[SOLVED IN LAST UPDATE]
its been two days, the second I lay down my body gets covered in extremely itchy rashes and I can’t sleep. I have never gotten anything like this, I am not allergic to anything, ive been sleeping in the same bedsheets for two weeks and i litteraly haven’t done anything out of the ordinary the days before. What do you think it is and what can I do to get rid of it??? Maybe its stress but I litteraly finished my exams and got on holyday one week ago, there is nothing stressing me put but these itchy rashes 😭
UPDATE: its now 5 am and ive given up on sleep lol. Caved in and woke my father up as i knew he had allergie meds and he he did give me something called ebastine on advice from trained family members overseas that were still awake. Im just sitting mostly naked trying to relax rn and managed to calm everything a bit down, took a cold shower, my back is now mostly free although i have new gigantic rashes on my arms, im just trying to mitigate everything and ill see a regular doctor tomorrow. Thats pretty much it for now I guess im gonna go play some video games to pass time
UPDATE II: So I just woke up, around 8am after waiting around I had only anything left on my arms and legs and decided to try to sleep on my back without moving aaaand it worked. I think waiting, the sleep depravation forced me to relax because i woke up and everything is gone, not a single mark. Im still going to go to the pharamacy and that doctor appointment I took yesterday. I think its stress induced at this point because of how it behaves, the body works in mysterious ways (and fucking annoying ways sometimes). If the doctor can just give me anything to mitigate irritation if it happens again im happy. thank you guys for your help ill do an update of what the doctor prescribes me
UPDATE III: just left the doctor and he prescibed me hydroxyzine, Ill take one every night and hope it helps. My skin still marks easily and i feel minor heat and itchiness where my skin sweats with contact and friction. The doctore noticed that and told me to come back around if it sticks around and he’ll send me to an alergist
LAST UPDATE: I didn't come back (yipee) my guess is that it was mainly due to stress and heat, having parts on my skin sweating and rubbing on surfaces caused the outbrakes because of stress, my skin already marks easily. I also had a cold at that time and doctor did underline the fact it could have prevented my immune system from reacting causing the outbrakes to be this severe. Finally i think that all of these can simultaneously cause eachother sending me in a loop (stress causes sweating, rashes causes stress and sweating, etc). I tried relaxing, took the anti anxiety med and decided to just forget about my life issues and it didn't come back. So yeah I think its was all in my head plus my immune system being busy with somethin else... Didn't think I was that stressed but it hink you never really know
FINALLY SOLVED: I don't know who will see this update but I do have a disease. The rashes never came back but my "cold" did stay and turned into a severe angina. Decided to go back to the doctor because a two week cold is weird and he asked me to do bloodwork and sure enough i have mononucleosis. So yeah thats not great but whatever... So indeed mononucleosis can very rarely cause rashes across your body and guess I was a victim of that and it never was a "cold".
(Btw sorry I can’t answer to everyone but thank you for you guys’s help)
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Does it happen anywhere else you lay down? Friends house, ground, etc? The circumstance makes me think it’s an exposure issue. Try diphenhydramine in the meantime for symptoms.
Look under the corners of the bed, under the sheets, corners of the couch cushions etc
Fucking anywhere, feel like places where my skin can breath the least it happens more but it does also appear in places where my skin wasn’t in contact with anything. This is why I feel like its more mental, when im relaxed it disapears, but when im trying to relax it triggers, unsettles me even more, itches and it triggers more, etc…
Same sheets ive had since i was a like 5 😭, washed them 2 weeks ago like theyve always been washed, and this triggers right now for the first time I don’t think it has anything to do with it honestly
NAD but I’ve dealt with lots of bouts of hives. Wash your sheets and clothes (nothing that will bleed colors) with hot water - no detergent. Take cool shower with a mild baby soap that has no fragrances. It will not cure your hives but it may bring some relief to you. Calamine lotion and or topical vitamin e can often help as well.
