Hi everyone,

Just a couple questions of those of you who have experienced hives. What have you tried that actually works and gets rid of them? I've tried Zyrtec by itself and also in combination with Zantac, plus a random assortment of topical creams. Nothing has seemed to help at all. My allergist hasn't suggested anything else at this point that we could try. I've had hives on a daily basis now for about 3 months. My only known allergy is to mold and I haven't experienced any of my usual mold allergy symptoms since the hives started. I also think I did a pretty good job of getting rid of any mold or mildew in my apartment, so I don't think its related to the mold. Could it be a food allergy that I suddenly developed at 25? How would I find out if I am allergic to a certain food? My allergist has mentioned an elimination diet, but said it's probably too complicated and may not give us any answers. Are there tests that can be done to detect a food allergy? I'm reaching the point of being desperate and really want to get to the bottom of this. Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much,
Karen

I suggest looking up the thread on the next page of this board about severe chronic urticaria. Same thing as hives. I have had it for 4 years now and no it is not fun and many never find the cause. I don't believe it is an allergy to anything at least fopr me anyway. You can also search all posts by people on here like me by clicking on the username and read more about past posts that way too for more answers. Good luck to ya!! :wave:

Hi Karen, sorry about your hives. I don't know if you have read my past posts but I too have hives daily for the last two months. I'm 48 and have never known of anything that I am allergic to, they came on one day and never left. Mine are easily controlled, I take 5mg of Reactine, (antihistamine here in Canada), it's an over the counter med. Right now it works like a miracle, I take one every day and I am normal, as soon as I stop taking them the hives appear again, mostly in the evening. I also get lips swelling which I've read are hives under the skin. I'm seeing an allergist on thursday, I am very interested to see what he says. From what I have read hives are a mystery, they really don't know much about them. I'm hoping that maybe in my case it is stress/hormone related, I just wish they would disappear, I don't know how long it is safe to take antihistamines, are there any long term affects? Good luck and hang in there.
Mary

Mold appears to be one of the issues for me, too. You can see the long note I wrote 2/23/08 in the 'temperature induced urticaria' section. Mold is in food, too, so giving the house a surgical scrub will not affect that aspect.

Yes, an allergist can test for foods. I think some choose not to, though. Mine did a RAST test (a blood test) for both inhalants and foods. They can also test for some additional foods that aren't in the standard set of tests. They can also test for some chemicals. They used to do the sublingual tests for foods, but I think most do the RAST now. Also, they can treat with shots or drops under the tongue.