Hello everyone!
I figured that this would be the most appropriate place to post about dermatographism, so here goes!
I was diagnosed at the age of 9 (I am now 19); my doc said that an ear infection - which I have had *plenty* of - triggered it. I have been on several different meds for it, including hydroxyzine, Zyrtec, Claritin, Benadryl, Tagamet, and others. Nothing ever did any good at all!! It really bites because I itch ALL THE TIME, all over my body! Of course, the slightest scratch and I puff up and turn red, so I have to be really careful about not scratching. Just opening my mouth wide enough to eat a hamburger or such makes my whole lower face get all swelled and red. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif
Does anyone know of anything I can try? Any new meds or supplements? I'll try just about anything, no matter how crazy - I want to be rid of this stuff!!!!!! Oh, I had a friend that had it too and she took two different meds (I'm assuming anti-histamines) with an acid reducer - Pepcid, I think. She let me try it for a few days and it realy worked pretty well. However, she moved recently and I've lost contact with her; I've tried to ask my doc about it and he says that he's never heard such "total garbage" http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif Does anyone know what the combo might be? Any help whatsoever would be greatly, greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Amanda

Hey Amanda,
I have Dermatographism too i hope u reply to this i have no one to goto about it. i know no one who has it and it is really making my life horrible. do u know of any ways to help with this disease? please still be hear i need someone to talk to. bye

Brian

Hi Brian!

I definitely know how you feel - this stuff is horrible! I only know one person with dermatographism, and I've lost touch with her. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif
Well, as I said in my post, I've been on all sorts of medication for it and nothing has helped me. However, the meds *do* help some people, so you might want to ask your doctor - or better yet, a dermatologist - about some meds to try such as Zyrtec or Claritin. The only thing I can do is try not to scratch, which is hard because I tend to itch constantly! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif It cant't hurt to give the meds a try, and they just might help you out.
I'll be here if you want to talk! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
Amanda

Hey Amanda,
Yah im going to see a doctor sometime this week i hope he can help. do u know what causes your Dermatographism? like food, allergies, ect.? Do u find that with age Dermatographism lessens like is harder to get grom light scratching and such? I have to go so
Best Wishes,
Brian

Hi Brian!
Well, as I said, I was diagnosed with dermatographism about 10 years ago. I haven't found that it gets any better - at least it hasn't for me. I've read that some people may only have it for a few weeks/months/years and then it clears up by itself. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for me. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif
As for what triggered it: I've always been very bad about getting infections - sinus infections, tonsilitis, strep throat, bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, etc. Ear infections are the wors - seems like I have one constantly! Well, I was in the fourth grade, just getting over a bout of bronchitis with an ear infection when I went outside in some tall grass by my house to play. The grass made me all itchy, so I started scratching my legs - next thing you know, my legs were covered in long red whelts. This went on for several weeks - scratch, swell up, scratch more, swell more. Finally I went to my doctor and he said that I had dermatographism and that it was probably caused by my recent ear infection. How he figured that, I don't know! Since then, it's seemed that instead of just getting an itch and scratching and swelling up, I itch all over, all the time now. I've pretty much tried everything I can think of to be rid of this stuff - at least the itching - and nothing's helped. Now I just try to bear it and scratch as little as I can!
It's great that you're going to the doctor! He/she will probably put you on an allergy pill like Zyrtec or something - whatever the doc tells you to try, try it! SOme of those meds work for some people, so it doesn't hurt to try! Let me know if the doc puts you on any meds, and let me know if they help!
Good luck!!
Amanda

Hey Amanda,
I was never really diagnosed ive only been to a doctor about it once but same for me I was an unlucky person who gets it for more than a couple weeks or a year ive had it for 13 years! Last time I went to a doctor he didnt know what it was and just told me to take some stuff that calms the welts but doesnt make them go away and it makes me really sleepy. yah i just try to deal with it to but sometimes you dont even know what u do when u scatch then a second later you have welts. hopefully mine and yours will go away soon we've had it for long enough! Lucky people who only have it for a year.
Bye
Best Wishes,
Brian

Hi Brian!

