIN in his skin. He is seeing a specialist and has run through all the antihist treatments. The level he was taking would knock out an elephant but they never made him sleepy. He is now just starting a drug we have to get from Canada, Ketotifen. Not approved in the US yet.

CU is triggered by anything that causes a raise in body temp…even being embarassed or stressed. Its really hard on a teenager. Its like he is constantly being given adversion thearpy. Do this or that and you experience pain.

Spring and fall are really bad times for him with pollen and fluctation temps.

Its strangely reassuring to know that there are people who get this. Im 19 and I have Cholinergic urticaria,I seriously thought it was just me who got this for a long time! Every morning (around 5 AM) i cycle for an hour till I’m as blotchy and red as possible then i have a cold bath, this milds my reactions in the day dramatically and can make everyday life that little bit easier. This illness is very mentally draining and because Im extremely vain(lol) the smallest site of an attack panics me. Just wanna say peace and love to all of you who have this! it sucks! p.s you never see anything about it in mainstream media.

[...] But then, at the same time, another CU suffer stated on his web page that he has experimented with “candida cleanses” as well, and seen no benefits from it: http://catcubed.com/2007/04/28/wikis-hives-and-cholinergic-urticaria-oh-my/ [...]

Wow, I’m so glad I found this website. I have had this problem since I was a kid and I’m 41 years old now. I can remember as a child going out to play on a cool day and as soon as I started to prespire I would break out in hives. As I got older it seemed to get worse. Just the other night I woke up and apparently had gotten hot while I was sleeping. My face felt like it was on fire and my scalp started itching first and the I broke out in hives all over my arms and shoulders. It got so bad that my face started swelling. I woke my wife up and was beginning to feel like I might need to go to the hospital. I started rinsing my face in cold water trying to get cooled down and took a benadryl and in about 30 minutes the swelling went down and I felt better. This was the worst reaction I had ever had. When I left work yesterday I left a cool office and got into a hot car and in just minutes I started to break out all over with that very hot feeling on my face. I had never heard of CU until I found this website. I told my doctor about this a few months ago and he kinda shrugged it off and said this happens to a lot of people. Well, It has gotten to the point now that it worries me. I don’t know about you guys but when this happens to me I get real shakey all over and kinda sick feeling in my stomach.

Thanks and any suggestions are welcomed.

Allen

I have had CU for 4 yrs now and only towards the end of this last winter have I found my own personal cure. Like all of you anytime I would get warm or stressed I would break out into intense itching and burning and it was controlling my life as I was not participating in things because I knew I would break out if I did. Well I read about someone who said that if they sweat for 15 to 20 mins everyday it completley stopped it (dont remember where I read this). Well I tried it the next day, I jumped on the treadmill and sure enough soon after I started running I broke out, I stuck through it and after about 5 -7 minutes the burning stopped and I ran for 30 mins, after this I had no more breakouts the rest of the day (I was having at least 3-4 breakouts during the day), I continued this for a week with no breakouts and it was liberating! Oh and I wasnt feeling the pain when I started running. I stopped running for a couple of days due to laziness and guess what, it came back, so I am running everyday for 20-30 minutes but I am not breaking out anymore - hope this helps some of you - I know how miserable it can be with CU.

Hi I read Allen’s comment on August 30 about reducing the swelling by taking Benadryl. Allen, I’d be interested to know what form of Benadryl you took? I thought Benadryl was cough medicine? I have had swelling around my eyes all week. Very debilitating. I am at the end of my tether. Sick of getting up in the morning with puffy eyes. I have been alternating between hot compresses and ice packs. Sometimes the hot compress works better in reducing the swelling. I have been taking Telfast for years but it doesn’t seem to be doing such a great job any more. Does anyone know of a good topical cream or gel to apply to swelling?
Jill

Hey guys, i’ve had this reoccurring every winter for about 9 years.
Back in highschool 16-18 it was absolutely MISERABLE when it happened to me. I would have to go into the toilet scratch myself and pour cold water on my body…

It was HARD to workout, so it made me Unfit.
Being unfit = more stress = contributes to the cause of CU?