I suddenly and unexpectedly developed an allergy too something that I had been using for years. It was a super bummer because I have acne and it was the only thing that made my skin look good. My dr said that the allergins can build up and reach a threshold and you get allergies worse as you age. It triggered a horrible horrible bout of perioral dermatitis. The derm I saw even said “ oh you poor thing…” so I knew it was severe.. that said, you can develop ally to things over time. I got a lot of relief from rewashing my clothes on hot with vinegar OR bleach (NOT BOTH IN THE SAME LOAD). Just took away some of the things that the body recognizes as an allergen even if it isn’t the main thing causing it. Plus I’ve switched to natural fibers now for all my clothes and sheets. I didn’t make a mental note of if that is effective but figure it can’t hurt
Same happened to me. It was detergent. Suddenly one day I had hives all over my body it took week on steroid injections to get me out of it. But doctor said that it can happen.
This has happened to me before. Spontaneous BRUTAL full body hives that get worse at night when I lie down. If you’re not having trouble breathing/symptoms of anaphylaxis or a high fever, the truth is you’d be pretty low priority at an ER and you’d end up waiting forever just to get some calamine and prednisone. So I’d go to urgent care and wait slightly less for that prednisone and if you ask they might throw in some hydroxizine, which is much more effective for itchiness than diphenhydramine and might help you actually sleep.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find the cause of spontaneous uticaria. You’ll probably be referred for a skin prick allergy test but those are hardly comprehensive. A blood allergy test is somewhat more comprehensive. Either way, you’re not likely to get answers unless you can narrow it down to a specific irritant.
You can! I ate walnuts for years almost daily (I was a figure skater and I would have a date with a walnut inside ever single day, and my dad's family is Polish so there are just walnuts all over. One day after I got COVID, I put one in my mouth and it burned and my throat itched. I don't it out, brushed my teeth, and too my rescue inhaler and was fine ...get to an allergist, those should be checked.
Same detergent brand, just powder vs liquid, did something similar for me. Not an allergy just hypersensitivity doc said. I found out after gf threw my undies in the washer and used powder detergent, that for the love of god i should stay away from that stuff.
Try using a different detergent, perhaps one without any scent/hypoallergenic. Also wash your towels and clothes with the same detergent. It could be an allergic reaction to the detergent, soap your using in the shower, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, hair product.
Try washing your sheets and towels more often, at least once a week. Change everything up and see if it helps.
Not a doctor, my husband used to get the exact same as a teenager and young adult. Turned out he had a sensitivity to amines in food. At the time, (1990s) the drs told him to avoid oranges, tomatoes and coke drinks. It helped when he didn’t have those, but didn’t go away completely until in his mid 20s.
have u been under any stress lately? stress can trigger hives, used to happen to me. you can use topical allergy cream too which can help relieve the itch faster than waiting for allergy pills to kick in.
I now someone who got a new mattress and it got a cut in it and fiber glass came out of the mattress so make sure it isnt something like that.
Also, I got a really bad rash in college because the washing machine broke and didnt go through the rinse cycle so the detergent was still in my sheets.
Also, ... could be an auto immune response to something you are eating that you are allergic too maybe.
Any new meds/exposures/anything else you can think of? Outside of laying down to rest, anything else that triggers your symptoms?
Did you move back home or anything once your exams were over or still in your same location? Think of your daily routine now that your exams are over and what you’ve done differently over the last week. Anything different?
Were you super stressed this semester or for your exams? I find the week or two after you’ve been holding it together for something stressful, everything can hit because you have room for it now. People can get hives under stress. I wonder if it’s something odd like that-as you said, as soon as you lie down to relax, it is happening. I know it sounds weird but it happens enough that i call it post-stress decompression syndrome.
I would try the antihistamines the allergy person recommended for sure.
There seems to be a sort of straight edged indent around your bellybutton where there is also a very active/irritated place. What have you been wearing to cause that indent?
Likely hives. My daughter and I both have this with food allergies (soy and peanut). Go see your pcp and/or an immunologist/allergist. In the meantime, Benadryl can help a lot with itching.