Well, I did some reading last night, and I have found something that I'm gonna try. I found an article that said that hydroxyzine - which I'm taking now - is the best med for dermatographism, though it hasn't helped me any! It also said that a lot of people who don't respond to the hydroxyzine seem to respond when they take an acid reducer, such as pepcid or tagamet, with the hydrox. I'm going to try it out, and I'll keep you posted on how it works.
Wishing I wasn't itching,
Amanda

Hey Amanda,
im going to the doc tommrow im going to mention all the stuff u have shared with me :-) thanx. so how did the anti acid and that medication work? i will try it too if the doc thinks it will be ok for me to use it. keep in touch
Best Wishes,
Brian

Hey Brian!
The little med coctail I've tried seems to be working really well! Now whenever I scratch or whatever, it gets a little red, but it doesn't swell up or itch or anything! I can take the little bit of reddness a whole lot better than the whelts and itchy-burniness any day!
Yeah, mention it to your doc - he/she may want to try just an allergy med by itself at first, and who knows . . .it might work fine for you! But, do mention it, so that if you are put on a single allergy med and it doesn't work, you can always have the doc's OK to try the acid reducer trick! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
Good luck at the doc's - let me know how it goes!
Amanda http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hey Amanda,
yah i got a perscription for and anti-acid called Ranitidine and im gona mix it with Claritin and see if it works. So ur happy with the med? does it make u tired? thats the only thing i have to look out for that it wont make me sleepy. im getting the perscription tommorow so ill keep u posted on that. o yah what type of hydrox was it? cause there is many different kinds. well lata
Best Wishes,
Brian

Hey Brian!
I was taking hydroxyzine hydrochloride (generic form of Atarax, Rezine, Vistaril) 10mg 3 times a day. It made me reeeeally sleepy when I first started taking it, but after a while it didn't make me very sleepy any more. I switched to taking over-the-counter diphenhydramine hydrochloride (generic version of Benadryl, Dramamine, etc.) because I can get it over-the-counter, and it doesn't seem to make me as sleepy. Also, I'm taking it with generic Pepcid (I think the ranitidine is the same thing as Zantac). I decided to use over-the-counter products because they are the same thing at a much cheaper price! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif You shouldn't have any problems with the Claritin making you sleepy though - I found that when I took it, it "speeded me up" a bit! Oh, are you in the US? If you are in Canada, the UK, etc., some of the brand names will be different, of course. I hope the meds work for you, Brian - keep us posted!
Amanda http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hey Amanda,
The meds are working! its alot harder for me to get welts. Im not sure if its just the claritin for just the acid reducer but the combinationg of the two seem to work well. man it feels good to have something that helps. im not gona be able to take this stuff everday but its a start. plus the claritin is expencive! well i goto go so ill talk to u later

Brian

Hey Brian!
It's great that the meds seem to be working for you!
I know how you feel about the costs - I was on Claritin at one point also! You might want to ask about getting on hydroxyzine, which is much cheaper, or even see about taking an OTC like Benadryl.
I'm really happy for you!!
Keep in touch!
Amanda http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hey Amanda,
Yah the cost is alot but i will only take the meds every second day unless i find out they are totaly safe to take each day but even then the cost its usually, unless they are on sale, more for than $1 for 1 pill so it racks up. Do u have to take Hydroxyzine 3 times a day? i only have to take the CLaritin once a day. well ill talk to u later
Best Wishes,
Brian

I had a similar problem (only lasted 2 weeks) and was seeing an ALLERGIST at the time so of course consulted him about it. He recommended the Pepcid and Hydroxyzine together and it was effective in reducing the symptoms gradually, but it did help a great deal.
IMHO, an allergist is best suited to treat this kind of problem. Hope this helps. :-)

HI,
Anyone try sulfasalizine. I took it successfully for 5 years until I built a tolerance. I have Delayed Pressure Urticaria which is from what I can tell a delayed deeper dermatographism. It might be worth a try. I know even when it stopped working for the hives (mine are really huge and deep when I put pressure on my skin) it still helped the milder ones and the itch. Ask your doc about it since antihistamines don't seem to work on dermato or DPU it may help as it did me. It will not cure but it may give you some relief of symptoms and is pretty safe. You have to monitor liver and kidney functions and cbc often at first but once you establish you can take it safely once a year is sufficient. Also, you have to take folic acid with it as it depeletes your system of that. I am not a doc but even the first doc who gave it to me didn't know to do this which is why I am telling you if your doc decides to let you try it make sure they know to check this stuff and give you folic acid rx with it.

Navy

I am, I am!!! I am taking it now. 4 pills a day. I took it for a couple of months and then stopped hopeing the hives would not return. It took a couple of weeks and they slowly started to return so I am starting it again. Good stuff IMH Opinion. Better than all the antihistimines and steriods. I take several more vitamins and drink more water. No side affects at all for me either. Hope you get relief again from the Sulfa too!!

