cholinergic urticaria?

[Loowit]

One of my children was recently seen for a rash he has been getting when he gets too warm, exercising, or gets nervous.  It was kind of interesting that while he was talking to her about the rash, he broke out.  They were able to get pictures of it to send to the dermatologist with the consultation notes.  The doctor sent me a message after hearing back from the dermatologist she was consulting.  He said it is urticaria and that he should take antihistamines to try to prevent it.

My DS is asking if this is something he will need to do long term or if it is a short term condition.  I sent a note to his doctor but haven't heard back yet.  I was wondering if any of you have dealt with this and what the long term out look is.

Also, if anyone knows, he is wanting to join the military after he graduates, is this something that would disqualify him if he still has this and/or it is controlled with medication?

[klmama]

I believe that chronic urticaria is, or at least used to be, a disqualifying condition for the army.  Perhaps it won't become chronic if he gets it under control now.  Sometimes skin reactions change over time, and sometimes they become a problem only when the "allergy bucket" is full.  You might take a look at anything else he might be reacting to - laundry detergent, dust, mold, pollen, foods - to see if eliminating anything he's sensitive to would reduce the occurence.  Of course, if he has allergies, that's another issue that the military needs to know about and might disqualify for, depending on severity.

 

 

 

 

[Tap]

DD20 has chronic hives.  She has to take super high doses of antihistamines for months at a time to control the symptoms. The antihistamines are only to keep it under control (the don't cure them}. If I remember right, acute hives are less than 3 months. Chronic hives last more that 3 months. Even with the antihistamines, sometimes she still has airway problems, but not usually. Stress definitely makes hers worse, but it doesn't take stress for her to break out. DD20s husband is Air Force so we are definitely military friendly, but that being said, there is no way she would enlist with having a fairly recent chronic hives (ie within 3 years or so). 

I could absolutely see having chronic hives a disqualifying illness for the military. If stress triggers them for your ds, what if he is deployed, breaks out and can't get to his antihistamines? If they progressed far enough, he could end up with a closed off airway or anaphylactic and in a war zone.  I know some people would just try to hide the diagnosis or downplay it (not saying you are thinking about this), but this could be a very real, very serious situation that could end up fatal for him or a fellow service member.  If he has hives, the typical military gear would likely be extremely uncomfortable for him. I know for dd that anything that rubs on her skin, makes the hives way, way worse. 

I hate to see health take out someone dreams. ((((hugs)))) DDs were diagnosed by a allergy/immunologist.  Not just her regular doc or allergist. We wanted to make sure she didn't have something else going on due to a few other complicating factors and went to a specialist instead.

If it is more short term/acute it may not cause the same red flags, but my guess, is that any long term urticaria woud. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by Tap

[MercyA]

Yes, I have it. At its worst, it caused me to have to take daily prescription antihistamines plus Benadryl plus Pepcid (which is actually a type of antihistamine) plus use topicals plus eat a very low-histamine diet plus avoid being out in the heat--and I still had some hives! Whew! It started off slowly, worsened over the years, was at its worst for a year or two, and now has died down considerably. I still break out in hives once in a while when stressed or very hot.

My understanding is that while it can last for years, it usually doesn't last for a lifetime. 

My medication made me quite sleepy during the time I had to take it and I couldn't be in extreme heat for any length of time. Even getting into a hot car made me break out. I don't think the military would be a good fit. 

Edited February 26, 2019 by MercyA

[geodob]

You wrote that this happens when he gets too warm.
When we get warm/hot, their are 2 main ways to get rid of this internal heat.
One way, is simply sweating.
Another important way.  Is that the blood vessels under our skin.  Dilate, which increases the blood flow to the skin.  With heat then lost through the skin.
(The opposite happens when it is cold, to keep warm.)
But what I wonder, is if these ways of removing heat.  Are working properly for him?
Does he sweat normally?   When he gets nervous, does his face go red?  As this would indicate his blood vessels dilating.

[Joker]

My ds was diagnosed with the same thing at about age 9 and he still deals with it now at 19. Sometimes it still takes him by surprise. The other day he was walking between classes (he's off at college) and he broke out and it's super cold here right now but apparently he got overheated walking. He used to break out just showering but it's not that bad anymore. Most of the time Zyrtec is enough for him. He doesn't have to take it every day anymore unless it's summer but he does keep it with him during even the cooler months because sometimes he finds he needs it (exercising and such).

[elegantlion]

Ds dealt with this when he was younger. He would break out if we had a nerf gun fight. A couple of times it covered most of his upper body (we treated those time with Benadryl). After that we treated with Tagamet after some research, I think it was a thread here that suggested it. He outgrew it at some point. He's 21 now, and I can't remember the last time he had an issue. Maybe 18 or so. 

[Loowit]

7 hours ago, geodob said:

You wrote that this happens when he gets too warm.
When we get warm/hot, their are 2 main ways to get rid of this internal heat.
One way, is simply sweating.
Another important way.  Is that the blood vessels under our skin.  Dilate, which increases the blood flow to the skin.  With heat then lost through the skin.
(The opposite happens when it is cold, to keep warm.)
But what I wonder, is if these ways of removing heat.  Are working properly for him?
Does he sweat normally?   When he gets nervous, does his face go red?  As this would indicate his blood vessels dilating.

He sweats normally.  He blushes when he is embarrassed and such, which is normal.  He has pale skin so it is very noticeable.

[catz]

This is interesting.  I am prone to hives and went through allergy testing and nothing in particular was identified. 

However, I can say that for me clean eating (whole grain/food, low processed sugar, fat/protein/carb balanced, etc), regular exercise,. good hydration, and stress management make a really positive difference.  I had a few years that were awful but now it's very low grade if at all.  

[PeachyDoodle]

I had pressure urticaria in my early and mid-20's. It's very similar, only brought on by pressure against the skin. Wearing shoes for a day left me with such enormous painful hives on the bottoms of my feet that I literally had to crawl from the living room to my bed at night. I had constant welts around my waistband and bra straps.

After seeing several doctors, all of whom recommended antihistamines taken at the onset of the hives (which did absolutely nothing to help), one doctor finally recommended that I get on a daily regimen. That did the trick. Strangely enough, after a few months on daily Claritin and no outbreaks, I decided to try going off the meds, and lo and behold I never had another outbreak since. 

All that to say that, for me, it was a short-term condition once we hit on the right treatment. But as with lots of things, it's probably a wait-and-see kind of situation. Hopefully he will outgrow it!

[Loowit]

Thanks all.

DS had allergy testing a few years ago when he was having other symptoms like runny nose, watery eyes, and such that wasn't clearing up.  He was diagnosed with non-allergic rhinitis.  He was negative to everything, so no environmental allergies.  They did not do testing for food though.  He is allergic to a couple antibiotics.

The doctor got back to me today and said to try the meds for a month and see if that helps.  I gave him benedryl last night before bed but it made him drowsy all day today.  I think I will try just doing Zyrtec for now and see how that goes.

DS is mostly frustrated because he can't exercise without the itchy rash.  I am hoping that he will outgrow it.

[Guest]

Check thyroid. Chronic hives can be a symptom of hashimoto’s. Now that my thyroid is under control, my hives are largely absent, but for a good year there, EVERYTHING would make me break out!

[Scarlett]

40 minutes ago, dmmetler said:

Check thyroid. Chronic hives can be a symptom of hashimoto’s. Now that my thyroid is under control, my hives are largely absent, but for a good year there, EVERYTHING would make me break out!

Interesting. My sons girlfriend has chronic hives......she is supposedly allergic to many things, but honestly I see stress being her biggest trigger.....and her mom has Hashimotos.