Home remedies for itching/hives
elphie754
Posts: 7,574 Member
So I have hives and itching on the whole top part of my body due to an allergic reaction. Yes I have seen my doctor as well as an ER visit and was given a prescription for steroids. I was also told to continue taking Benadryl and hydroxizine. I have pretty much maxed out (maybe even taken way too much) the antihistamines today, yet still can't sleep due to the intense itching. I was wondering if anyone had some at home remedies that work for them tha they would be will to share. I absolutely cannot take an oatmeal bath or use products with oat due to allergies. I am also pregnant which limits things a bit as well.
Things I have already tried:
-hot and cold showers
-witch hazel
-pine tar soap
-Sarna
-regular lotion
-aloe Vera
Thanks in advance.
Things I have already tried:
-hot and cold showers
-witch hazel
-pine tar soap
-Sarna
-regular lotion
-aloe Vera
Thanks in advance.
0
Replies
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Hi Elphie,
Activated charcoal works sometimes. If you have any capsules of that on hand you can try two of them. It can be repeated with decent frequency (ever hour if needed) if it works for a short time.
This is not likely something you'll have on hand but you could get tomorrow. Homeopathic sulfur 30C and/or histaminium 30C will work really fast and really well. Remember to follow the rule to "only redose on return of symptoms." With homeopathy, more is NOT better. Our son got hives and itchy, bleeding eczema for years and these were the only things that would give him immediate relief. Homeopathy is completely safe in pregnancy. The one remedy that you'd have to be careful of is nowhere near what you would need for an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions stink. Sorry you're having to deal with this.2 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Hi Elphie,
Activated charcoal works sometimes. If you have any capsules of that on hand you can try two of them. It can be repeated with decent frequency (ever hour if needed) if it works for a short time.
This is not likely something you'll have on hand but you could get tomorrow. Homeopathic sulfur 30C and/or histaminium 30C will work really fast and really well. Remember to follow the rule to "only redose on return of symptoms." With homeopathy, more is NOT better. Our son got hives and itchy, bleeding eczema for years and these were the only things that would give him immediate relief. Homeopathy is completely safe in pregnancy. The one remedy that you'd have to be careful of is nowhere near what you would need for an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions stink. Sorry you're having to deal with this.
This may sounds dumb, but ingesting the activated charcoal or using it as a paste? I know few products that use it as an ingredient in their creams.
Will look for the other two tomorrow. I have a store nearby that sells tons of homeopathic products, so I'm sure they have it.0 -
You have my sympathies. I went through a terrible bout of hives over several weeks a couple years ago, until we determined that I was newly allergic to polyester, and my mattress pad was causing it.
The only thing that have me relief was insanely hot showers..not quite scalding hot, but holding the spray on the affected areas through intense pain as the mast cells released all their histamine. That bought about four hours of relief at a time. The discomfort in the very hot water was tremendous though.
I also got an anti itch lotion at the pharmacy. But mostly the showers were my only relief.
I hope you have identified and eliminated the source of your reaction. Best wishes!1 -
You have my sympathies. I went through a terrible bout of hives over several weeks a couple years ago, until we determined that I was newly allergic to polyester, and my mattress pad was causing it.
The only thing that have me relief was insanely hot showers..not quite scalding hot, but holding the spray on the affected areas through intense pain as the mast cells released all their histamine. That bought about four hours of relief at a time. The discomfort in the very hot water was tremendous though.
I also got an anti itch lotion at the pharmacy. But mostly the showers were my only relief.
I hope you have identified and eliminated the source of your reaction. Best wishes!
The insanely hot showers usually help, but only for about an hour or two. My fiancé thinks I'm insane because I have been taking hot showers every 2-3 hours lol.2 -
Tea tree oil may help. I find it useful for various skin problems.2
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Calamine lotion?
Doesn't help me at all, but apparently helps some.2 -
Thank you everyone. Right now doing a combo of the oral medication, topical steroids, witch hazel. It's taking some away, but I still feel like scratching my skin off:1
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oatmeal baths, and everest cream ( calamine lotion) like you use for poison ivy has always helped me.0
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as far as i know you should be avoiding both cold AND hot as they both release histamines. It may feel better at the time, but over the next half an hour or so your body will dump histamines into your system causing a serious lashback.
Here's what i recommend.