I REALISED The main solutions are:

1. EAT RIGHT

2. SHORT WARM - COLD SHOWERS.

2. KEEP ON EXERCISING. DON’T STOP!:
- 2-3 times a week inc treadmill
- Stay fit
- gradually build your workout on tread mill.
- if you have to stop and go to the toilet and scract yourself, do that
but be persistant
- try to sweat as you can. I believe your body NEED TO SWEAT to let the toxins out, especially becuase of the buildup!
- Exercise decreases stress

3. don’t Stress!

4. Clean clothes

ALL THE BEST GUYS, DON’T LET CU KEEP YOU FROM EXERCISING.
YOU MUST EXERCISE AND KEEP FIT.

I FEEL YOUR PAIN / iTCH!…

oh.. from memory I got rid CU after 2-3 weeks of exercising

Hi guys! Having had the same problem(CU) like for 5yrs. Now I am 19. I have blonde hair and fairly white skin.

Gotta tell you all the anti-histamine medicament on me worked really really bad, it made me slow and even worsen my results in school - since I was sleepy and couldn’t concentrate. Soon I realized the most antihistamine meds are no use since it can only suppress the ‘illness’ not really cure it, and giving away big money just for suppressing seemed stupid to me.

One and the most important thing that I realized is to workout, but what is most important, workout regularly! I quite played with this and had best results when I woke up early - 6AM went to cycle HUNGRY and cycled for about an hour, then took cold/hot shower, it disappeared after 1 weak completely LOL. (well its really hard to keep this pace though, I’d recommend to workout 2-3 times a weak to keep it longterm) Unfortunately then mother came home ill with some cold or anything and I started to cough + had my stupid CU back! And in even worse state, I HAD TO take 1 Zyrtec-like pill after more than a year. since it was too strong and it appeared really fast after a few mins. of sport! That made me think this illness is immunity based, so I try to stay fit, drink special immunity teas and I have prepared some meds to strengten the immunity. Now I don’t really know if this works or not, just trying something.

Now another interesting observations : Cold showers help definitelly, I believe it’s because people need cold, even if it makes your CU rashes appear - CU seems to go together with the Cold hives, well, at least in my case and I remember when I was in mountains like 2 yrs. ago, it completely disappeared after that vacation for like a year. I think another helpful thing might be finnish sauna, let’s try it! I don’t have many experience with that but it should help your skin regenerate its skin cells. Another thing - There seems to be a big gap in medical research, doctors I’ve visited so far, only seemed to stupidly prescribe expensive meds and meant NO REAL HELP whatsoever in this subject. The experience of people who suffer that, is simply PRICELESS (ah ye Mastercard is here:) Really medical research need to examine this missing area more thoroughly.

Also I was a weak kid and my schoolmates used to pick on me and almost bullied me, that was about the time my hives started to appear, so please people try to REMEMBER if you did suffer some psychical damage before the first trigger of the hives. This makes me feel it could be mental issue, but I wouldn’t ever accept religion cause of the cure, like the guy above me, it seems like hypocrisy, ignore the God and then start to praise him just because you feel unwell.

I am affraid the illnesses like that could be a new mass problem of humankind of 21th. century since IMO ti kinda has something to do, as I mentioned, with our immunity system, which doesn’t seem to work OK - it often reacts ficle (maybe by the chemicals in the air? overall polution?) Definitelly field of allergies is getting wider and wider, I wonder if natural people like in Africa, Asia, Alaska, etc. have the same problems… I think not. I think we’re the victims of this ‘advanced’ style of life and we will read about this in common newspaper in the future.

As for the end I believe this illness is caused by the combinations of factors by both physical + psychical states.

