Tess in the Burbs Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Dh gets red bumps on his fingers from time to time, but last week he got some bumps that got bigger. Which is why it took so long to consider seeing a Dr. Then he had them on his ankle. I sent him to urgent care late last night when I saw them on his thigh as well. I know not the best solution, but this issue was spreading! The dr seems to think it is hives and will resolve itself in a few days. Ok, but hives are an allergic reaction. We have no new soap or foods in the house. No new clothes. We live pretty normal lives with few changes day to day. Dh has no fever or feels ill at all. I would say it has been 4-5 days on hands. 3-4 on ankle. 1-2 on thigh. Didn't look worse today or any new areas. The thigh area does looks better today. Ankle and hands the same. Hot shower makes it all look worse. he's putting a hydrocortisone cream on it and taking benedryl at night. Dr said he could call in a prescription cream(steroid base) but that he didn't need it. Any other ideas I am missing to try and help this resolve faster? We go on vacation in 3 days and will be very remote. Would love to get him healed before we go if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 We are dealing with this right now. I love the hive, posts are always so timely. :) DS is not an adult, so there's a difference, but otherwise - very similar. We called his allergist, as he has many allergies. It does not seem to be a food reaction, nothing has changed in his environment. Allergist said to give Benadryl every six hours for 2 - 3 days. If the hives are still coming back when the Benadryl wears off then, we should bring him in. At this point, yes, the hives come back after the Benadryl wears off. :( Right now, our working theory is that it's caused by a virus. Hopeful that's all it is, as the last thing we need is another allergy! My mother had hives on vacation one year. Head to toe. Viral. Awful. :( ETA: it isn't very apparent, but my roundabout suggestion was for your DH to try round the clock Benadryl for a few days. I hope it clears up asap! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Sounds like it could be cholinergic urticaria (hives from heat, stress, or sweat). Prescription antihistamines, cooler showers, and a low-histamine diet can help if the problem persists. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Have you tried other antihistamines besides Benedryl? Oldest dd developed an allergy basically to heat and the allergist said zyrtec was the best. Benedryl was doing nothing for her hives but Zyrtec helped a great deal. Dh gets hives for other reasons and only Allegra helps him. So, maybe try others to see if they help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Sometimes allergies can be food dependent but only trigger a reaction when combined with heat, ibuprofen, or exercise. I think it's best to demand allergy testing. Several allergists I saw didn't even know about this (FDEIA) and wouldn't test me for anything, just gave me drugs. It developed after childhood and gradually grew bad enough to nearly kill me. Finally I found an allergist who was willing to do more than proscribe meds, and now I have a list of 3 foods to avoid, and I'm fine. I started off with just hives for a few years, at seeminly random times, and it slowly progressed to drops in blood pressure and anaphylaxis. But the episodes were infrequent and not obviously connected to foods. Ignorant docs can kill you. Don't accept that it is "mysterious" until actual attempts have been made to make a diagnosis. Just speaking from my experience :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 thank you for the insight. Going to get him on zyrtec and benedryl consistently. Will get a call in to the allergist as well. DS has a lot of food allergies but neither of us do, so perhaps DH has some issues we do not know about ;-) Thank you for your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Hives can also be stress. Yeah, that was my reaction when dd had them last winter. She had several docs say it was stress and she needed to get more rest. Benadryl is less helpful with stress hives. I don't remember what they told her to take instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm one of those adults! My biggest trigger is heat and my allergist thinks it's due to my sympathetic nervous system gone haywire, but I still need thorough allergy testing. Benadryl, claritin, and avoiding heat are the best I can do. :crying: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Most hives never have an identified cause and aren't allergic. Viruses, stress, external factors like heat, etc. can cause hives. Zyrtec is, in my experience (adult and child/non-allergic and allergic) the best med for hives. I think the allergist told me that long ago. But it lasts longer than benadryl, so suppresses better. I hope they are short term for him. Likely they are. I hope Zyrtec helps. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 It could very well be stress. Lots going on with DH right now at work. Ok, will talk to him about de-stressing ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 My 4yo apparently gets hives at the tail end of viruses now. Big viruses, little viruses, whatever. Giant, full-body breakouts down to random little spots. I didn't believe the doctor when he first presented this theory, but it's being proven out with food diaries and no household changes. Me, I get hives from touching evergreens. Evergreens!!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 In dh's case it was stress. Every time he got them it was worse than the last. He would get them in his throat and his tongue and have trouble breathing, and the last time he had them he passed out. Yeah, then he learned some stress management techniques that made the hives go away. But about 10 years later he again became unable to manage stress and he had a heart attack. Youngest dd went through the same thing with hives on her hands and feeling like her throat was closing. And twice had it so bad she passed out. Needless to say, I am a big believer in learning how to manage stress and reduce stress. I hope if it is stress that your dh can learn ways to deal with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I get hives due to stress. I get hives due to exiting a very hot shower (took me a LONG time to work out the problem there, this was in adolescence). I found out a few years ago that if I take Zyrtec too frequently, I get hives when I stop. (Yay.) I get hives in hot weather. I get hives from mosquito bites and that time we had bedbugs. (This was also stressful. It was a very hivey period of my life.) I get hives from scratching, especially if I've just taken a shower. I can actually write words in my skin via hives, though why I'd want to do so is a mystery. (But mostly, I get hives from stress. If I'm not stressed, then all the various other triggers - hot showers, scratching, and so on - are a lot less likely to affect me at all, and if they do the results are tiny.) Suffice to say, hives do not always have a specific allergen that causes them. Check out this list, it's pretty remarkable. Existence of this list does not mean it is NOT an allergy. Allergies can appear or worsen at any time, so even if you've changed nothing, you may still end up having an allergic reaction if your body has changed. