What are the causes for Hives?

[adrimed87]

Hello,
I was wondering if anybody has experienced the same allergy as I get. I started breaking out when I eat fast food like McDonalds, Burger King, etc. But yesterday I went out for a jog and I became agitated which caused the hives. I quickly had to get Benadrly and that seems to settle it after 20 min. I've been to an allergy specialist and he said it was dust mites, but I don't see where those come into play. Hopefully someone who's experienced this can give me ideas or advise as to what I could do to prevent this? should I go to another specialist? or just stop doing these things? thank you. Any advise is welcomed and appreciated.

[JoyceF]

Oh boy....I'm so into learning about health these days and have been learning about how our diets, particularly fast food and eating all those things that we really were not meant to be is what is fouling us up big time. The first thing is that the good and bad gut bacteria start to get out of balance and the bad bacteria start to eat away at the intentines. This comes from fast food and such. Anyway, this leads to something called "leaky gut syndrome" that allows food to get into the bloodstream. This is how we start to experience all sorts of allergic type reactions. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right but if this is a big concern of yours, you might get informed about all the alternative health things out there. A good book to read might be "The Ph Miracle" by Robert Young or "The Coconut Oil Miracle" by Bruce Fife. I'm currently reading "Power Aging" by Gary Null....very interesting. Anyway, you'll be surprised to learn just what is going on in our bodies and what causes so many of our ills.

[WildChild]

Take a look at the The Yeast Connection, to learn more about the leaky gut thing.

Hives can be caused by different things for different people at different times. My son got hives once from pine tree sap, they were as big as the palm of my hand. My daughter has also gotten hives from tree sap. I've gotten them from detergents, perfumey stuff and several other sources. Hives can be very serious, they can form inside the body as well as outside and can kill you. My last serious problem with hives I had to take 24 hr Claratin very 12 hours along with Zyrtec every 24 hours and Benedryl every 2 hours. The alternative was hospitalization. Oddly enough, I didn't feel doped up at all.

When they are first coming on, get out of what you are wearing in case it has something in it that is the cause. Take a shower and use a soap such as Pure and Natural or Neutragena, put on clean clothes that have been laundered in scent and dye free detergent and start on Benadryl immediately. People who are prone to hives should avoid contact with irritating, perfumed detergents, dryer products, soaps and the like. If you can identify your triggers it really helps, but it isn't always consistant, expose to one thing can start the sensitivity but then a full reaction may not occur until you are exposed to something else irritating. Stress can cause hives in some people or increase the likelihood of a reaction.

[North_of_Border]

Hives can also be caused by food allergies. Did you allergist test you for those?

As far as I know both McDonald's and Burger King use soy ingredients in their food. A soy allergy can cause hives among other symptoms.

Take note of what you ate and/or what medications you took whenever it happens again (let's hope it doesn't). Look over your list from time to time and see if anything stands out.

My mother found out that she got hives (as a child) when she ate strawberries.

By the way, hives can also be an allergic reaction to insect bites.

All this said, I'm not a doctor so your physician's advice is always the best.

[tropicalgrl1]

I have gotten hives from drinking wine...stress also played a part in it too I believe. I simply stopped drinking wine for a while and let my body cleanse itself out. Drank hot water and lemon or hot water and apple cider vinegar in the am and evening. The hives went away which also seemed to coincide with losing my now ex boss....so hmmm yes stress can play a huge part I believe.

I also belive that fast foods are the devil to your body and linked to a host of health issues like diabetes, obestity, constipation, acid stomach and acid reflux. If you must eat on a very rare ocassion but they should never take the place of whole healthful food.

When my hives were at their worst, I took a benadryl at night before bed at my doctors orders and just waited it out. They went away eventually. I do sympathize as they were very uncomfortable.

[WildChild]

Most wines are treated with the same chemicals put on salad bars to slow wilting. I can't remember what it is called right now but I react to it occsionally too.

