ITCHY BUMPS

Finally, waking from a fitful sleep, I realised that I didn't feel sick anymore, threw back the covers and found my whole body was entirely covered in what I now know is urticaria or hives or itchy bumps. My skin looked completely deformed. The doctor immediately recognised it and gave me steroids for four days. After that I had it every couple of days, and took antihistamines constantly. I kept a food diary in the vain hope of finding the cause.

Three months later it was every day, all day, and some days I woke with my face and throat swollen. The doctor referred me to a specialist that took the usual blood tests, which were of course negative. The specialist inferred that I was wasting his time and told me to take two Claritin a day and if necessary a Benadryl at night. To make matters more frustrating, one of my local hospitals actually has an allergy clinic that deals specifically with urticaria and itchy bumps, but I was told by my doctor (who I think was doing his best) that my condition needed to be life threatening to be referred. I was also waking up and spending several minutes before I got dressed, coating myself in anti-itch cream, which as you all probably know doesn't really help anyways, but it makes you feel better for a few minutes! Fortunately, despite the uncontrollable itchy bumps, I very very rarely let myself scratch it, finding out early on that this only made matters a whole lot worse.

Anyways, nearly 6 months in and I felt like conventional medicine had failed me. I also didn't want to spend the rest of my life taking antihistamines, one 24 hr pill was fine, but two left me too dopey to feel safe driving. The specialist was only telling me everything which I had already found out from my own research on the Internet, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and try everything. I considered my first two options to be either a private allergy clinic or homeopathy.

My own research had shown me that if chronic urticaria does have a cause it is most usually linked to additives, so I tried very hard to cut out as many artificial additives as possible. I also figured that reducing my intake of histamine might help. So I researched histamine high foods and avoided them, and I cut out ALL artificial additives in my food. This is not easy, and it means making everything yourself. After a while, I discovered certain things - like shortbread - that I could have as treats. Apple juice and water were my only permitted drink. I also started going to a homeopath and stopped taking the pill just in case that had any effect. If you have this itchy bumps condition you know you'll try anything to break the cycle.

Two months later and - touchwood – I don't have any urticaria or itchy bumps most days. If I have anything it's a minute fleck, which doesn't itch and goes after a few hours. I am still taking Claritin once a day, and I haven't started the pill again, but I will do so in the next few weeks. I took two homeopathic remedies specifically prescribed for me - sulphur for the first month and phosphorous for the second. I wouldn't suggest that anyone else tries these without asking a homeopath if they're best for them.

My plan now is to continue on the additive free route as much as possible. I now allow myself the odd glass of wine with plenty of water, and I do eat out, but I always scan the menu for the thing most likely to have been homemade! I never eat Indian or Chinese just in case. If my symptoms continue to stay down, in a month, I'm going to try alternating the anti-histamine to every other day, and try a homeopathic remedy - apis - on the other day, in the hope that I can wean myself onto apis then a month after that hopefully stop taking that.

We'll see, it's still pretty early, but I thought it was worth sharing my story with you all. I know that it could just be luck that my urticaria or itchy bumps seem to have gone. It might have nothing to do with stopping taking the pill, going to a homeopath, or avoiding additives. The bottom line is I really don't care why it's gone, but I know how desperate this skin writing condition makes you, try cutting out additives - it can't do any harm.

Bex – October 20, 2007