People try to be more specific say your age, what skintype you are, if you have any other health complications, if doctors helped you, what were the used meds and their effect. Please share your experience with us, it may also help the doctors to learn something :)))

CU (awww the irony ;)
Mr. Krang

I’ve experienced hives only on my face (huge, red, raised whelps that itch before they even start to turn red) from allergy to citric acid for several years now. I just recently decided to try Zyrtec generic to try to control the hives. I started out on the full 10 mg and it helped immediately (no more hives), but made me tired. So after a few days I started breaking the pills in half and take one every evening before going to bed. If I start to feel the hives coming back even when on half-dose, I just take a whole one again and can go back to the half pills for a week or two. I’ve also had reflux problems for years and years. This medicine (cetirizine Hcl) seems to knock it right out, actually does a better job than Nexium. I take it and a few minutes later start burping my misery away. I know this isn’t Chronic Urticaria, but just hoping to help anyone out there that may come across this greatly helpful site. I feel for you all. I also have Spasmodic Torticollis. So I saw the word cholinergic and just had to read what your article had to say.

Hi,

I think I will join this merry gang of CU sufferers. I have never had any allergies before except mild allergies to dust and perhaps what I now know to be ragweed. However, I started having hives episodes in April. It started with exercise but sometimes i think that I am hypersensitive and that any environmental allergy will also trigger my hives. I have gotten it walking on rainy, overcast days. Definitely, heat affects me; in July I could feel the difference in temp. between the AC work environment and the hot humid exterior in my throat- I mean that my throat tightened, felt like a stiff neck once I went outside. Then for the month of July to mid August I ate no hot foods since my jaw muscles seem to tighten. I live in Boston so now the temp. is going down, I feel better but the hives are still there after I take a long walk, or clean my apt. I just have to rule out the environmental allergies - in november ragweed will be gone and then I will know for sure. RAST tests don’t give strong strong results to support food allergies.
I have been trying to drink green tea and peppermint tea regularly. Eating mainly vegetables and taking 1 zyrtec a day. Next weekend i will try to excercise again. MY PCP told me -off the record- that acupuncture seems to work for some people.So i may try that …Has anyone here?

Hi, I have/had CU also. I’d like to share what seems to be working well for me and hopefully someone else can try it and see if it works for them as well.
first off : Me…..I’m a white, fair skinned, 25 year old male who started getting symptoms suddenly 2 years ago…no change in diet, no known allergies, no meds, high but typical stress levels, in pretty good physical shape. Within a month I went from normal to grinding my teeth in pain after having to make a sudden stop in traffic, or getting in a hot car, or attempting to work out.
What worked: fish oil pills, more specifically, the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA…. I just took what it said on the bottle (a little more at first I think). It helped a lot after about 2 weeks. After a few months I stopped with the pills but would go back on them for a month if I felt things starting up again, since at that point it would come back if I stopped for a few weeks. As of now, I haven’t taken a pill in 6 months and am symptom free 90% of the time, and when I do feel something, its just a little very short lived very mild itching with nothing visible happening on the skin.
So yeah, not an instant perfect miracle cure, but it is easy to get, cheap, healthy, and you’ll know in a month if it is going to have an effect or not, so it might be worth a shot.

Hey guys,
you can go and check information here http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic37035.html there are 23 pages of comments about cholinergic urticaria, i have read all of them and i think that cholinegic urticaria is allergy to your own sweats.

regarding chris’ comment on fish oil - I have been a regular user of fish oil since childhood and i was actually taking it occasionally before the hives episode and I still take one almost everyday now. I’m not sure that it is an instant cure.

Hi guys.I am glad i came across this website.I started to get hives all over my body a few days ago.It started on my hands. How is this thing caused? i am so scared.It is spreading like wild fire.My doctor thinks it is something i have touched,but how can it then spread all over my body? Has anyone experienced this and then it goes away?Also does anyone know if it gets worse before it gets better? I have had this for nearly a week now?