[SorridLives]

Hives are often from allergic reactions, although I also get them from nervousness.
Someone mentioned chemicals in wine. Preservatives called sulfites are in wine and can cause allergy reactions.

[WildChild]

That's it! I couldn't remember the other day. Sulfites. My daughter has reacted to them from a salad bar and some wines make me flushed with just a few sips, they are probably higher in sulfites that soem others.

[SorridLives]

That's it! I couldn't remember the other day. Sulfites. My daughter has reacted to them from a salad bar and some wines make me flushed with just a few sips, they are probably higher in sulfites that soem others.

Yes....some red wines are especially loaded with them....and shellfish.

[MansView]

Oh boy....I'm so into learning about health these days and have been learning about how our diets, particularly fast food and eating all those things that we really were not meant to be is what is fouling us up big time. The first thing is that the good and bad gut bacteria start to get out of balance and the bad bacteria start to eat away at the intentines. This comes from fast food and such. Anyway, this leads to something called "leaky gut syndrome" that allows food to get into the bloodstream. This is how we start to experience all sorts of allergic type reactions. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it right but if this is a big concern of yours, you might get informed about all the alternative health things out there. A good book to read might be "The Ph Miracle" by Robert Young or "The Coconut Oil Miracle" by Bruce Fife. I'm currently reading "Power Aging" by Gary Null....very interesting. Anyway, you'll be surprised to learn just what is going on in our bodies and what causes so many of our ills.

I have to agree with Joyce on this. I began suffering from hives in February, i was laying on the couch watching tv and all of a sudden -BAM!- my face, neck, shoulders, back and stomach were covered in huge patches of hives. I took an antihystemine that my dad gave me (he's allergic to peanuts) and it had no reaction. He gave me a second one and still no reaction. The only thing that works for me is 24hr claratyne.

It was really beginning to bug me so i began making a diary of all the times i got hives, what i was doing and/or what i was eating. The ironic thing was that no one food/activity was a culprit in causing hives. I could have mcdonalds one day and be fine, but then have it again 3 or 4 days later and i would break out. My hives were inconsistent, irregular and random. If i thought something caused hives, i removed it from my diet. Funnily enough i removed almost everything except oxygen and i still got hives, i could even add those things back in and i didn't get hives!

I did a bit of reading and came to the conclusion i have leaky gut syndrome, or at least an overgrowth of candida in my GI tract. I tested this by following a low carb, high protein diet (with little or no sugar) for two weeks and then followed it up with two weeks of the opposite. Guess what? My hives were worse in the two weeks of high carb intake but i still suffered in the first two weeks on odd occasions although not as severe.

I went and saw a naturopath and they put me on all these herbal treatments that had little effect. I figured my case was too far gone for herbal remedies so i put my case forward to a doctor. He dismissed my claims and told me i was wrong. A**hole! I subsequently got a second opinion and same again i was dismissed. I got a third opinion and demanded treatment for candida overgrowth. I was given a subscription for Nilstat, an oral anti-fungal medication. The script only lasted about 8 days and i had no repeats. Those 8 days were bliss! Not one case of hives and some other problems i had which i thought were unrelated began to clear up (chronic sinusitus, morning drips, constant headaches and pressure in my head, constipation and diarrhaea among other things). I had my second appointment with the doctor and she said "You're cured! You don't need medication, just a proper diet" mind you she recommended a diet that actually adds to the problems of candida overgrowth.

Since stopping the medication and slowly phasing my diet back to what it was before hives (i'm pretty healthy, eat plenty of fruit and veg and only eat takeaway once or twice a week) and my hives have started coming back. Since found out Nilstat needs to be taken for 8-12 weeks for it to be completely effective.

I had a pretty intense holiday period leading up to this. Lots of alcohol, plenty of sex, little sleep and poor quality food so i'm 99.9999999999% certain i know what my problem is and what treatment i need for it... i just wish doctors weren't so full of themselves and would, for once, think outside of the square they live in. I'm still looking for a good doctor, one that doesn't think he/she is second only to god.

sorry for the long post