Hello! I have been experiencing swelling in my hands and mild, itchy hives that appear on my hands, feet, knees, and elbows. They disappear either on their own or after taking an antihistamine. I have started taking Claritin every day after visiting the doctor as well as applying a steroid cream when symptoms get worse. The doctor said it could possibly be an allergic reaction to tree pollen, but today I had my worst reaction and the tree pollen count was low. I am slightly underweight but very healthy and tend to eat healthy as well. I have never really had any allergies up to this point, even seasonal. I'm not allergic to any foods or medications. Could this be autoimmune? or even type 1 diabetes sudden onset? I get really sleepy after a reaction even when I don't take an antihistamine. I'm worried because I don't want to just treat symptoms, but rather get to the cause of the problem. This has become an everyday occurrence for the past two weeks and I want to know what is causing it. Any ideas? Let me know if you have other questions.
Sounds like you need to go to an allergy dr and have tests done. Also you need to have blood work done as well to rule out other things. My son breaks out almost every time he takes a shower. It looks like more of a rash than hives to me but it could be hives. The chiropractor thinks it's too much yeast in his body. Good luck!
My husband was only able to pinpoint (and then accurately treat) his allergies after meeting with an allergist and having a bunch of tests to determine exactly what he was and was not allergic too. Only then was he not only able to eliminate or treat exactly those things, he was able to treat other medical concerns that were not allergy related.
I'd get a referral for an allergist and go from there.
Have you seen an allergist?
My children went and that's how we figured things out.
Heidi - my son (one who does not have allergies) has a reaction similar to your son's in the shower. It looks almost like welts/hives but it is contact dermatitis. He has a new cream that is working wonders.
I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it being an allergy just because you've never been allergic to anything before. Allergies change throughout our lives. We can suddenly be allergic to something that's never bothered us before, and we can just as easily no longer be allergic to something that has always been a problem in the past.
Talk to your doctor again. If your doctor still thinks it's something you are allergic to, see a specialist. But I would definitely keep searching for answers and not close my mind to any possibility just yet.
Well your physician is just treating symptoms. Since that isn't working you should see an allergist who will probably run some tests and get to the bottom of it.
What does your Dr. suggest? It is likely that you need to see an allergist.
Don't be using Dr. Google because that will have you thinking you are dying.
See a real Dr. as in allergist, run bloodwork and other tests to determine the allergy.
Before you go to the Dr., make a list of any changes with your laundry products, new foods, clothes, changes with your environment, etc.
We never had allergies and after we built the home we loved which sits among many trees we started having issues. It's the cedar elms in our yard. Even my dog is allergic. We all take Allertec (Costco brand of Zyrtec) daily. No issues anymore.
I would seek out an allergist.
Also think if anything like your laundry soap, soap, lotion etc has changed?
Allergic reactions always make me sleepy, and I have dealt with allergies my whole life. I get even sleepier after taking an antihistamine.
I agree with another poster about keeping a journal. And yes, allergies can change at anytime through your life. When allergy season hits our house I diffuse essential oils, especially in the bedrooms. Lavender, peppermint and Lemon is a very common combo for diffusing for allergies. You may need a thorough cleaning of walls, floors etc as allergens can stick to things inside your home.
If this continues, I'd definitely see an allergist. Good luck. Allergies can be miserable!
you have been to the dr and what the dr suggested isn't really working. i would seek a second opinion or seek an allergist. or revisit the same dr and pressure them for a better answer.
Anyone can develop an allergy at anytime.
Keep a log of your symptoms and take it with you when you see an allergist.
I have bad allergies. I suggest you go see an allergy doctor and have both a skin test and a blood test done to find out what you are allergic to. Ask to be tested not just for pollen but also for foods. You can develop allergies and sensitivities to pollens or foods at any time in your life. A friend who suffered from migraines had the allergist do a blood test to test her for food allergies even though she didn't show the common symptoms (hives are one). It turns out she WAS allergic to about 4 different common foods and when she stopped eating them she stopped getting migraines. Yes it could possibly be autoimmune. I am now seeing a functional medicine practitioner (a doctor who does many tests to get to the root cause of why you are having problems) and it turns out I have Hashimoto's autoimmune disease. She has also found out quite a few other things that were wrong and we are working to fix them.
I was getting random hives on my forearms and legs, etc. I never had this before. I kept track of when they occurred and was able to pinpoint the bathroom in the morning, specifically after showing. I then slowly changed every product I used in the bathroom. It was the face soap I had been using for 25 years! Since I changed it, I've had no hives!
However, I'm an almost 46 year old with acne. What i'm currently using doesn't cause hives but it causes pimples!
If you use lotion on both areas, it could be a reaction to that. Change lotion, soap, laundry detergent one at a time so you'll better pinpoint the source. Use the small for travel items.
We can become intolerant of things we've used for years. I say intolerant because it might not be an allergy.
There are several kinds of antihistamine available. I've taken some of them that are labeled non-drowsy. They make you drowsy at first but regular use they stop making you drowsy.
My doctor had me stop taking Clariton because I have pre beats in my heart rhythm. Just something to consider.
There is such a thing as a low histamine diet. Tons of good helpful info online. Basically, some foods trigger histamine reactions (fatigue, skin issues, itching, etc). Certain people react differently to some histamine-producing foods, so some trial and error is needed.
There's a great book entitled What Hit Me - Living With Histamine Intolerance. It's available on Amazon.
My daughter experiences histamine reactions from some foods (they're not allergies, they're classified differently), and reducing the histamine foods has helped.
It's a fairly simple way of eating - no strange things to buy or crazy foods to eat. So you might look it up online and try following a low histamine food plan for a few weeks and see if you find some relief.
Breaking out on the hands and feet is often a stress hive thing. We've been going through this with a grandchild. She took an allergy pill every day for 6 weeks, through the first solid freeze, and then stopped. Taking it, not taking it, pollens frozen and killed off, no effect at all.
