SKIN WRITING OR DERMATOGRAPHISM BLOG

I found out today that I have Dermagraphism or skin writing disease. I have been trying for four months to figure out why my whole body was breaking out in hives. I thought it was a food allergy because it came every time after I ate. So, I thought I was allergic to MSG. I had the allergy tests done on my back today and I am allergic to some foods, but that wasn't what was causing it. My hives were constant unless I took a Zyrtec pill, which works great. The doctor diagnosed me with skin writing hives (dermagraphism) and I was registered because it is such a rare disease. Only 2-5% of the world has it. I want to thank you for making this site. I don't feel so much like a loner.

Niki – November 23, 2007

My 22-month-old granddaughter has recently been diagnosed with skin writing disease or dermographism by her pediatrician. Her parents noticed that all of sudden, out of the blue, whenever they touched her body, she developed redness under the skin. However, she does not have any welts, hives, or itchiness, just the redness under the skin. She is not uncomfortable at all. They could not think of anything new in her diet or her environment. I am wondering if this is a correct diagnosis since she is not experiencing all of the symptoms. Can a person have this skin writing disease and experience different levels of symptoms and their severity?

Frances – November 20, 2007

The first time I noticed my hives in Oct of 05, I did not think too much of it. I thought maybe I had eaten something or used some laundry detergent that caused it until the hives kept happening. I have been to the emergency room numerous times and all they give me is Claritin or Benadryl. One time, I was in training in New Mexico to go to Iraq and had to be rushed to the emergency room because I was covered in hives head to toe and I had a fever of 103 degrees F. After this incident, I did not see the hives until last month. I plan to make an appointment, but from the blogs I see it looks like I am going to be wasting my time. This skin condition is very miserable to have. Claritin and Benadryl temporarily help, but the skin writing problem always comes back.

Tonya – November 18, 2007

I am now 48 and first noticed this skin writing condition when I was a teenager. I would get huge hives or welts on my thighs. The first time it happened we thought a spider might have bitten me because the welt was about 6 inches by 10 inches in size and was raised up very high. Over time, it got to where it was continuous. It would happened when I got in the bath or shower. I would get small mosquito bite looking bumps. It would happen if I changed clothes and got cold. I would itch like crazy and then when I scratched, my whole leg would become one size all the way down and be very hot and stiff.

Sometimes I would use a hairbrush to scratch my skin because it got so bad. My kids, when they were little, would write their name on my leg and watch their name grow. They thought it was funny and would show it to their friends. I do not like to complain to doctors, so I just went on about my business - scratching and putting up with the hives all the time.

Finally, my husband said I should talk to my doctor about it. He said it was the worst case of skin writing or dermatographism he had ever seen when he made an X on my back. He said he wished that he had a camera. He put me on Zyrtec and it has been a lifesaver. I did not realize how bad I felt until I felt better! If I miss a day, I can hardly stand it now. Sometimes my doctor is slow to call in my refill and I think I am going to go crazy on the days I am without it.

I still have some itching, but nothing like the hives and welts without the Zyrtec. I get small blister like things on my wrists. Before I realize what I have done, I will scratch them and they make a sore. They also leave a little scar each time. I have a lot of little dotted scars on my arms. Sometimes the same thing will happen on my ankles. Until the doctor told me it was a something real, I just thought it was the way I was and went on about my business. When I started looking at the internet about skin writing disease, I was amazed that other people actually have this too.

Pam – Novermber 1, 2007

Just this year I was diagnosed with Dermatographism or skin writing disease. For almost half a year, my family doctor just thought I had sensitive skin, which is true. I always have had sensitive skin, but he would not believe me when I said how bad the itching had gotten. I never had the breakouts and hives when I scratched and never felt itching like this before. Yet he just kept telling me to use a humidifier, creams and drink water.

Obviously it didn't work and so I persisted and finally got Apo-Hydroxizine. It does help. I can tell the difference after a couple of days being off of it. My skin definitely gets itchy, but I'm still lost as to what simple and normal tasks I should do now.

One of the biggest things is shaving. Should I shave? Wax? What irritates the skin less? Scraping a metal blade against your leg, or ripping the hairs and probably skin along with it?

I'm glad I found this site though, I've been looking for others dealing with this because I'm really alone in my home with this problem.

Shazz - October 22, 2007

I suffer from chronic urticaria and hives after spending 33 years without any allergies or specific skin sensitivities. It started eight months ago, so innocently that I didn't even realize it was there. Anyways, to cut a long story short, after a very stressful few months, with family trauma, not having a job and my niece being rushed to intensive care, last Easter I managed to catch an awful virus that left me lying in a bed and not moving for 24 hours. Eating, drinking or even laying on my side caused me to be violently sick.

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. 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 hives, 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 itching, 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 condition you know you'll try anything to break the cycle.

Two months later and - touchwood – I don't have any urticaria or hives 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 hives 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

I am a 23 year old female and have developed dermographism or skin writing over the past summer months. I can tell you that at the very beginning I thought the hives were mosquito bites, but as the skin writing or dermatographism progressed and became worse during the summer I new that something was not quite right.

I went to my doctor and he suggested an allergy specialist, which involved a long wait until September. Meanwhile, I was popping Reactine like it was candy.

I finally went to the allergist and he informed me that I had dermographism or skin writing disease, which made no sense to me. When someone has been suffering with something like this for over two months they don't take it too well when they are told they have no idea what it is or there may never be a cure, terrific! This allergist actually suggested taking over four Reactine a day! The maximum to consume in one day is one or two according to the packaging.

I found out through this website about noni juice and have been taking some of it over this past month and I don't believe it is quite working for me. I am quite stressed out because some nights I can barely sleep because of the itching sensation. I want to go under more tests to see if I can be diagnosed as I am one determined individual to get to the bottom of my dermographism or skin writing.

Wish me luck!

Gemma – October 10, 2007

I am all right with this hives and dermatographism or skin writing condition I guess. I have not much of a choice. I have lived with this skin writing condition or dermatographism since I was nine years old and now I am 15. I have been through most of puberty with this skin problem and I have really hated it. What I dread the most about the hives is that I do not know when they will go away. I hate it when I have to explain to other people what it is that I have and so I just ignore them. It has impacted my life. People act differently around me because they think I am contagious, even though I tell them many times I am not. I just want this skin writing condition gone. It can be very depressing.

Lucy – October 1, 2007

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