Regarding Suzanne’s problems with hives. My daughter developed hives all over her body a few months ago. It was quite sudden and distressing and we retraced all the foods she had eaten, things she’d touched etc. Finally we worked out she was allergic to airborne chemicals produced by some aroma sticks someone had given me for my birthday! You know the sticks that stand in scented oil and diffuse the scent around the house? As soon as we removed them from the house, her hives went away!

I’ve had CU for 8-10 years now. I used to take antihistamines for it, but now i just live with it.

There seems to be a genetic predisposition to this condition in my family as my sister has outbreaks too. In the first year or two, my hives used to be super-itchy and raised, but these days it is more mildly itchy and flat red blotches - i spent years avoiding exercise, getting fat and feeling depressed over the CU, but over time i’ve come to realise that my condition is pretty insignificant compared to the challenges that other people face, health or otherwise, and that staying well hydrated and working up a sweat riding my bike to/from work over the hills seems to bring the attacks on at those times and keep me clear the rest.

Its an unsightly condition and i try to keep it to myself, wearing clothing that covers up the worst of it (my arms).

Having an overactive immune system like this seems to keep most other sickness at bay however, and now that i’m exercising i’m losing weight and feeling so much better, having CU doesn’t seem like the burden it used to.

I’m not sure if i’ll ever be totally free of the physical symptoms - but for me it was the psychological impact that was far worse - I became pretty distrustful and withdrawn, as well as unwilling to get out and do things. all because i was afraid of what people might think of my CU. For me that was far worse that the relatively minor, and fleeting (my attacks come on directly after exercise, or any event that raises my body temperature, and visible symptoms are gone in around 30 minutes) problems caused by the CU itself.

I know some people have far worse cases of CU than me - mine has never been that physically painful, beyond fairly major itchiness - but to all those who suffer from this, you’re not alone - I felt that way for a long time. I think this condition is more widespread than is generally known

hey i got this too…but kind of a weird story, I cut three fingers off in a table saw accident. This triggered a very low heart rate for me that although improved is still low at 52 bpm. My first indication that something was different was an intense burning on my ears when exposed to cold which was unusual because as a carpenter I was used to be outside in cold weather. The second indication was that my fingers on my GOOD hand would swell up when exposed to cold, but only the ones that corresponded to my missing fingers…weird huh. It is very painfull and leaves me with two useless hands…anti inflamorty meds like aspirin works for this. The realisation of CU came later when doing some river floating. When I come out of the water my back was beet red like sun burn but i knew that was impossible as my back was in the water. That fall i went to the ocean and waded only to have my feet and calves swell up and turn red. This, I figure is a combination of water and cold urticaria. I also have a sensitivity to the sun and exercise as described above. The hives part seems subdued but itching and rashes are common including itchy hard bumps on my torso that last for weeks, somtimes erupting.

All this is very miserable and disturbing as I used to be quite the outdoorsman. I never travel without anti-inflamitories and benedrill and wear gloves on days below 55 degrees. I stay covered from the sun and avoid both hot and cold water.

I also agree on exercise and keeping your stress levels down. The surpressed anger comment is also very usefull and a little help from god isnt a bad idea either. I am 44 and a sufferer for five years. Im nordic desent with light skin….. doctors are all the same….take expensive anti depressents, faulty lotions, avoid the triggers. People, your skin is under attack by your own body! Try to heal yourself in your mind….good luck.

i was recently told i had exercise induced urticaria by a specialist at the alfred hospital in Melbourne Australia. i was told there was no treatment fot this. i do boxing and after a hard session i would be covered in welts(hives). i tried herbs and many other treatments and none never work. finally i have found something that could fix me. i visited justin batt from the Warrnambool Wellness centre ans he put me on a machine called the SCIO. this found that my digestive system was working at only 60%. this meant it was not breaking down my toxins proply and therefor they would be released when i sweat and it caused the rash. he put me on (inliven) a powder the builds your ammune system and also drops that helped kill the virius that was makind my digestive system only work at 60%. i also had another 3 sessions on the SCIO machine which helped the imbalence in my system. now about 8 weeks after i started this treatment i am nearly back to 100% and only get a few spots after sport which should clear up in a month. Don’t give up you can beat this it took me 8 months and a fair bit of money spent but try and find someone with a scio machine and give it a go

