Dermatographism and the Hives – Reader's Blog

Dermatographism or physical urticaria is a skin condition that produces raised hives, a rash, or welts on the skin. These welts usually appear as a result of friction or pressure applied to the skin. In many cases, the condition can be controlled somewhat. Treatments usually involve an assortment of prescription and non-prescription antihistamines.

However, there is no cure for this skin condition. In addition, determining an exact cause for this skin problem is also extremely difficult. Therefore, dealing with dermatographism and the raised hives is very problematic for individuals and their doctors.

One method that can be used to help individuals that suffer from dermatographism or hives is to read other people’s experiences. The purpose of this web page is to provide individuals with other people’s personal experiences with this skin or hives problem and to examine the questions that individuals commonly have with regards to dermatograhism and the hives caused by this condition. Various individuals, doctors, and other experts in the field provide answers for these questions.

Keep in mind that the information on dermatographism and hives provided below is for information purposes only. It forms part of an overall treatment plan for the hives that should include consultations with a dermatologist.

Try acupuncture or cupping. I have a story just like yours in many respects. I will start cupping and acupuncture next week. I really believe that the cause of this skin disease is a high level of toxins in the body trying to find a way out. Another sufferer of this disease also feels the same. Although doctors have told me that cupping will not help, I will give it a try. I think I am more informed about my disease than any doctor in the world that does not have dermographism. A few sufferers have tried acupuncture and have experienced great improvement.

The thing that bothers me the most about this hives disease is not the welts or other physical skin changes, but rather the pain that makes me dysfunctional. My skin can welt all it wants, at this point, I do not care. I just want to be able to sleep at night and stop loosing hair. By the way, one symptom I have that you did not mention is loosing a lot of hair. I loose hair from the head the most, not so much the beard though. Hair sheds from the follicles like crazy. I am going nuts! Anyway, I hope some of my comments are helpful to others.

Yassir – June 6, 2009

I have had extremely similar symptoms for at least seven years. It is completely controlled by Zyrtec (if I'm not mistaken, that is the marketing name in the US for Cetirizine Hydrochloride) but returns the instant Zyrtec fully clears my system (about 18 hours).

I have not tried any alternative treatments, finding the daily pill to be minimally intrusive.

Rick – June 6, 2009

Hi.

Just thought I would drop a line for those who can't stop itching. It has been 10 months now with constant hives and skin writing ability. I've had a life-long autoimmune issue and the doctors think this new skin issue is related. I take Doxepin and without it I think I would have gone nuts. It does not cure the hives or skin writing but the itch is much much better. Side effect...I gained 23 lbs, but the choice for me is clear. I want to stop itching and so I take the darn medication and deal with the weight gain.

Talk to your doctor about Doxepin. It is a strong sedative but it has been controlling the itch for me.

Amy – June 1, 2009

I have been dealing with my extremely itchy, welted, burning skin for a little over a year now. I was unaware of what it was until I came upon this website and read everyone's blogs describing my exact, ongoing problem. I'M NOT CRAZY! This last year has been complete hell for me. No one understood how miserable I was. My entire body would itch like crazy and then I would be left with my whole body covered in welts. I thought it was just an allergic reaction to something at work (hair salon) or my laundry detergent, so because I am not willing to change my career path, I decided to switch to the most gentle detergent and in doing so, I was a little better. After a short period of time, I would constantly have itch-attacks that would drive me NUTS!

Last night, as I was on here reading about everyone's stories, it was a huge relief that I wasn't the only one. No one else understands how it made me feel. I honestly believe that I was becoming depressed, especially knowing that there isn't a cure. I felt like my itchiness was absolute torture! It was sooo unbearable.

I don't have health insurance, so I have not been seen by any dermatologist, but I know that dermographism is exactly what I have. A few people posted blogs about antihistamines that their dermatologist recommended and I noticed that Zyrtec worked for a good amount of people, so I bought Zyrtec 24 hour and took it before bed, so that the drowsiness would never affect me and today has been the first day in over a year that I've felt completely normal! I pray that it continues to work for me. I can not exaggerate how much I appreciate this one day of being itch/welt free.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post their stories. They have been so helpful.