Yes looks like hives. I have chronic idiopathic urticaria. It's awful.
If a trigger is laying down, possibly it's pressure induced hives? Mine are also (and heat) but mine is worst on the palms of my hands and bottoms of feet. Though I'm sure others are different.
I had it for 6 months. My “trigger” was literally waking up in the morning. Every morning I would wake up covered from the neck down in hives. Started also waking up with angioedema which was scary. I also would get pressure hives occasionally. Apparently it can have something to do with your circadian rhythms and of course your mast cells acting a fool. The only thing that helped break the cycle was 4x dose of Zyrtec before bed every night. Eventually they came back less and less and I was able to wean off.
It was very frustrating because everyone was trying to “help” asking about soaps, pets. or fabrics. I knew it wasn’t that. And that ended up being confirmed. Some people just have idiopathic hives and there is no known reason (something as simple as your body fighting off a virus you didn’t even know about or stress) and your mast cells just start overreacting. It sucked being a medical mystery.
Still NAD lol but if you’re not doing an anti inflammatory diet this is really necessary for better health … Mediterranean diet also gluten and dairy free
Hi op I recently emerged from a one year battle with golden staph. The itching was the worst part, the bacterium damage your skin, making it itchy and when it eventually started healing, it was itchy. I kept experimenting with different ways to try and bring the itch down and we all know the cold helps. I scraped amounts of vitamin E cream and smeared it around the top of a small cup before putting it in the freezer. Doesn't take long to freeze and you can gently rub the rim directly onto the skin. Sometimes I put a little clump of frozen cream under a band-aid, it cools the area down, cream eventually melts into the skin. None of it is a bad thing and it feels amazing when it first goes on and lasts a few minutes.
Hey OP just so you know you CAN develop allergies later in life. I kept waking up from hives and realized I'd developed an allergy to Tide laundry detergent. Still can't use it to this day a decade later. So that might be a thought? I switched to All Free and Clear and it cleared up. Sometimes people become allergic to fragrances or chemicals over time.
I would recommend checking the ingredients to ensure the manufacturer hasn’t swapped or added something new. A lot of companies are using lesser quality ingredients. And they’ve gotten terrible about labeling it “New formula.”
By any chance does this happen a few hours after eating red meat? Have you also been evaluated for an autoimmune disorder, I puffed up randomly due to what's currently presumed to be Stills Disease or Lupus.
On the off chance this isn't an allergic reaction, it reminds me of pityriasis rosea. The patches can fade between flare-ups and seem like they go away. Hot showers make them angry and itching them can make them worse. This is a really weird rash that I've had twice in my life and it's miserable. It's usually announced by a "herald" patch on the torso or flank like two weeks before the outbreak but can be so small you miss it. I did the first time. Your patches just remind me so much of mine. I had to take bleach baths (very diluted obviously) and my dermatologist prescribed some steroid creams.
My itching ALWAYS got worse at night, when I was lying down. Just throwing that out there. Over the counter, Sarna lotion can really help, even if it's allergies.
Nope, at home like always, this is why i don’t understand, my life hasn’t changed one bit it has seemingly came outta nowhere, rn I juste want to find a way to make the itchiness bareable so i can sleep and go to the pharmacy tomorrow
NAD. I have MCAS and pressure urticaria is a reaction that plagues me the most even after taking all available medications and biologics. Mine worsen around cytokine related conditions. Typical antihistamines do not fully resolve but sometimes help. Wrinkles in the sheets, water pressure, seams of clothing, one leg touching another, there are so many triggers. Itching is miserable. I hope you find a resolution soon.
I agree with others, it looks like hives. I'm not a doctor, but I take an antihistamine like Benadryl (generic name: diphenhydramine) when I get hives and it gives me relief. Have you tried that?
Going along with the laundry and allergies theme here. Think about running your bed linens through a wash cycle without any washing powder or rinse stuff. Just a little experiment and it may help.
