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Originally Posted by Genabeena I am starting this thread because there are a lot of questions and discussions about a particular kind of rash. There are a lot of people who have a mysterious rash and want some answers. No person on this website can make a diagnosis for you. If your rash seems persistent, go to your doctor and get a diagnosis- definitely.
That said, there is a skin condition, which can take on many forms and be caused by any of a number of things. Only in a relatively small number of cases is the cause ever found. Yes, it is extremely perplexing! But some of us are not happy with that. Some of us are not ready to settle for that. The general term for the condition is Urticaria. Those of us who are unlucky enough to have had our symptoms last longer than six weeks are chronic. (CIU- which stands for Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria).
I propose we help each other eliminate some of the guesswork. Let's all put our heads together and see what we can find out. Hey, what have we got to lose? We are already in H***.
Who has a proposal for a first question to get the ball rolling? Anyone can easily look up answers to questions like, "what is Urticaria," by doing a quick search in Google. So maybe we should start with a harder question. Does anyone have anything they want to know personally? I also encourage other people to start other threads so we can break up the information and make things easier to find.
Also, if you are seeking information on Urticaria, see the thread entitled, "Severe, itching rash brought on by wierd things." |
I am a 44 year old female. I have suffered with Solar Urticaria for 12 years. I turn completely red when exposed to the sun for 8 minutes. The redness is only on areas of my body that are exposed to the sun. It doesn't go through my clothes. It itches like crazy and if I am in the sun long enough it will swell. I have been to several doctors for this disorder over the years. I was told that it is an autoimmune disorder. Below is some excerpts from a web site that explains autoimmune disorders. I know that I can't list the link, but I don't know if I can mention the name of the site (probably the same thing).
Excerpt: "An autoimmune disorder is one in which a person's immune system begins to attack his or her own body. The immune system creates antibodies against its own tissues. Virtually every part of the body is susceptible to an autoimmune disorder."
Excerpt: "The job of the immune system is to protect the body from foreign substances. It is the immune system that fights off infections caused by bacteria or viruses. Sometimes a person's own tissues may be seen as "foreign" by the immune system. When this happens, the immune system attacks the body itself. This response is known as an autoimmune disorder."
Excerpt: "New research findings suggest that autoimmune disorders may be triggered by a transfer of cells between the fetus and the mother during pregnancy. The study involved women with scleroderma, an autoimmune disorder involving the skin. These women have more fetal cells in their blood decades after a pregnancy than women who don't have scleroderma. While further research is needed to substantiate these findings, the study does offer an explanation for the much higher incidence of autoimmune disorders in women than in men."
I find the last excerpt particularly interesting because my mother has RH negative blood and my father has RH positive. This can cause problems for the baby. I have been wondering if this is the key.
I would be very curious to know if there are others with Solar Urticaria that have the same circumstances as mine. I wonder if we all have this in common. I also have other health problems and wonder if they are all some how related. I think there must be something that we all have in common. I would love to try to find out what it is. If anyone knows, I would love to hear from you.
Urticaria and CIU- if you have a mysterious rash... 
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