Oh Urticaria... Pls Just Go Away!!!

Urticaria, what the H*** is that?! In other words, they are hives. In even simpler terms, a kind of rashes. They are pretty stubborn little creatures and they've certainly done their fair share in driving me mad. It's not a pretty sight but I'll add in a photo to show you later. I don't want to spoil your appetite. For now, you just have to read on if you are interested.

It can be caused by heat, allergies to some antibiotics, allergies to some food like dairy products, shellfish, soy etc, emotional stress. If they last for less than 6 weeks, it's called Acute Urticaria. If it's longer than 6 weeks, it's Chronic Urticaria. I had this since the morning of Tuesday, 6th November 2012 so it's still early days deciding whether I belong to the Acute or Chronic category. Given a choice, I would rather be the former.

Hives are raised, often itchy, red welts on the surface of the skin. They are usually an allergic reaction to food or medicine. When you have an allergic reaction to a substance, your body releases histamine and other chemicals into your bloodstream. This causes itching, swelling, and other symptoms. Hives are a common reaction, especially in people with other allergies such as hay fever.

In my case, it's not due to consumption. I've seen my doctor and it's due to contact. It could be the air, it could be the clothes I wear (I have a habit of wearing clothes I buy w/o washing them first. Yes, it's a really bad habit but I say something in my defence - I've been doing it for YEARS!), anything which is in contact with my skin. Get the drift? I've come to a conclusion that my rashes were triggered from emotional stress. I've been through a HUGE level of stress and the first sign was that I've an infection in my right ear since Sunday, 4th November 2012.

Google Urticaria and there's lots of remedies offered. Remedies NOT to cure it but to lessen the itch. I've tried Calendula cream. Don't work.
I've tried Lysine. Don't work.
I've tried cucumber puree. Don't work.
I've tried the cream given by the doctor, some kind of steroid. Don't work.

Putting affected area under running cold water helped to lessen the itch for a short while.
The pills given by the doctor worked for a couple of hours. When I take one pill for night at around 10 plus, I would be up at 1a.m. from the itch and I would take another pill. That would last me till around 5a.m. and I would be up again. By then, I cannot and I will not take another night pill. Instead, I wash the area. Yes, I rubbed it when I couldn't tolerate any further. If you think it'll help after rubbing, think again my friend. I rub, it itch further. I rub again and again and soon, it hurts. It burns. I'm at my worst at nightfall. It's so itchy, I'll burn the skin if I'm crazy.

So you think the worst is over? Ha ha... Let me give you another juicy piece of information. This thing here, this Urticaria nightmare, it travels. Yes, it moves around your skin. When I talk about skin, I don't just mean the area on your hands or legs. There's no such thing as restricted area for Urticaria. It appeared on my hands and it started growing. Then I see them on my chest, my back and slowly, my legs were not spared. Great! Just Great!

If you have this, I pray and pray that you will NOT have it but IF you have it, go get bottles of Calamine lotion. It helped a little and for my case, it beats having to put the steroid cream. Besides, steroid ain't doing you any good. There will come a point when you feel that the Calamine lotion isn't working that well.

It's Day 8 today and there's some slight improvement. I just hope for it to go away SOON. It affects my mood, it affects everything. I sleep with air-con AND the fan for the past few nights. Heat isn't doing me any good. What can I do? Wait patiently for it to all go away.

This is not a photo of my hand but it's somewhere near

 

They are like little islands. Imagine having many islands on both of your hands. I don't even touch other areas. Just the hands is enough to drive you crazy. When 1 island itch, ALL islands itch together. I don't even have the mood to go for facials, go for massages, applying make-up etc. Zippo! I like staying pretty but this eliminates all desire to maintain myself. It's an AGONY!!!

 

When I do itch during the day-time and I've taken my pills and I've applied Calamine lotion and all fails, I move my hands. I flap them like a chicken. It's craziness I tell you...

 

That's it for now! I hope I don't put you off that much. If I miss out blogging for a few days, at least you'll know why. Have a lovely holiday my dear friends...

 

*Words in italics are extracted from the Internet. All else are from my humble findings.

 

Dreamy C