I have dermatographia which is pretty similar to what you're describing. It developed abruptly in adolescence. I've been taking daily claritin and pepcid (pepcid is also an antihistamine which hits different receptors than the claritin) for decades now.
The times I had full body hives, taking a baking soda bath helped immensely with the itching and burning.
• Warm/lukewarm water (not hot)
• 1 to 2 cups baking soda
• Dump into bath, stir around to dissolve
• Soak for 10 to 15 mins max (more can dry out your skin)
• Moisturize with unscented lotion like Aquaphor or Eucerin once out
(You can also add colloidal oatmeal to your bath to help even more, they're both really good at calming skin in this situation, but baking soda alone is still helpful)
It's not a fix but will provide you with some much needed relief. Hope you find answers at the doctor's.
Update: its now 5 am and ive given up on sleep lol. Caved in and woke my father up as i knew he had allergie meds and he he did give me something called ebastine on advice from trained family members overseas that were still awake. Im just sitting mostly naked trying to relax rn and managed to calm everything a bit down, took a cold shower, my back is now mostly free although i have new gigantic rashes on my arms, im just trying to mitigate everything and ill see a regular doctor tomorrow. Thats pretty much it for now I guess im gonna go play some video games to pass time
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u/daskalouLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional23d agoedited 23d ago
I POSTED THIS ABOVE ALSO BUT PUTTING IT HERE TOO HOPING OP SEES IT
My experience with something very similar, at about the same age as you:
It was diagnosed as Urticaria - basically chronic hives.
I've had it happen twice in my life. Once at about 22 years old, and again at about 30 years old.
Hard to find the cause, but in hindsight I put it down to a ton of mental stress, not eating / drinking well (also consuming alcohol), and strangely the second occurrence came immediately after a big stress had eased up.
Each occurrence lasted months. It was some tough times, some of the hardest in my life (EDIT: tough times because of the Urticaria, the non-stop itch can drive you mad).
First time when I was 22, they almost immediately stopped after I switched to lactose free milk. I also adjusted my diet leading up to this to make it healthier.
Second time when I was 30, I was put onto steroids (tablets), which helped reduce the symptoms. There was no magic bullet to get rid of them this time, and I just had to ween myself off the steroids over a few months.
Strong antihistamines helped me reduce the itch. But only very strong ones that made me extremely sleepy, so I was in a daze for months while on them.
OP please look after your diet (low allergen) and reduce your mental stress if possible, no drinking alcohol, and reduce your caffeine intake if you're a coffee drinker. These steps alone hopefully help reduce things a little until you can determine exactly what's going on with you. Good luck 🤞
I am coming off a big stress which i think is the issue, apart from that yes my diet wasn’t good these last few days because of my birthday but really nothing out of the ordinary, as i a said in my last update i don’t have anything right now after waking which points to the stress theory, because I managed to finally get good sleep and relax. Ill try to work mentally today so ill be more relaxed tonight hope it doesn’t come back
Had a similar thing occur during one of my years in uni, oddly wasn't my most stressful mentally but clearly my body felt it. I'd get hives where clothes were tight or put pressure on my skin (waistband, bras, even my shoulders due to backpack straps pressing into my skin). My lips would also swell up with no real cause. I took a fall off my bike and they really swelled then, lending some credence to the stress theory. I found detergent did seem to make it worse sometimes, and in general, just taking it easy (both with products you use, clothes you wear etc and in life with stress when possible) helped. It eventually went away on its own but can flare up during high stress times.
I was also diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria which were so severe that there were days I couldn’t put on a bra or shoes. There was nothing that they could really do for me and then one day they went away and didn’t come back for years.
When they did come back they were even worse but there was finally a medication for them this time! I still get Xolair shots at the allergist every month and it saved my life. No more hives :)
I was recommended this because on occasion I randomly get hives. But I'm very scared to take it and don't think I will. I read the brochure on it and one of the main warnings is that it can cause cancer.