1.) Take some LUKE WARM shallow baths with some epsom salt in them. You can use a washcloth to gently tap the salty water over your skin allowing it to evaporate off. Better yet, fill your bath until it's only covering your legs with lukewarm water and add a cup of epsom salt and a cup of baking soda.
2.) Cover yourself in either calamine, aloe (FRESH), or vasoline.
3.) avoid drinking/eating anything between these extreme temps along with spicy foods, chocolate, or caffiene.
4.) continue the benadryl and steroids.
CHILL!
I know it can be miserable, i've dealt with this before. maybe what you've been doing has been making things worse.1 -
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Missed that, but also note she is taking very hot showers, while that may feel good and I know from my experience it does it actually makes it worse.0
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Baking soda- mix equal amounts water to baking soda to make a paste, apply and let sit until it dries. Rinse off.
It helped me with multiple poison ivy rash when other things didn't seem to help.
Cool water or ice was also temporarily helpful. Hot water felt good temporarily but made the itching worse after.2 -
If your allergy is by skin exposure then maybe a widespread coating of GlovesInABottle could help.
Hot showers, urea, hydrocortizone, and distraction also helps me.1 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Hi Elphie,
Activated charcoal works sometimes. If you have any capsules of that on hand you can try two of them. It can be repeated with decent frequency (ever hour if needed) if it works for a short time.
This is not likely something you'll have on hand but you could get tomorrow. Homeopathic sulfur 30C and/or histaminium 30C will work really fast and really well. Remember to follow the rule to "only redose on return of symptoms." With homeopathy, more is NOT better. Our son got hives and itchy, bleeding eczema for years and these were the only things that would give him immediate relief. Homeopathy is completely safe in pregnancy. The one remedy that you'd have to be careful of is nowhere near what you would need for an allergic reaction. Allergic reactions stink. Sorry you're having to deal with this.
This may sounds dumb, but ingesting the activated charcoal or using it as a paste? I know few products that use it as an ingredient in their creams.
Will look for the other two tomorrow. I have a store nearby that sells tons of homeopathic products, so I'm sure they have it.
Activated charcoal capsules. Sorry about not specifying that. Taking the capsules internally will often help pull down a histamine reaction. I second the epsoms salts too! I completely forgot about that. They will help pull one out of a reaction too sometimes.
Hope you get some relief today. Pregnant and itchy us no fun for sure.0 -
You could try something with a topical anesthetic in it, but I don't know if it is contraindicated for pregnancy. Look for sprays or creams that have lidocaine, benzocaine, etc. Americaine and Dermoplast are two I am familiar with. They stop the itching better than anything else I have tried.0
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Apple cider vinegar diluted in water and spray it on - but not if you've got anything that you've scratched open.
I also brew a tea (not for drinking!) with calendula, chapparal, comfrey, and chamomille. A local health store sold this to me as "skin tea". Brew it and put in the refrigerator. Then soak a washcloth in it and drape it over the body part for as long as it feels cool. Miraculous. I also keep this in a little spray bottle in the fridge at work for emergencies there.3 -
Be careful with Tea Tree Oil if you're already having an allergic reaction, since it can cause a skin reaction too. If you have access to essential oils, mix 2 drops of peppermint in a tablespoon of Cottonseed or Olive oil, then rub into the affected area. It helps with itching. Try looking on Pinterest too. Sometimes things you find there really truly are actually helpful.
Also - Calamine lotion, which I see has already been suggested. I hope you feel better, honey. I'm sorry you're feeling so itchy right now.0 -
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Oh Gawd you are having a rough go of it eh?!?!
Dilute vinegar, cold black tea and copious amounts of moisturiser maybe with aloe vera/vit E or whatever you can have on your skin due to your allergies.
Pregnancy itching was a bugger for me, I don't know if this is making yuor current situation worse...sadly it was a case of muddling through as best I could.
Feeling for you Elphie...take care and I hope you get some relief soon. XX K0 -
Have you gotten new foam mattresses, foam pillows or new sofas recently? I had a reaction to the flame retardants in some foam cushioning that give "off gas".0
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Cherimoose wrote: »Cherimoose wrote: »
I do see an allergist already and I know what I was exposed to.