Danielle – May 28, 2009

I think that I also have dermographism hives. It started on my back and almost everyday I scratched it. I even asked my hubby to scratch it for me because it was so itchy. If you scratch my skin, it turns red and raised but after a while it disappears. I guess mine is not as bad as some of you guys, because I can still apply lipstick, make-up, and other things, but what if it gets worse? I am scared!

Suumae – May 20, 2009

It has been 2-3 months that I have been suffering from this itchiness and red patches on my legs, particularly the lower legs. It leaves markings/blemishes after a few days of scratching. The itchiness comes and goes and now my legs look horrible! Can someone tell me what this is?

Jas – May 13, 2009

I remember when I first got this in the 6th grade. I had no idea that you can get this out of nowhere and I thought that it was something you were born with. But yeah, it's been tough at times but I have learned to accept it and just try to avoid getting scratched. I would have to say that I have done a pretty decent job of it. I am thankful that it is something that I do have partial control over.

I still do not understand why I got this hives skin condition in the 6th grade, of all times. It is as if I was just living a normal life and then 'poof' this thing comes in out of nowhere. Oh well, I should be thankful that it is not life-threatening, I am sure there are plenty of people out there who have it worse.

I have never had an itching problem when it came to my dermographism. Usually, I'll accidentally scratch my skin, a bump will show up a minute later, and around 10-15 minutes later it disappears. And it was not itchy either.

Just yesterday though, I randomly broke out in what appears to be hives, from the images I have seen online. This has only happened to me once before, in the 9th grade. At that time I woke up, found all these red spots on my body, and I panicked, because I know it wasn't caused by my scratching. It went away after a day or two and I thought I had seen the last of it. Apparently not. They say it could be some form of allergy, but I have no idea what. Everything I have eaten, I have eaten before without problems. Could this be related to the dermographism I have? And it is weird too, because it does not itch for the most part, yet everywhere I have searched online says it does. Well, they said for the most part hives do itch, so I am probably an exception.

The only thing that concerns me is going to school with this. I had to show up to class in long-sleeves, because I'd hate for people to see my arms all covered in hives.

Anthony – May 11, 2009

My name is Jun Mark M. Jalipa. I am 16 year old. I live in the Philippines. It is hard for me to speak English.

At first, I did not know why I could write on my skin until I read the book "Physical Signs and General Medicines". There I saw images like what was occurring with my skin and I remember it being called "dermographism". I did not think about it much because I have almost lived with this hives condition my whole life, so I just enjoy living life even with dermographism.

That is all and thank you for your web site so I can share my experience.

Jun Mark – May 11, 2009

I am 29. Every time I went to the doctor to describe what was happening, it seemed my rash/hives would decide to go into hiding and the doctor would look at me like I was crazy. However, I knew the long red rash marks and hives on my face were not all in my head.

The doctor did try to help by first prescribing me an antibiotic, which didn't help and I was recently prescribed a cream for Eczema (which is also not working). I am about to go insane with frustration.

As I type, I have itching and raised red "scratch marks" on my right knee and also on my arm. It is bewildering but I am so glad to read the other submissions and know that I am not crazy. Unfortunately, because I am unable to take antihistamines, I do not know if that would work.

However, I was recently diagnosed with shingles (which causes a burning sensation on the skin and then blistering) and some of you have described symptoms similar to that of shingles. I wonder if the two could be related.

Jennifer – May 11, 2009

I have now found what I have by reading this story. I noticed when my second son was born that my skin would mark and raise really easy. I can write my name on my skin surface and it will stay raised for a long time. My boss said to me one day what are those red marks on your chest - my skin had been itching and I scratched, but I did not realize how it looked. This was very embarrassing. So, I went to the doctor and I came away from there feeling more embarrassed. My son is now nearly six and thanks to your story there is an explanation for my raised blotchy skin.