In mid-October, I started getting hives. I had gone through a stressful situation of having to put my dog to sleep on Oct. 2. I started working out at a gym the next week, which is about the same time I started getting the hives. I have allergies to many things that are airborne or touch my skin. The major culprits are cats, tree pollen, dust, mold, some perfumes. Actually, I was allergic to all of the items on the skin test about ten years ago, and went through allergy shots for about five years. I don’t take them anymore because I got up to the max dosage and when they started backing me off, the allergies just came back. Got tired of all the needles.

I have asthma, and also had eczema when I was a kid. I am now 42, a white female, and in fair health although I really need to lose at least 30 pounds.

Back to the hives. At first, Benadryl worked. They have been appearing in many different locations on my body. The first ones were very high on my inner thighs, and have also been on other areas on my legs, back, lips, chest, and stomach. I was also sick twice within the last 6 week period with a virus, chest cold, or respiratory infection. I fought it on my own with OTC medication, especially Robitussin DM max and decongestants.

My allergy doctor ran blood tests, and the only thing that came back was a mild reaction to beef and pork. I have eaten this all my life and have never had any problems. Doctor said that the director of Allergy and Immunology at my hospital has found a correlation between seed tick exposure and people who develop this allerby. I cannot believe that this is the cause, since I have cut them out of my diet and the hives only seem to be getting worse.

I can only think that maybe they are caused by 1) stress from the death of my dog, 2) being sick twice within a six week period, 3) exercise, 4) allergy to the disinfectant at the gym that you have to wipe the equipment with after you use it, or 5) a combination of all or some of the above.

Like I said, Benadryl worked at first. The doc put me on Zyrtec (which I already had), Singulair, and Rhinocort aqua (for post nasal drip, which I already had) every night before bedtime. After two weeks, still got the hives periodically. Went off of the Singulair on 12/1, because the doctor was assuming that avoiding the beef/pork would work. Hives have been active almost every day this week, and I went to the gym on Tues, Wed, and Thurs. I do not get these hives when I exercise. I got them at work today, I’ve got them tonight at home, and I often get them first thing in the morning after waking up.

Can anyone provide some insight into what is causing this and what might help? Thanks for any info that you can provide. I am getting really depressed about this. I feel like screaming and crying because this is driving me crazy!

I have a friend who has this crazy disease. It always start with a prick, then two then it goes to hell. In the moment of hell, it is like the body is being turned innside out, No pain has ever been higher. Exept for painful feelings.
He first got it 9 years ago, the fall in 1999.

My friend ” Im sitting in my chair watching a movie, everything is good. Then amongst thousands reasons i get warm.
I know within myself that i will soon get my prick, there is alot of things i can do to prevent the attack, but it will only be a delay. I think the best thing is to let it play out. Because i know i get some time before it happens again. Everything has been realeased and needs to be build up again. There is also a medicin for this. But please be in mind that this is only a personal experience, you must consult your doctor.
The medicin is marijuana. It makes your body realax, and surely it must be better then pills. I just found out that im not alone with this, and im very happy for that. Unless this is something spreading. Just want to say thanks to you all. I know how it is, keep your faith, be a good person.

Hey,

Im 16 now and I’ve had urticaria for the best part of 5 years. It sucks. I mean REALLY sucks. If I go for a walk outside, Im pretty much past the point of no return within 10 minutes and I’ll be completely covered in the shitty thing. As a result, I spend most of my time indoors. Well, Im pretty much in my house all the time. I’ll go out seldomly, and only to places that I’m pretty sure i’ll be alright at….. the cinema…..bowling maybe…. you know, anywhere thats indoors (thats a necessity) and I can be seated most of the time.