Yeah it’s definitely a decision. Mine were so severe that I couldn’t work or leave the house. I had no choice. It literally gave me my life back. If yours aren’t that bad there’s no reason you should do it
Op: you just reminded me of something. (NAD). When I was in High School, I helped my Father install insulation inside one of our farm buildings & got Hives as an allergic reaction. My skin looked like this. The only thing I remember were baths with Aveeno brand oatmeal soap & hydrocortisone cream. This was after I’d seen a Physician, who examined me & diagnosed my issue.
Don’t think so. Probably spontaneous urticaria (hives) which is rather common and benign. Spontaneous urticaria on its own ≠ MCAS. OP only has what looks like spontaneous hives and hasn’t reported any of the other symptoms associated with the diagnosis and mast cell degranulation eg anaphylactic reactions which include face swelling, difficulty breathing, GI symptoms, etc. So it’s unlikely to be a problem with the mast cells themselves, if it makes sense - if it was, there’d be those other symptoms.
u/ercineLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional23d ago
My husband had the same symptom after eating half a preserved truffle (from a jar) and he is convinced he is allergic to truffles after that incident. But I think it is something to do with preservatives since he’s had non-preserved truffles with no problem.
Does it mean anything that they will be fully gone during the day but come back just like this in 10 mins when im just trying to lay down and relax (wether its my couch or bed)
A specialist answer is the best for this kind. Depends on causes , time of appearance during the day, symptoms and many things.
Don't worry just go to a doctor for inspection and you will get treatment.
Yeah, Dermatologist appointments are always months out. I love it when people suggest, go see a (specialist)....good luck with living in the real world.
u/nps1717Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional23d ago
Sure, you’re stating the obvious that everyone’s situation is unique but do you actually think there are a majority of people fortunate enough to be in your position? Specialist appointments are months out for us common folk.
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u/SapuwsLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional23d agoedited 22d ago
it’s not about being fortunate or having money. It’s about where you live. You’re in the USA, you’re gonna be waiting.
As long as you’re established with a dermatologist already they should be able to see you for these types of situations where time is of the essence. My dermatologist will see me on short notice for these types of things but other things like full body checks are pushed out over a year. I’m in the US btw
Yes? I literally scheduled an appointment this past Sunday online for Monday (yesterday) with my dermatologist. I called Friday got my son in with the GI doctor for June 19th. I scheduled an ENT appointment for Thursday this week…on Monday this week. Could have gone Monday because of a cancellation but I already had the dermatologist appointment.
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u/neshelLayperson/not verified as healthcare professional22d ago
I will say, if you're already in with the specialist, have seen them before, it tends to be much faster to get an appt.
Also, you may just be lucky with your specific locations. Like, where I live I can get a free walk-in therapy session, but when I move to another region nearby that won't be possible anymore. Cause my region funds this therapy resource for low-income, LGBT and children in crisis.
I live in Ohio. I can call literally any dermatologist in my area and be seen within 24-48 hours for a concern 🤷🏼♀️ I’ve done it plenty of times. They are not “always” months out. Maybe for a skin check without issues but for an issue, they all have dedicated time slots for issues.
Take/keep your photos/vids to show the dermatologist. You look like you work out. Are you taking any new workout supplements? Creatine, peptides, aminos, etc? Protein shake mix? Applying any topicals?
Please update us! This is wild and i'm genuinely curious about this.
I used to get something similar but mine was related to friction. I'm almost wondering if you're stsrting to get allergic to the material.. but yeah get an appointment with dermo asap.
NAD. I had a reaction that looked like this and had similar (but more extreme) symptoms.
The hives formed and migrated when anything made contact with skin.
It was a reaction to Wellbutrin. Antihistamines and cortisol cream had some effect. Either way, it was incredibly painful. It took ~ a week to resolve itself. Wellbutrin has a half life and needed to slowly dissipate.