Last night someone at my sister’s house said, “What are those red marks on your arm?” I had just been sitting in the garden with my arms on the chair and my skin was raised and marked with the little pressure from the chair arm. It is still really embarrassing for people to notice this and I feel like crawling into a hole. I have not yet dealt with this embarrassing raised hives skin condition, but I am going to visit another doctor with some knowledge and get the treatment that I need. Thanks.

Samantha – May 6, 2009

Hi there. My son David was diagnosed with dermagraphism hives over a year ago but has only ever been given Piroton. He was 12 when he first started and now at 14 it has only gotten worse. He has been bullied a lot at school because of it. It has really affected him because something as simple as putting his hands in his pockets make his hands red and itchy, so he never wears jeans and I have recently sent him to school in black jogging bottoms as the school pants irritated him. The school rang me to complain and they excluded him from classes. When I went in to talk to them about his dermographism they just said they had never heard of it, so I had to get our doctor to write to them.

He deals with the raised hives on a day to day basis and as the weather gets warmer he gets worse and has to sleep with the window wide open which helps a lot.

Vikki – May 5, 2009

I am 14 and when I was 12 my skin would feel like something was crawling on me. My mom thought I had bed bugs so she bought me a new bed. Then summer arrived and the feeling went away but when school started back maybe in October my skin started to burn and itch very badly to the point where I would cry.

I then went to the hospital and they did not do anything. So summer came by again and it stopped. School started back and in October my skin did it all over again and it welts or hives up easily. When I get hit softly it even welts up and my skin burns and itches.

My mom washes my clothes with stuff you normally use for baby clothes and I have to use dove soap and keep my skin moist, so I put on lotion daily. Some people say it is allergies but I just want it to STOP!!

Jaslyn – April 29, 2009

I appreciate the info and now seeing what affects the dermographia hives for others will be helpful in maybe controlling mine a little better. I currently drink a lot of coffee everyday and never realized that it could be contributing to my problem. If that is the case, I will quit drinking coffee. My only questions are: what are the chances that eventually this will go away on its own? As I get older it will clear itself out of my system?

Dennis – April 27, 2009

I broke out with hives about two weeks ago and I have self-diagnosed myself with dermatographism. After having been prescribed a new oral contraceptive, which I have taken for about a month, I noticed welts/hives after I scratched myself. However I was itching prior to this though, so I don't know whether it is that or approaching menopause or I have an underlying problem. I have gum problems and a burning pain in my side which I am now getting tested for, along with numerous blood tests so this may show something up which could be causing my skin problems.

The Docs will not give me an allergy test, but may send me to a skin specialist.

Jayne – April 25, 2009

When I became pregnant with my third child, I noticed that each night before bed, my legs would itch uncontrollably. I would scratch and scratch and scratch and these red welts would appear. I never really mentioned it to my doctor until the last trimester and there really was nothing he could do. After giving birth, this hives condition got worse.

I finally went to the Emergency room because I felt like I was going to go crazy. The ER doctor put me on steroids and Allegra. This worked for a while and I got a referral to an allergist. I was tested for food allergies and the tests came back that I was allergic to almost everything. The allergist said that this could not be, so he wanted me to watch my sugar intake and see if that made a difference. It did, but only slightly. I also noticed I suffer more when I am close to my monthly cycle.

Finally, I saw another allergist that put me on Zyrtec and that controls the itching but not the hives. I can deal with the hives but the itching is unbearable.

I had a reaction to a dental anesthetic called mepivociane where my face swelled. I wonder if the dermatographism, since it is a histamine reaction, is the cause of the reaction I had to the dental anesthetic. I have been doing research and have found that there may be an underlying cause of dermatographism and I am hoping that if I do have a primary illness causing my condition, that it is discovered soon.

I feel like a freak and I just want to be normal. I hate the constant itching and hives. I wonder if I am going to have to take Zyrtec or some anti-histamine for the rest of my life.

Tiffany – April 25, 2009