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Post by Salzmank on Jun 16, 2021 16:59:28 GMT
I might have posted something about this before; basically I’m just wondering if anyone else has heard of or experienced anything like what I’m describing.
In Feb. 2020 I got really sick for around two weeks. 103 fever, flulike symptoms, loss of taste, pneumonia. Was tested for flu three times, came back negative three times. Told it was most likely viral but treated with Z-Pak, just in case it was bacterial. Eventually fever broke, doctors no longer heard fluid in lungs, I felt better and went back to work.
The day after I went back, I started breaking out in purplish-reddish, extremely itchy hives all over my body. I was commuting by train at the time and would stand rather than sit next to anyone because my skin would basically turn purple. My doctor thought it might be a side effect of the Z-Pak and said it would go away.
Of course, then COVID-19 became a pandemic, and I was convinced that I’d had it. I was kind of hoping I had had it, in fact, both for immunity and to donate plasma for people who had it. In May 2020 I got the antibody test, which came back negative.
Fast-forward to now. I still get the hives almost every day, one year and four months later. They’re no longer on my entire body and are mostly appearing now on hands, feet, wrists, and ankles. Sometimes up my arms as well. The worst thing about them is not the bumps, not even the itchiness, but the prickliness that goes with them, as if someone is inserting cactus needles under my skin. They’re usually brought on by stress and the cold. By cold I don’t just mean cold weather, but also the air conditioning or a slightly chilly breeze on an otherwise warm day.
Been to multiple doctors. Currently seeing an allergist who confirmed they’re hives/urticaria but said, in spite of the cold thing, they’re not “cold urticaria” because I didn’t respond to an ice cube test.
Has anyone else had anything like this? Sort of just getting all this off my chest here—thanks to anyone who’s reading—and I’d appreciate any thoughts, especially if someone else has had or knows of something like this.
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Post by gameboy on Jun 16, 2021 17:22:19 GMT
Oh, I thought this was gonna be some arcane and occult bee thread. 
I've never had hives. But I do have sensitive skin which reacts to anything and everything.
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Post by Stammerhead on Jun 16, 2021 17:52:43 GMT
Oh, I thought this was gonna be some arcane and occult bee thread.
I've never had hives. But I do have sensitive skin which reacts to anything and everything.
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Post by Spitfire926f on Jun 16, 2021 18:26:02 GMT
I might have posted something about this before; basically I’m just wondering if anyone else has heard of or experienced anything like what I’m describing. In Feb. 2020 I got really sick for around two weeks. 103 fever, flulike symptoms, loss of taste, pneumonia. Was tested for flu three times, came back negative three times. Told it was most likely viral but treated with Z-Pak, just in case it was bacterial. Eventually fever broke, doctors no longer heard fluid in lungs, I felt better and went back to work. The day after I went back, I started breaking out in purplish-reddish, extremely itchy hives all over my body. I was commuting by train at the time and would stand rather than sit next to anyone because my skin would basically turn purple. My doctor thought it might be a side effect of the Z-Pak and said it would go away. Of course, then COVID-19 became a pandemic, and I was convinced that I’d had it. I was kind of hoping I had had it, in fact, both for immunity and to donate plasma for people who had it. In May 2020 I got the antibody test, which came back negative. Fast-forward to now. I still get the hives almost every day, one year and four months later. They’re no longer on my entire body and are mostly appearing now on hands, feet, wrists, and ankles. Sometimes up my arms as well. The worst thing about them is not the bumps, not even the itchiness, but the prickliness that goes with them, as if someone is inserting cactus needles under my skin. They’re usually brought on by stress and the cold. By cold I don’t just mean cold weather, but also the air conditioning or a slightly chilly breeze on an otherwise warm day. Been to multiple doctors. Currently