As I’ve read in other peoples posts and is the same with me, its alot worse in the winter. But its pretty much bad all year round so its not really a big change.

School is a real challenge sometimes.. at lunchtime i’ve got to stay in the school building and make sure theres someone i can hang around with.. its really shit at times.. I get asked to go to the village (near our school) for lunch. And Im like … “well I cant… I’ll get a rash..” and their just like….. “what?”.

Thats one of the worst things really. I want to go out, to different places and do different things…. for example.. I got asked to go to Glasgow today (I live in scotland), apparantely its quite fun in the days before New Year… and I was like NO FUCKING WAY…. I wont manage the short wait to get on the train to get into Glasgow, nevermind go and walk around in the city. I really feel like im missing out. It really gets me down sometimes…
And the worst part is that people don’t understand… they just think im a boring arse hole who’d rather stay in than go out and have fun….

Im on like 13 antihistemines a day, and tbh they contain it, if i wasnt on them I would breakout in a rash everytime i walked up the stairs.

Yeah… it sucks…

And I feel like I suck for complaining about it because i KNOW that theres alot of other people out there who have it worse off than me…. but, honeslty, it seems to me that i’ve got it worse than everyone else that i know because they’re not always constantly thinking about how best to avoid it…. and i guess you wont know how that feels unless you have it.

WOW!!! I have been suffering with this for about 2 years now, I have seen many doctors including specialists. I have also had skin tests blood tests (MANY!!) and all have come up with a blank!. They all said you have Urticaria, but which kind nobody knows, I have taken many kinds of antihistemines, steroids (which I dont recomend as you put alot of weight on) and various other pills, they work for the short term but nothing seemed to work fully. I enjoy an active lifestyle and play alot of sports but found I got a rash all over my body within 20 mins. To that end I have given up sports to be honest I just cant deal with the rash. Yesterday I had a specialist appointment at St Thomas hospital in london, and low and behold was diagnosed with CU !!!!! its only been 2 years, so here I am looking at all these people in the same boat and all the advise which is great and thanks very much. I also cant take any form of pain drugs, asprin stufflike that as I come out like a porky pine does anyone else find this ?. Anywauy thanks everyone for the advise and lets hope we all get better soon.

Cheers Phil.

hi
i have UC and bendryl does not work it only makes me sleepy and not wanting to do anything. i exercise daily but i feel like the hives are starting to take it away from that. does the marijuana work because i heard that marijuana might in fact increase the out breaks?

Hi,

I am also a long suffering chap with CU.

It all started at school age 15 when after a PE lesson when I was getting changed I noticed all these tiny red dots on my body. After a while these tiny dots also appeared on my arms, then hands and finally neck and head whenever I got hot (due to walking, exercising, getting embarrassed, hot baths etc)

I am now 3 3 and so have had CU for 18 years (most of my life!), but it is possible to live a normal life and grow to accept what you have without it making life too misreable.

Like some of you before, I got very self concious and ended up quitting all sports (what I enjoyed best at school) and also not finishing uni and I can honeslty look back and say that part of that was due to the CU. I would always feel too concious of the red dots and therefore any lectures only 10 mins walk away would too often get missed due to walking any length bringing out the urticaria. ( I was not lazy - only 11 stone and fit). It was always on my mind.

However, as I grew older and perhaps more mature I realised that you only live life once and so I had to be more positive. I currently take antihistimines every day ( ceterezine and ranitidine) and I have to say that they work quite well. They are by no means perfect and a hot bath, very strenuous activity or strong emotion will bring on the urticaria but by in large I can live with it.

I play squash, swim with the kids, walk the dog etc etc now. Do NOT let it take your life over like it did mine when I was young.

Stay cool!

