Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Hi Miki, My daughter had that rash during the last part of her pregnancy too, but it did go away after the birth of her son. The itching was almost unbearable. Can you describe your rash? Does it itch? Does it come and go or remain in a certain spot? Does anything help relieve it? Hugs, Elaine in IN _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 Hi Miki, I am certainly not a doctor, but I wanted to make a comment. Scratch tests can be unreliable on people with physical urticarias. Most of us have sensitive skin anyway, due to the excess histamine we carry around with us. Personally, I have dermagraphism, if you drag a fingernail across my skin, it will turn bright red within a few minutes. My allergist told me that I would never be able to have any kind of scratch testing done because I would give a false positive to everything. Have you considered RAST testing, that is where they draw blood and test it for allergies. You do not have to stop taking your antihistamines either. My doc also said that allergy shots are a big NO-NO. Allergy shots make CU worse and can even cause severe reactions. Avoidance and antihistamines are the preffered treatment for CU when other causes cannot be found. I have also tried the " super " cleaning thing. I switched laundry detergents to " All Free & Clear " , no dyes, no perfumes, also bought the more expensive furnace filters that catch a lot more of the dust in the air. I buy new bed pillows every year and throw the old ones away, I buy the hepa-type vacuum cleaner bags to trap more of the dust that " escapes " thru the bag, etc..etc.. I am sure all of this helps, I am certainly no worse for doing it, but I have not seen any drastic improvements, except maybe that I don't have to dust as often and fewer stuffy noses. The cleaning is a good idea, but be wary of spending lots of money on things like ionizers and expensive vacuum cleaning systems. Others may disagree with me, but my personal opinion is to not spend lots of money, make the simple changes first. I hate to see people spend lots of money looking for a " cure " , only to end up with stuff sitting in a closet. I still use the All Free & Clear and I buy dye-free, fragrance-free things whenever possible. Sorry to run on so......I will now climb down from the proverbial soapbox. Happy New Year!!!!! Joan --- mandmdye@... wrote: > Joan, > > I'm sorry to hear about your Grandmother. I > honestly had no idea what Lupus > was until the dermatologist mentioned it to me and I > looked it up on the > Internet. Needless to say, it scared me. I didn't > know if having a positive > ANA meant that I most likely have Lupus or if it > could be something else. My > doctor had said it could lead to a Rheumatoid > disease or I could have > problems getting pregnant. He then asked if I would > like to see a rheumatoid > specialist, but I reminded him that he had given me > the number of an > allergist so I asked for his recommendation > (allergist Vs a rheumatoid > specialist). He suggested the allergist. So...now > I've been doing a bunch > of scratch tests. So far the allergist said I am > allergic to lettuce, > tomatoes, shell fish, mackerel, pineapple, sweet > potatoes, olive trees, grape > fruit, mushrooms and of all things dust. Dust seems > the most logical to me, > because I don't remember my hives getting worse > after I ate any of those > things. But I bought an air purifier and did some > special cleaning around > the house and my hives are getting no better. I > have tried zyrtex, doxepine, > hydroxyzine, allegra, zantac, elocon cream, > prednisone benedryl, cortisone > lotion, as well as various acupuncture and > homeopathic treatments. The combo > I've been sticking to is two 60 mg of allegra during > the day and one > hydroxyzine at night and applying Lanacane cream on > my hives because the > other stuff either didn't work or knocked me out. > Yes, you are right. This > is a very informed group! I was shocked to find all > of these people that > seemed to be going through the same things as me > (and all on the same > medications : ) Thanks you again for all of your > wonderful and support. You > are an angel. > > Miki > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.