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Lavender essential oil. I get eaten alive by mosquitos all summer and lavender essential oil helps so much.0
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Warm oatmeal and Epsom salt baths , baking soda made into a paste with water left all over area until dried then rinse off
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salembambi wrote: »Warm oatmeal and Epsom salt baths , baking soda made into a paste with water left all over area until dried then rinse off
Not trying to be rude, but people should really read the entire opening post before commenting.2 -
Cherimoose wrote: »
If you haven't used it, you probably have no room to make comment on it. Given its been our sole source of medical care for the last 7yrs, has been used extensively in my home for severe allergic reactions, completely healed my boy's bleeding disorder, is safe and inexpensive, I can tell her unequivocally that it works. There are millions that use it and know it works. If you understood h-pathy, you'd understand why double blind studies are hard to do with it. That said, there are a number of successful studies done recently, and more are on the agenda using the individual dosing of a remedy vs. a one size fits all dosing (b/c hpathy doesn't work on one size fits all they had to come up with a way to do double blind studies that fit within the individual dosing realm). The NCH website has links to both past and present studies.0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Cherimoose wrote: »
If you haven't used it, you probably have no room to make comment on it. Given its been our sole source of medical care for the last 7yrs, has been used extensively in my home for severe allergic reactions, completely healed my boy's bleeding disorder, is safe and inexpensive, I can tell her unequivocally that it works. There are millions that use it and know it works. If you understood h-pathy, you'd understand why double blind studies are hard to do with it. That said, there are a number of successful studies done recently, and more are on the agenda using the individual dosing of a remedy vs. a one size fits all dosing (b/c hpathy doesn't work on one size fits all they had to come up with a way to do double blind studies that fit within the individual dosing realm). The NCH website has links to both past and present studies.
Wow, that amazing that it helped your family so much.
As someone with a degree in science and working in the medical field, I believe both traditional medicine and homeopathy have their places. I kind of use a combination of both. I used essential oils for aches, pains, headache etc. if I can try something more natural to heal/take care of symptoms, I will. However, when those efforts have been exhausted and I don't seem to be getting better, I will turn to more traditional/western medicine.1 -
OP, every single one of the things you have tried and have been advised to try can and probably will make things worse if this is a diagnosed allergic reaction, and not a local one (e.g bite or touching a poisonous plant etc). I suffer from hives, and my allergy is triggered by severla things, one of them being heat, so not easy to avoid the triggers at all times. As I have found the hard way, and my dr has verified, anything applied on the skin in such cases, will make things worse and prolong the suffering. There are allergies where these things might help (with the exception of hot baths, this always will make things worse). But if you have hives, which are not a local reaction to touching e.g. something, everything else will just delay healing. Ideally, take the meds, wear as few clothes as possible and these only pure cotton, and wait. If you had skipped the hot showers, despite the temporary relief, you would have been symptom free by now.0
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OP, every single one of the things you have tried and have been advised to try can and probably will make things worse if this is a diagnosed allergic reaction, and not a local one (e.g bite or touching a poisonous plant etc). I suffer from hives, and my allergy is triggered by severla things, one of them being heat, so not easy to avoid the triggers at all times. As I have found the hard way, and my dr has verified, anything applied on the skin in such cases, will make things worse and prolong the suffering. There are allergies where these things might help (with the exception of hot baths, this always will make things worse). But if you have hives, which are not a local reaction to touching e.g. something, everything else will just delay healing. Ideally, take the meds, wear as few clothes as possible and these only pure cotton, and wait. If you had skipped the hot showers, despite the temporary relief, you would have been symptom free by now.
No I wouldn't have been symptom free by now. Anytime I have a reaction the hives and itching last for at least a week or more. My allergist has cleared everything that I have tried that has helped me in the past. I'm sorry to hear that those things don't help you, but for the most part they have made reactions bareable for me. Just because they don't work for you/make you worse does not mean that is true for everyone.
When ever I have a reaction, my allergist always treats the systemic reaction with medication and also treats the skin symptoms. So no, it doesn't delay healing for me.0 -
I've heard turmeric made into a paste and applied can work wonders. However it can also cause an allergic reaction so use with trepidation.0
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I write to say.. i'm sorry you are suffering and so uncomfortable. take your advice from the folks who've had severe itching before.. It could be a case were less is more. my thought.. is I hope your doctor might allow you to take a sleeping aid so you could sleep for 8 or nine hours while hoping for the itching to subside.1
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