I’ve just come across your website. I’ve suffered from this condition for more than 20 years, and now it’s practically gone! I’ve wasted time an money on doctors, and have tried many things to alleviate the itching. To make this short:
When playing sports I would itch intensely - especially my scalp. As years passed It became worse and affected my entire body whenever my temperature increased. I realized when I kept exercising the itching would eventually stop. Also, I realized that after a hot summer night I wasn’t itching the next day - my body temperature was already up! So, after many personal experiments I tried to re-create that hot summer night experience. I simply bought a HEATING BLANKET! and have not itched in 5 years. Just so you know, the first two nights were terrible, but my body temperature has to elevated for at least a few hours to be effective. I don’t know how this blog works, but please let me know if this works for you.

Hi all! I have also been dealing with CU for the past 3 years and have seen numerous specialists. I am currently questioning if it’s related or associated with candida (yeast overgrowth in system)? If our bodies are allergic to our own sweat, does that have something to do with our GI tract? I have a weird feeling that it is a buildup of unruly toxins in our system from stress, poor diets & inadequate sleep. I do not feel that any OTCs will work b/c I think they mask the issue and could potentially create more of a toxic environment…?

Here are the few things that I’ve heard or tried:
-I currently take a Multi-Vitamin, DHA supplement & a probiotic
-Many people have recommended a whole foods (high fiber) diet with the least amount of processed foods possible (I know some people say it doesn’t matter, but hey - it’s all worth a shot)
-Drink as much water as you can w/ fresh lemons (detoxifier)
-Yoga/Meditation or anything to relieve personal stresses/struggles
-1-2 Massages a month to flush toxins
-Sitting in a steam shower to get your body temp to rise, body to sweat and push through the ‘uglies’ (as I call them)
-Skin Brushing every day before shower for 5 minutes (start at feet and work towards heart) - to remove any potential build-up of dead skin in your pores
-Epsom Salt Baths: you will sweat but it’s relaxing & it helps to flush the system as well - it draws toxins out and sedates the nervous system while being a muscle relaxer at the same time
-I have also heard about mini-trampoline jumping, but haven’t tried this.

I wish it was simpler. I do not feel that it is a one size fits all approach.

I hope we can all keep posting what we think might work until there is headway into some amazing scientific studies.

Best Wishes to you all!

Hey, nice tips. Perhaps I’ll buy a bottle of beer to the person from that forum who told me to visit your blog :)

Hi, Its really nice to see everyone writing about it. It takes away the I’m the only one suffering feeling or why me.

I live in a climate ( Islamabad - Pakistan ) where it is extreme cold and summers are extremely hot. I find it difficult to go out in the sun. And its really hindering my passion for photography and adventure. I can’t even be in a crowded room for that matter.

I also suffer from Bi-Polar syndrome and panic attacks which also trigger CU and sometimes the CU triggers the panic attack. The only time I find the pain really difficult to handle is when I’m driving.

Started of on some hyper tension and relaxing meds which help. But mostly its about not thinking about it. Which is pretty hard at times.

I think one should just keep a ice pack at all time, or their should be some sort of clothings that regulate and secrete the heat from the body.

hi to all hives sufferers, try ecnihichea, a herbal supplement to boost the immunity system. It has worked for me, I had the worst cases, my face use to be out of symmetry looking like an ape, lips going out of proportion. I had to into recluse for at least 2 days in a row, This problem was around since I was a toddler, but not very serious. This last 2 years when I turned 50, I could not make appmts as my hives would usually appear leaving me indoors. My pharmicist recommended me ecnihichea, a herbal supplement. Initially I took 6 a day and within 3 mths reduced it to 3 a day. I hardly have a mild attack at all except when I stop taking it even for a day.

I’ve been living cu for 6 years now. I notice that you can help prevent the breakouts by actually working out everyday. Let the hives appear by inducing heat so you get the hives in private, so when you go out the hives don’t appear as much. I used to enjoy the outdoors and play sports and now I’ve become very isolated. So depressing, i take zyrtec and zantec to controll the symptoms. But i would recommend not taking meds at all and just let your body fight it!

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