Cholinergic Urticaria (heat Hives)

I havent given up on the sweat method but I have sweat heavily for 1.5-2hrs for 3 workouts and no change. One small benefit from wearing a lot of clothes is that the pain starts and ends faster. I used to strip my clothes off to try and stop the pain and heat. But now I just gut it out with the body heat and clothes on, the pain subsides in about 5-10 minutes rather than on and off for 30 minutes or more. Also with clothes on I can kinda move around a little and get the same scratch affect from the clothes rather than using my hands all over my body and scratching.

p.s. I have been itch free during sleep for 4 nights now...a new record. In fact I woke up last night very warm but no itch. Im hoping for the best!

Yes, there is a laser therapy too, laser rifts antibodies in your liver, the doctor who do this therapy told me that he is sure that this therapy will cure my allergy, but i could not do this because i needed to go to study in Spain for one year. First of all i will do a hydrocolontherapy and acupuncture, and hope that my allergist will figure out how to do this immunotherapy with my own sweats.
ONE QUESTION TO ALL OF YOU: It could sound funny, but one specialist told me that you can get hives if you are angry to your parents, it does not meen one or two days, but for years or you are not satisfied with something for a long period of time, there are also books written about this. I also get hives when i am tottaly angry and i am arguing with someone, it is not happening every time, but it is true. I WONDER IF ANYONE OF YOU WERE SATISFIED WITH LIFE AND WERE VERY HAPPY PEOPLE BEFORE YOU GOT CU???

I was going through so much emotional crap when I first got CU. I (and many others ) believe that stress might have some correlation with CU; but then again, everyone's always stressed out anyway...so you can't really tell.

Hi all,

Im a 19 yr old male from UK (london) I have just discovered (from reading your posts) that i also must have this annoying cholinergic uriticaria.

I believe it started about 8-10 months ago, while i was at the gym. Got quite a bad rash over my torso but didnt think anything of it. Then i started to get this rash every now and then, not too often so again i didnt worry. Well from then it has just become more and more regular, to the point, now where it happens every single time i get hot. Ive also been given citrizine i think its called by my doctor, which did work but now they dont.

I am so glad i have finally found out what this is but am anxious about the responses i have seen, where no one has seemed to actually get rid of this thing. has anyone actually got rid of it ??

Ok quick update. I have done the sweat method for over a week now...no change. Still just makes me feel like ill pass out from the pain just before the sweat starts. I also still get it while working which is really making me annoyed! I have been on testosterone for bodybuilding reasons. I have lowered the dosage for the past month with no change in my skin pain. So Im discontinuing its use, and see if this helps.

I have seen a general practitioner who has put me initially on blood pressure lowering meds due to my steriod use. It has done nothing for my skin pain yet. He believes it could be related to a vasodiliation response. AKA my skin is bright red all the time from my red blood cell count being so high on steroids. I really dont think the steriods and skin/sweat pain is related since I doubt everyone else here using steriods. I have check numerous BB sites for other complaints of this pain and steroids and have found none.

Ill update again in a bit and let you know whats happening.

I too have CU. I also have allergy to some types of food e.g. eggs. Also have allergic rhinitis.
As usual, have consulted a number of doctors and nothing worked. Going through this forum I saw how many people are desperately trying to get a cure. Here are my 2 cents.
1. There is no cure in modern medicine.
2. Alternate systems like homeopathy claim to cure the problem
3. There is a lack of standard process (science) in alternate medicine systems.
4. There are all kind of possible variations in the disease - with sweat, without sweat, on main body vs. on hands and legs vs. whole body, duration and severity, size of the welts etc.

I am going to try homeopathy because, it cannot hurt. As is well known, science treats it as a placebo - completely harmless distilled water and nothing else. So there is no harm in trying. Had tried one homeopath but it didn't help and then people said that he may not be a good doctor. So this time I am going to try a 'good' doctor. Lets see.
I would like to add one thing to what has already been added. The disease is psychosomatic. It makes you feel sad and a shade more depressed. That causes drop in morale. You tend to exercise less. And the problem only increases. I believe, one has to keep trying to combat the disease at the psychological level. Its not easy but hey, its worth a try. Except in very rare cases, its not gonna kill you. For example, I am gonna take it to the limits - like exercising for an hour with the itch all over my body. lets see what happens. If someone else has tried this please let me know.

Since I get no real hives but just a lot of itching until I sweat...I wonder if anyone has been tested for polycythaemia? One severe symptom is itching.

Hello everybody. My name is Marc. I have had CU for about thirteen months now. I had no idea what it was until I started reading on here. I have been to so many different doctors. Specialists and everybody. It sucks. I thought I was crazy. I have read every post on here and even just went and bought some stuff from vitamin shoppe that Jimmi suggested. Been on for about four days and no help yet. I am 26 and developed CU last year. I was going to the gym a lot and doing my normal routine and I went on the tread mill like I always did and all of a sudden I started getting a terrible, painful itch. It was overwhelming. I had no idea what was going on. I was taking some supplements at that point. I stopped everything, thinking it was a mixture of things. Nothing helped. It was last December 13th i got it. I can say it was not as bad in the summer, but I still felt it. I went away to warmer climates and I would still feel it but not as bad. I have tried anti-histamines. I am taking ultimate liver cleanse, candistroyer, cod liver oil, coral calcium w/ magnesium, and apple cider vineagar. I have also changed toothpaste with no flouride and free deodarant. I am trying anything here. I was thinking about accupuncture. I have spent alot of money trying to get rid of this and I am still willing to do what it takes. Please someone help if they know anything. I have attacks on a daily basis and I itch consistently. Its really affected my life. I am thinking lacitrex and anything that may help. I am at my wits end. Even recently my poor younger brother developed this terrible ailment. PLEASE HELP

Hey Marc, welcome to the forums. It seems a lot of athletes /avid gym goers get this disease, odd. I first had an attack after I stopped going to the gym as much and got lazy. Do you have any dental fillings? How old is your younger brother? Good luck with everything.

