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My welts or itchy hives rash started appearing when I was in 8th grade. I was scratching my back and the nurse was checking students for MS. She checks me and asks me if my parents beat me!!! Also, during that year my friend slapped my arm with her whole hand and left the whole handprint on my arm. The print was there the whole period and I was stared at and pointed at.
The next year, when I was a freshman, people started noticing that I welted if I was scratched or flicked. The kid behind me, and the other kids around, thought that it was
funny when he would flick me in the back of my arm and it would welt. The welts or skin hives
burned and hurt, but it was funny to them so it didn’t matter that I told them to
stop. I always felt like I was weird because I have never known anyone to have
this condition, and until recently, I did not know that it was a disease and
others had it.
I always tried to explain to my nurse at the high school but she had no idea, so could not help me. My mom thinks that I am a hypochondriac, so she would never take me to a dermatologist. Even now, knowing that I have dermographism, I have to bribe her to come to a dermatologist so I can prove it to her.
Dermagraphism or this itchy hives rash is very uncomfortable and very embarrassing. I believe
that I have a severe case of it because of how ridiculous it gets. I take off a
sweater and my face breaks out in hives minutes later from where the neck of
the sweater rubbed. As weird as it is to say this, I cannot pop a pimple anywhere
except at my house, because of how embarrassing the welt is.
Geniveve – April 11, 2008
I first got this itchy hives rash and dermatographism in 2003 after having the rota virus (a
gastro virus). I had it quite severely I believe. The dermatographism was not really under control for the first few years and I tried several different medications until eventually it
was controlled by taking one Zyrtec a day.
Recently, I have switched to Polaramine, as I am trying to get pregnant and Zyrtec is not safe to take during pregnancy. I am not sure if this is related either, but I have recently
found out that I do not ovulate naturally and after doing some research on
Zyrtec, I found that it could effect ovulation! I was very annoyed that no
doctor has ever told me this, as I have asked several different doctors if
there were any problems with being on it long term and they all said NO!
Polaramine is not as good as the Zyrtec, but it is doing enough to stop me from
going crazy. Most days I am fine but on the odd occasion I get uncontrollably
itchy after water related things such as having a shower, shaving my legs,
going to the beach, going in a pool or the river, after which I have to take a
Zyrtec and ride it out for about 20 minutes until the tablet works. During that
time I feel like a mad woman and once the itchiness subsides I feel weak and
exhausted!
I am pretty nervous about my itchy hives rash and dermographism and pregnancy as I am not able to take polaramine during the third trimester, so I have no idea how I am going to survive. I have never been able to go more than a couple of days without the medication. I would love to hear from other people that have this annoying disorder and natural treatments you have found to work.
Erin – April 7, 2008
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