seeing an allergist who confirmed they’re hives/urticaria but said, in spite of the cold thing, they’re not “cold urticaria” because I didn’t respond to an ice cube test. Has anyone else had anything like this? Sort of just getting all this off my chest here—thanks to anyone who’s reading—and I’d appreciate any thoughts, especially if someone else has had or knows of something like this. I occasionally get stress hives, but nothing like you are describing. Do antihistamines like Benadryl and Claritin do anything to them (and I assume you've tried them under a doctor's direction already)? Steroid creams like hydrocortisone? Don't take anything over the counter without talking to your doctor first, but I'm just curious if they've responded to anything you've tried. Hopefully your allergist figures it out. Allergies can develop at anytime to just about anything. It has to be nerve-wracking not knowing the cause! |
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Post by Salzmank on Jun 16, 2021 18:40:48 GMT
I occasionally get stress hives, but nothing like you are describing. Do antihistamines like Benadryl and Claritin do anything to them (and I assume you've tried them under a doctor's direction already)? Steroid creams like hydrocortisone? Don't take anything over the counter without talking to your doctor first, but I'm just curious if they've responded to anything you've tried. Hopefully your allergist figures it out. Allergies can develop at anytime to just about anything. It has to be nerve-wracking not knowing the cause! Hey, thanks, Marilyn! Yeah, so far Benadryl and Claritin haven’t worked for them… Allegra’s been working for my regular seasonal allergies, but not for the hives. I’ve tried hydrocortisone, but not in a while… Let me ask the allergist the next time I see her. Thanks again!
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Post by Salzmank on Jun 16, 2021 18:41:18 GMT
Oh, I thought this was gonna be some arcane and occult bee thread.
I've never had hives. But I do have sensitive skin which reacts to anything and everything. Alas, no occult bees as far as I know!
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Post by gameboy on Jun 16, 2021 20:18:33 GMT
Oh, I thought this was gonna be some arcane and occult bee thread.
I've never had hives. But I do have sensitive skin which reacts to anything and everything.
Hmm, Nic Cage's head in a cage. 
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Post by Spooky Ghost Ackbar on Jun 18, 2021 18:10:14 GMT
Hey Salz. Sorry to hear that you are still suffering from this. That really sucks. I hope it finally goes away.
I know I probably said this before when you posted about this but -despite the negative test- the loss of taste and February date really sounds like COVID to me.
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Post by Salzmank on Jun 18, 2021 18:35:35 GMT
Hey Salz. Sorry to hear that you are still suffering from this. That really sucks. I hope it finally goes away. I know I probably said this before when you posted about this but -despite the negative test- the loss of taste and February date really sounds like COVID to me. Thanks, Ack! Yeah, I’ve always felt like it was COVID too. Not that it really matters this far out, except for me wondering if I have natural immunity. The best explanation I’ve gotten for the hives was from a dermatologist who said they could be caused by my body’s immune response to lipid cells from the February virus that stuck around in my body. Most of the doctors I’ve seen haven’t given me any explanations.
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Post by Spooky Ghost Ackbar on Jun 18, 2021 19:50:34 GMT
Hey Salz. Sorry to hear that you are still suffering from this. That really sucks. I hope it finally goes away. I know I probably said this before when you posted about this but -despite the negative test- the loss of taste and February date really sounds like COVID to me. Thanks, Ack! Yeah, I’ve always felt like it was COVID too. Not that it really matters this far out, except for me wondering if I have natural immunity. The best explanation I’ve gotten for the hives was from a dermatologist who said they could be caused by my body’s immune response to lipid cells from the February virus that stuck around in my body. Most of the doctors I’ve seen haven’t given me any explanations. I might have mentioned this too before, but stress can definitely cause hives as well.
