Welp, I'm hivey all over.

[conuly]

Especially my legs. And my arms. My arms and legs. And also my back, my arms, legs, and back. Oh, and my neck. Definitely my neck. And my feet. My arms, legs, back, neck, hands, and feet. Oh god I itch. Where is my antihistimine cream!?

If it takes me a while to respond to anybody over the next few days, that's because I'm too busy scratching, applying cream, scratching some more. Sometimes I get hives because of environmental factors. Sometimes I think it's because of emotional stress. Sometimes I get weird random hives just 'cuz - as in "the soda bottle was too cold and now there's a hive in the shape of the bottom of a coke bottle on my arm" or "the shower was too hot and now my legs itch" or "I probably should not have scratched my neck, now there's a hive where I scratched".

This isn't the last one. I don't have any bug bites. I haven't been taking a daily dose of zyrtec and now am suffering a rebound (oh god that was an awful month). I haven't been outside weeding and getting ragweed all over my arms. I haven't eaten anything new. So that leaves... unknown environmental factor or emotional stress. I have no other way to narrow this down, but thinking about it at least distracts me from the freaking itching.

Edit: Oh. Oh, could this be a PMS thing? I'm getting my period in a few days, I think. It's surely a little weird to suddenly manifest new PMS symptoms in your 30s, but I've always been hivey, and my PMS symptoms have always been weirdly all over the map - several months in a row boils, then a few months of random aches in the worst places, then cramps, like every month is a roulette. And maybe this isn't new, but previously I just didn't peg it to periods because I didn't expect to? I think I'm deluding myself a little here. If you google enough, anything is a PMS symptom for somebody, but that doesn't mean it really is for me. *scratchscratchscratch*

Comments

[baranduin]

Oh no! That sounds just wretched. Hope the itching subsides soon.

[mummimamma]

That sounds horrid. I hope it disappears as soon as it came.

I get hives from stress, and PMS exacerbates the effect, if that is any help.

[marahmarie]

Hope it subsides for you soon (and this is me sitting on my hands mentally trying not to say: "Hives can also be a sign of the plague" but uh, yeah, they can. Something else to look out for).

I have lifelong weird skin that spontaneously breaks out in hives, rashes, and a mysterious both-legs itch that mostly strikes at night almost every night for 30+ years now, if it's any consolation.

(If you want more possible consolation as of the year 2000 I got so allergic* to downstate NY I can't live there anymore and actually survive, but I think you've heard that already.)

*Not skin-wise, mostly sinus/eyes/throat allergies

[malinaldarose]

You have my vast sympathy. I went through a period of about five years where I Just Got Hives for no apparent reason. Doc put me on a combination of Zyrtec and Tagamet (before either were OTC).

[wpadmirer]

UGH. There is no telling, because there are SO many different factors, especially with all the stress in the world right now.

I hope the damn things go away soon.

[gingicat]

I would call the doctor just in case.

[readerjane]

Ouch, that sounds miserable. Hope the hives clear up quickly.

[conuly]

Mmm, maybe I ought to, but then I'd have to call the doctor about a lot of chronic thingies that pop up now and again and then die down just as fast. After getting the brush-off as a kid and teen for what turned out to be (probably) asthma, I don't particularly feel like exposing myself to that and germs again every time I get random hives or random joint issues or random sneak attack headaches.

[conuly]

Wait, hives are a covid symptom? I must have missed that.

[gatheringrivers]

Have a look at yesterday's post on my journal for another differential for the itching, joint pain, potentially the cramps, and headaches at least. I don't know if the hives would be included in that differential or not.

The only time I've gotten hives in the last.....20 years? is the year I discovered I can't use ANY of the --benzone type family of sunscreens. You know, the ones that pretty much "vanish" visibly after applying.

The itching and hives were so bad I was practically scratching holes in my arms as I slept. Took 2 weeks for that to die down, and that was WITH my witch hazel...

Witch Hazel tincture, applied topically, should help with the itching. I've got a jar that's basically been stewing for many many years so it's darker than mahogany.

Basically, get a bunch of witch hazel bark (example) and shove it in an empty glass jar with some alcohol on it. Shake it several times a day for the first day or three, and you should start to see some color. I just wipe it on with a tissue or my fingers, nothing special there. :)

I know you can sometimes find witch hazel in the drugstores/chemists, but I don't know how strong that is in comparison to homemade, since what I see in the shops is usually clear.

[lightbird]

:(

I hope you feel better soon.

[oracne]

Ugh, so sorry.

[greghousesgf]

Have you got aloe vera gel? that's really good for hives.

Peppermint.

[agoodwinsmith]

Hives - sheesh. I get hives on the back of my left hand whenever I eat too many strawberries. Always have; still do. WTH is that?

Anyway - I have a suggestion for soothing the itch. Take your favorite body rub/ointment (I use aloe vera gel because, yeah, I get hives from body lotions/creams/ointments), add several drops of peppermint oil. Mix thoroughly and apply. Be ready for your cats to treat you as something that needs to be buried.

My Mom was given this suggestion from the dermatologisst she was sent to. Ultimate problem for her appeared to be low vitamin D, and taking a supplement (D subscript 3) resolved the cause, but while that was going on the itch was crazy-making.

[maju]

Ugh, that sounds awful. Hope you can get some relief!

Re: Peppermint.

[conuly]

IIRC, the html for subscript is (sub) (/sub), but of course with the parens replaced by angular brackets.

[marahmarie]

Yep.

[acelightning]

Menopause, or even peri-menopause, can cause random itching. I found myself scratching my ankles and shins until they bled. No, don't get hormone replacement therapy; it'll give you cancer.

[cynthia1960]

Soothing vibes offered.

[erika]

I have the both legs itch and multiple doctors have told me it's Restless Leg Syndrome, if that information interests you.

[conuly]

Oooh, sympathy. Last time I scratched my ankles until I bled was middle school. At the time I thought it was possibly our large population of cats, now that I realize that hives flare up when I'm stressed and recall that I used to always get super hivey at the end of summer vacation I think it was possibly the cats AND the fact that middle school was awful.

Re: Peppermint.

[agoodwinsmith]

Thank you.

[chez_jae]

Yikes! Hope you're feeling better soon.

[marahmarie]

I do tend to turn the bed into a war zone, complete with covers strewn everywhere by the time I wake up, so that's something to consider, thanks.

[acelightning]

Menopause is a lot like puberty backwards.