I am, I am!!! I am taking it now. 4 pills a day. I took it for a couple of months and then stopped hopeing the hives would not return. It took a couple of weeks and they slowly started to return so I am starting it again. Good stuff IMH Opinion. Better than all the antihistimines and steriods. I take several more vitamins and drink more water. No side affects at all for me either. Hope you get relief again from the Sulfa too!!

From what I understand you need to be free of them for about a year before it is likely that you will have actually gotten rid of them if you can. Just thought you should know that the couple months was definitely not long enough to retrain your body to not react. Try going off after about a year or so if you want but i wouldn't try it any sooner unless you need to. Navy

I posted a new thread on this before seeing this thread.

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=153703

I was diagnosed with it back in 1997 or so, but have been suffering with it for 9 years... if not longer.

I started on a medication for depression on Friday. It'c called "Celexa", and it seems to have "cured" my Dermatographism. I am able to scratch an itch and have the itch go away without my making the situation worse.

Talk to your doctor. Maybe what you are having is just not "Dermatographism", but a symptom of depression. And even if not depressed, anti depressants are often used for their side effects (IE: Zyban as a stop smoking aid). So if an anti depressant can help cure an insatiable itch...... then doctors should be prescribing it more often.

Celexa is non addictive by the way. So there is no risk of becoming dependent on it. Symptoms I've felt with it: Dry mouth and a bit sleepy. The sleepiness will probably go away as my body adjusts to the medication.

I tried that one and it didn't work BUT it is known to help. Another one is doxepin. The worst thing the drug companies ever did was call these drugs antidepresants. Most of them work on the brain messages to the nerves and are used for chronic pain also. Not all reasons for these drugs are related to depression and I think it is a shame they have that stigma since they do help in other areas. Doxepin is one of the only antidepresants that has a antihistamine in it which is why it works for hives and allergies both.

Hope this helps someone who didn't want the stigma of an antidepresant.

Navy

I tried that one and it didn't work BUT it is known to help. Another one is doxepin. The worst thing the drug companies ever did was call these drugs antidepresants. Most of them work on the brain messages to the nerves and are used for chronic pain also. Not all reasons for these drugs are related to depression and I think it is a shame they have that stigma since they do help in other areas. Doxepin is one of the only antidepresants that has a antihistamine in it which is why it works for hives and allergies both.

Hope this helps someone who didn't want the stigma of an antidepresant.

Navy


I agree. I work as a Registered Nurse, and see medications given to patients, souly for their side effects. There are situations where certain antibiotics are even given expressly for the purposes of their side effects. The realization of that took me awhile to adjust too, but now I consider it the norm.

Certain medications do have a stigma attached to them, and it's a shame. So many of the "psych meds" are so useful in other areas.

The Spine and Brain run the body. The electrial signals are what keep our bodily functions and organs going. So it makes complete sense that medications that work with the brain, would also work to improve other parts of the body. Which is why I'm a huge fan of Chiropractors. Even something as simple as "diarrhea" or "asthma" could be neurologically induced and corrected through regular spinal adjustments.

My dermatographism started when I was 13 yrs old. My school friend had a fun time scratching names and things into my arm and at the time i found it funny. Now it is completely annoying. If I just as wipe my face with a napkin it shows big red welts. I have never considered this a serious thing or gotten it looked at by a physician because of the internet I know what my problem is, however I will try to get some drugs to calm the reaction because I have noticed the most embarrassing part of this is job interviews where I have a sweater that shows a bit of my chest and if I brush my chest accidentaly it shows a welt or if i touch my hand to my chin and my chin shows a welt. and it is very embarrassing. I just wish I was normal so I suppose I should go to see someone and get this checked out.

I just got diagnosed too. I was told it is part of a triumvarate of things - Sinusitis, Asthma, and Dermatographism. i've always had sinus problems, and will be starting the Claratin soon, so hopefully that will work! I'm told stress can trigger it too, jus tany type of annoyance! I was diagnosed because I started a new job, apparently it was too hot in the office because my face swelled up and the nurses I work with took me to see a doctor stat! He just gave me b enadryl and sent me home, but now I know! about 5% of the population has it, and the numbers are rising dramatically, pollution is probably a trigger - I was reading how bad exercise is for people who have this :bouncing: , so much for the diet! Just that it brings it on quickly. Sigh.