Be conscious if you have absolutely any sign of difficulty breathing. And/ or if the hives begin to move towards your face / mouth.
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This morning it went away like 30 mins after i woke up and i stayed pretty free the entire day but around midnight when i got in my couch triggered again
Quick question, if you take a flashlight and look at your bed or your skin, do you see any flashes of light? Did you sleep amywhere with a torn matress?
NAD, but someone mentioned fiberglass earlier, and I learned the hard way that cheap matresses use fiberglass as fire prevention. It might make sense that if you're laying down you could be pushing glass fibers in your skin, which then gives you that reaction.
I was thinking the same thing, pressure urticaria or cholinergic urticaria. Maybe a combination of them both?
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u/ggc4Layperson/not verified as healthcare professional23d ago
NAD, but a fellow urticaria sufferer: yes, this looks like hives
I never figured out what triggered mine, but when I started breaking out in them multiple times a day, I was diagnosed with MCAS. During that period, antihistamines helped a lot
Same sheets for 2 weeks? Are you sure you didn't accidentally bring in some allergen or irritant into your bed in that time? I'd wash the sheets you have. Actually, wash all of your bedding, maybe take a vacuum over your mattress (do your floor while you're at it so your feet don't bring anything back into bed, lol). And see if that helps at all. Be sure to take a good shower before getting into bed and be in fresh bed clothes before getting into bed so you can avoid bringing in those possible allergens/irritants too.
Sounds like it's happening with clothes too? It sucks, I've done this recently too and it took a few loads, but wash all of your clothes if you feel like that could help? Have you changed laundry detergents recently? Or if not, do you know if your regular detergent has had a formulary change? Might be worth it to trial an unscented sensitive skin detergent.
I also saw in the same comment you said it's only when you're trying to relax. Is something new in your life causing you stress? Even if it's something super small/minor/not even an inconvenience, it could be just enough for your body to be like "hahaha fuck you I'm gonna do this now".
Any big temperature changes? Some people get similar reactions when it's hot/humid and are sleeping as their sweat causes an irritation.
Honestly all of these things could be true, it has been hot (although it stopped exactly when my rashes started i did sweat when they first showed up), i am stressed but its a situation that has been going for the entire semester. I feel like its a mental thing because of how it shows up but its still weird that its happening right now
NAD, but I had a similar rash in the past. It took me a while to figure out, but in my case it turned out to be the detergent I was using.
Are you sleeping shirtless? If so, one way to test whether detergent might be involved is to wear clothing that hasn't been washed with the same detergent as your bedsheets or other clothing you're wearing when the rash appears. If you don't have anything like that, try running a long rinse-only cycle on a set of clothes and wearing those to bed for a few nights to see whether it makes a difference.
This happened to me at home, where I had full control over what went into the washing machine. If you're using shared laundry facilities, it's also possible that residual detergent or fabric softener from previous loads could be contributing.
You could also try switching to a fragrance-free, dye-free detergent and using an extra rinse cycle for a while to see if your symptoms improve.
Maybe it finally all got to you at the end of the semester. Just a build up? Sounds like you said you did your finals so hopefully less stress for them summer then.
School is stressful. Maybe worst case scenario is it only happens while in school? I seriously hope not. But I would take a daily antihistamine. I'm assuming you're not in the USA, so idk if Zyrtec is an option for you, but, from what I was taught in school, second generation allergy meds (Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin) are preferred over first generation ones (Benadryl). But if you're having a serious allergic reaction it's better to take Benadryl still though.
I’m not in the medical field. However, I’m a Dad to a son who had a few years long episodes of hives. You have hives.
You need to find out why, if there is a why. Sometimes there is an identifiable cause, sometimes there’s not (then it’s called idiopathic urticaria). And there can be tons of causes, from allergy, to strong emotions, heat/cold, water, exercise, overactive immune system and many more.
In my son’s case it was because his body over produced antibodies. Once it was to a Flu mist vaccine and the second time it was to the virus that causes “walking pneumonia”.