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Is he on any long-term medication? My husband had an allergic reaction to one of the cholesterol meds after he had been on it for a long time. One of my kids had a reaction to Ibuprofen after she had taken it for a couple of weeks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I hate hives. BTDT many times. They can be triggered by tons of things, including a food or a medicine. The worst case I got (ended up in and out of urgent care, 2 ERS, and finally hospitalized and then on very high dose steroids for 3 months) was from Augmentin. I'd *missed* connecting a case of mild hives to the Augmentin one year, then the next time I took it a year later, BOOM. BAD NEWS. The trick was that the hives didn't develop until I'd been on the Augmentin about a week or two the first time -- I think they developed around the end of the week of antibiotics. Then the second time, they came up around Day 5 or so. So, definitely look back at the last two weeks and see if he took ANY medications that he doesn't take routinely. Laundry detergent is super common trigger. You can develop a new sensitivity, so it isn't necessarily a NEW soap or detergent. I only use fragrance/dye free liquid detergents on clothing, and I *always* do the "extra rinse* cycle as well. Get a liquid dye/fragrance free detergent and use only that on anything your husband comes into contact with. And do the extra rinse cycle. And don't use overly much detergent either. If I have something super gross to wash, I sometimes use regular detergent and bleach/etc, but then I rewash it and re-rinse it . . . Don't use any softeners or dryer sheets! Likewise, go ahead and switch out to non irritating soaps and lotions. I find pure sesame oil to be very non irritating. Coconut oil is likewise non irritating. FWIW, the prescription triamcinolone (steroid) cream is THE BOMB. Go ahead and fill the RX if that was what was prescribed. It's great to have on hand. A little bit goes a long way. Understand the instructions about avoiding slathering it all over your body, as it is potent and can be dangerous if over used. It's generic and cheap. And. The Bomb. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalex Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 He hasn't been playing with caterpillars, has he? LOL 'Discovered that my youngest has a reaction to those fuzzy wuzzy ones... itchy hands, then belly...etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Sometimes this happens at changes of seasons. Benedryl cream on the afflicted/affected areas can sometimes be a relief especially as it doesn't cause drowsiness. And taking Buffered C (not pill-vitamin-C, BUFFERED C) speeds along any reaction. I've had great success with this product, and won't leave home without it now. You can get it at health food stores and probably at big box stores that have decent vitamin sections. It's a powder and you put it in water and drink it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 And taking Buffered C (not pill-vitamin-C, BUFFERED C) speeds along any reaction. I've had great success with this product, and won't leave home without it now. You can get it at health food stores and probably at big box stores that have decent vitamin sections. It's a powder and you put it in water and drink it down. Is Emergen-C considered buffered c? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBlossom Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 My 4yo apparently gets hives at the tail end of viruses now. Big viruses, little viruses, whatever. Giant, full-body breakouts down to random little spots. I didn't believe the doctor when he first presented this theory, but it's being proven out with food diaries and no household changes. Me, I get hives from touching evergreens. Evergreens!!! Years ago my 2 and 3 year olds broke out in hives. Raised, itchy welts all over their hands and feet. Dr said it was a reaction to a virus. It went away on its own a couple days later. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Is Emergen-C considered buffered c?y I don't know. Sorry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Following. I was coming to post about hives tonight too. My husband has been getting the occasional hive for several weeks. Beginning last week he has been getting more. Today he has them on his arms, legs, torso, face, and palms. Benedryl helps until it wears off. He doesn't seem to be under stress. At what point should he go to the doctor? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 If the hives have been worsening, and he doesn't have a history of hives, I would go to the doctor within the week. That spread of hives sounds pretty bad to me, and I like to think that I know what bad is! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I get hives due to stress. I get hives due to exiting a very hot shower (took me a LONG time to work out the problem there, this was in adolescence). I found out a few years ago that if I take Zyrtec too frequently, I get hives when I stop. (Yay.) I get hives in hot weather. I get hives from mosquito bites and that time we had bedbugs. (This was also stressful. It was a very hivey period of my life.) I get hives from scratching, especially if I've just taken a shower. I can actually write words in my skin via hives, though why I'd want to do so is a mystery. (But mostly, I get hives from stress. If I'm not stressed, then all the various other triggers - hot showers, scratching, and so on - are a lot less likely to affect me at all, and if they do the results are tiny.) Suffice to say, hives do not always have a specific allergen that causes them. Check out this list, it's pretty remarkable. Existence of this list does not mean it is NOT an allergy. Allergies can appear or worsen at any time, so even if you've changed nothing, you may still end up having an allergic reaction if your body has changed. Yikes! My chronic hives showed up at the same time seasonal allergies showed up for me. Now I'm on an arsenal of allergy medicines so I don't cough until I vomit all the time. So that's why I think mine be more than just a sudden body freak out to heat. I wonder if there's an allergy underneath all of this. But then I would have to stop taking my allergy meds for awhile, find a doctor where we're moving...sigh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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