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Post by divtal on Jun 18, 2021 22:06:09 GMT
I'm from the leading edge of the "Baby Boom," so I'm no kid. In 2000, I began experiencing an itchy breakout of welts on my lower arms and legs. It was a mild irritant, at first, but developed into a serious situation with edema, at my ankles and elbows. I went to the University of California Medical Center, in San Francisco, and was diagnosed with probable exposure to Poison Ivy/Poison Oak. I couldn't quite accept that, as I've not changed my essential life-style in decades, and the most "wilderness," I see is Golden Gate Park, and the Presidio. However, they did put me on a short (12 day) schedule of Prednisone. Prednisone is taken incrementally, from one pill, to the level that the physician considers to be appropriate ... then eased, decramentally, back to one pill. It worked to ease the serious discomfort. Later, when I returned to my membership of Kaiser Permanente, I was re-diagnosed with recurring Exzema. The serious "episodes," occur every 3 years, or so. And, the mercifully brief program of Prednisone is effective. For mild irritations ... mostly on the backs of my hands, and around my ankles ... I use the RX "Betamethasone Valerate," ointment. It works very well. (Note: I think that Betamethasone is the same drug that is said to have been found in the horse that won the Kentucky Derby. I've never run the Kentucky Derby, so I can't attest to it's physical empowerment, on that front. But my brother says that these steroids should improve my batting average.  ) |
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Post by Salzmank on Jun 20, 2021 14:35:12 GMT
Thanks, Ack! Yeah, I’ve always felt like it was COVID too. Not that it really matters this far out, except for me wondering if I have natural immunity. The best explanation I’ve gotten for the hives was from a dermatologist who said they could be caused by my body’s immune response to lipid cells from the February virus that stuck around in my body. Most of the doctors I’ve seen haven’t given me any explanations. I might have mentioned this too before, but stress can definitely cause hives as well. Oh, and they’re definitely stress-induced, as well as cold-induced. It’s just so weird to me that they started right after mystery virus.
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Post by Salzmank on Jun 20, 2021 14:36:44 GMT
I'm from the leading edge of the "Baby Boom," so I'm no kid. In 2000, I began experiencing an itchy breakout of welts on my lower arms and legs. It was a mild irritant, at first, but developed into a serious situation with edema, at my ankles and elbows. I went to the University of California Medical Center, in San Francisco, and was diagnosed with probable exposure to Poison Ivy/Poison Oak. I couldn't quite accept that, as I've not changed my essential life-style in decades, and the most "wilderness," I see is Golden Gate Park, and the Presidio. However, they did put me on a short (12 day) schedule of Prednisone. Prednisone is taken incrementally, from one pill, to the level that the physician considers to be appropriate ... then eased, decramentally, back to one pill. It worked to ease the serious discomfort. Later, when I returned to my membership of Kaiser Permanente, I was re-diagnosed with recurring Exzema. The serious "episodes," occur every 3 years, or so. And, the mercifully brief program of Prednisone is effective. For mild irritations ... mostly on the backs of my hands, and around my ankles ... I use the RX "Betamethasone Valerate," ointment. It works very well. (Note: I think that Betamethasone is the same drug that is said to have been found in the horse that won the Kentucky Derby. I've never run the Kentucky Derby, so I can't attest to it's physical empowerment, on that front. But my brother says that these steroids should improve my batting average. ) Interesting. While this is my first time with hives, I do have eczema, for which the doctor gave me a cream.
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Post by Nora on Jun 20, 2021 15:01:37 GMT
Hey Salz. Sorry to hear that you are still suffering from this. That really sucks. I hope it finally goes away. I know I probably said this before when you posted about this but -despite the negative test- the loss of taste and February date really sounds like COVID to me. Thanks, Ack! Yeah, I’ve always felt like it was COVID too. Not that it really matters this far out, except for me wondering if I have natural immunity. The best explanation I’ve gotten for the hives was from a dermatologist who said they could be caused by my body’s immune response to lipid cells from the February virus that stuck around in my body. Most of the doctors I’ve seen haven’t given me any explanations. I had a positive covid test and negative covid antibody test (both retested to verify). I also got vaccinated but didnt develop antibodies even after the vaccine... Who knows how all of this works. What you desecibed really does sound like you had Covid. I dont have any experience with hives so all I can say is to wish you best of luck and less stress overall. |
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