Hey this is still me. I had to change name b/c they would not let me sign in. And yes I do have a cavity filling or two. And to be honest for some reason i was thinking that. It was last year I got them and this came about afterward. WOW! My brother is 24 and I am 26. Do dental fillings cause CU? I am racking my brain here. I mean some days its bearable and others its overwhelming, i am sure you know. Thank you for replying. Do you suggest anything? I am currently taking a bunch of Vitamins that Jimmi suggested on page six. I am doing what I can to relieve any part of this. Good luck to you as well. Please help if you know anything, I will do the same

hey everyone i was wondering if any one has tryed doing a body cleansing program?
im starting a 11 day one right now, and i guess i will see.

a little back ground on me im 24, i have had CU since i was about 14, first time i got it i was getting ready for a basketball game in the winter, and for the past 10 years i cant sweat in the late fall all winter and tell it gets hot enough in the spring (worst time) i have try all kinds on medicnes nothing really works. and for the post above i do have fillings

Hey Marc, it's interesting that your brother only recently developed CU since I believe most cases begin in their teens. Anyway, I have a feeling it might be the filling, I got CU like a month after my filling, but they might not be related. I'd hate to have to have someone remove them and for nothing to happen. Does your brother have fillings? And ty33, wow; It's insane that you've had CU for a decade, I think I just passed 2 years. I've tried some homeopathic stuff, but no results. When did you get your fillings, ty33?

Hey Duper! Actually I was almost 25 when I first noticed the CU. I might have had it longer but not as extreme. I think my family thought I was crazy and all of a sudden we are at the gym and the same look and itch and pain that i had on december 13th 2006, he had. Now they know its as bad as I said it was. I am trying homeopathic meds now and I am just trying to be optimistic. I have already spent over $2,000 with no success. I am thinking about accupunture, anybody try, good bad?? I just work out right through the pain now. I take a lot of vitamins, i go in the steam room, i run. It hurts like nothing has ever hurt but I deal with it, to get a little comfort after I sweat it out for a bit. Sometimes it stays even after I sweat. I am just hoping that it will go just like it came, all of a sudden!! Well if anybody, anybody at all has any advice, please help! I am desperate and have been for awhile now. Thanks for all the posts guys.

Insats,

I agree with you that the condition is triggered by our bodies trying to emit heat. However, there are times when I do a spontaneous type of exercise--for example running to catch a bus, or as another poster on this site mentioned, moving furniture--and my body heats up but I don't get this response.

What you're saying is interesting and I haven't thought about it fully yet. The hives are caused by trying to release the heat opposed to the heat itself. When I first noticed my condition it only occurred when I would heat up or sweat wearing short sleeve shirts. Wearing long sleeve shirts I when I heated up or started to sweat, my body would release the heat normally--without hives.

Similarly, one day about a year ago I was feeling supremely confident and somehow knew that the itchiness and subsequent hives would not appear if I worked out. Sure enough, after an hour playing squash, completely drenched in sweat, there was no sign of hives. This is the primary reason for my believing that the condition was initially triggered by a psychological cause.

My condition has gotten worse. I am extremely frustrated, Zyrtec doesn't work very well. My skin becomes itchy during almost any social situation. This is particularly distressing since I have many presentations coming up. I am going to see a homeopathic doctor once I get the time. I started taking some homeopathic medicines without the consultation of a homeopathic doctor and they began to work very well. Unfortunately I missed a couple dosages along the way and I got a couple breakouts in horrible situations--christmas cocktail parties. Will let you know how the homeopathic regimen works out.


-B

Duper, i have had metal fillings before that time in my baby teeth, and all after the baby teeth have been the non metal kind (dont know the name) about 5 years ago i got 1 big metal filling and nothing changed for the better or worse

Marc1010: Does the steam Room really help i have been thinking about try that one out?

Hi all.

just to update that my uc is up and down at the moment. sometimes i get a rash and all itchy now even when i dont get hot, i think its got something to do with my body trying to heat itself up when it is cold.

Another thing. Do any of you guys worry a lot? from an early age ive always worried more than other people, quite considerably. Is any1 going bald? or their hair thinning and has anyone ever tried any hair growth tonics?

I've definitely dealt with a lot of stress; but, I don't know if it's an excessive amount. I'm in my last year of high school, and it's really difficult trying to make it into a good college. I worry, but I don't think overly so. How much stress are you dealing with or worry about so that I can get an idea of what you're talking about?

I was playing basketball at the time so i was a little stress when i got it but not bad, im not a stressful guy, and after highschool i got a pretty laid back job so no real stress

Just some friendly advice. My goal is to cool my body temperature. Usually what I find to be semi-effective against a CU attack is to go in the bathroom and run my arms under cold water. Then I'll splash water on my forehead, back of neck and lower back and wherever else I can feel a tingle in an effort to simulate the skin sweating. (don't dry yourself) It may not be a sure-fire method on the first attempt and in some cases it takes 2-3 dousings, but it's better than try to ride out the storm in my opinion.

I also carry around a frozen water bottle in my backpack in situations where running water is not readily available. I usually rub the bottle on my arms or lower back to relieve the symptoms. I might get some weird looks but it's better than scratching like crazy.

I can't wait until the summer when my body lets me off the hook with just dermographism....