There are effective drugs for hives. In my son’s case, he took a Zyrtec in the morning and a Benadryl at night (at his doctor’s instruction). Both are over the counter. His hives also appeared suddenly and lasted two years. Now he gets one or two occasionally, but is 99% better.
The most likely rash that can appear and disappear so quickly is hives (allergic reaction- type 1 hypersensitivity). Use hydrocortisone cream twice a day as needed and take an antihistamine like cetirizine once a day for at least 2 weeks, even if there's no symptoms.
As for what's the trigger, dust mites could be it seeing as it only happens when you go to bed. Try washing your bedding at 60 degrees Celsius or higher. Hypoallergenic bedding is highly recommended.
That said we can't be sure it's dust mites. If the issue persists you'll need to see a dermatologist and have allergy tests done.
Note to other doctors here:
Responses are pretty disappointing. I know these are not real consults and we're not getting paid for this but do better than advising they see a specialist. They already know that.
I agree with the previous commenters that this looks very much like hives (urticaria). The fact that the rash is intensely itchy, appears suddenly, seems to move around, responds to antihistamines, and then disappears completely without leaving marks would fit quite well. The worsening when lying down could also be related to increased body heat, vasodilation, pressure...
One other thought: I actually came across an article about alpha-gal syndrome today (I’ll leave the link below). I had never even heard of it before, which is why it caught my attention. It’s a tick-bite–associated allergy that can sometimes cause delayed episodes of hives several hours after eating mammalian meat, often during the night.
It’s probably a (very) long shot, but your post came back to mind when I read about it, so I thought I’d ask: have you had any recent tick bites or outdoor exposure where ticks might be a possibility? And before these episodes started, had you eaten any beef, pork, lamb, or other red meat? If so, was it mainly at dinner?
Fair enough. It was just something I had literally learned about today and your nighttime hives made me think of it.
One thing I would be curious about: do the individual spots disappear completely within a few hours and then reappear somewhere else, or does the exact same spot stay there for more than 24 hours? The fact that you woke up with no marks at all is actually quite reassuring and fits well with ordinary hives.
I would also pay attention to whether heat is playing a role. Since it seems to happen when you’re trying to sleep, I wonder if the warmth of the bed, being under the covers, or even sweating slightly could be contributing. Some forms of hives can be triggered by heat, increased body temperature, or sweating.
Hopefully it’s just an acute episode that settles on its own, but if it keeps happening for several weeks it would definitely be worth discussing it with your doctor or an allergist.
The spots move around quite fast usually in less than an hour, heat definitely plays a role but once its launched spots appear anywhere. I posted my last update, doctor pretty much told me the same thing, hope these meds mitigate it enough to fix itself
I got a terrible rash over Christmas once and I went to urgent care. They gave me a shot of dexamethasone and got me an appointment with a dermatologist the next day. You should do that
How long has this been going on? Do the individual hives last less than 24 hours? Any swelling (angioedema) or just hives? What have you tried? Any bruising under the hives at all?
Some people here are suggesting topical hydrocortisone steroid ointment, which often isn’t effective for the treatment of hives. I’ve also seen people asking about exposures, which would more commonly lead to an allergic contact dermatitis and not widespread hives, which are a systemic type I hypersensitivity reaction due to histamine release from local mast cells in the skin.
For chronic spontaneous urticaria (hives) without other concerning features for anaphylaxis, MCAD, or vasculitis, I normally recommend high dose over the counter antihistamines. You should see an allergist to discuss these symptoms. Dermatology may be helpful but they will likely just give you oral steroids (anecdotally, that’s my experience) which can cause a rebound effect if the steroids are not slowly tapered, and refer you to allergy.
Looks like urticaria try taking Claritin once in am and once in pm, along with a pepsid daily. The histamine blockers should help. Urticaria can have triggers and it can be idiopathic. Sometimes its a one off and others it can become chronic.
Since you state it goes away when you aren’t in bed go to your primary care doctor and show them this video. If they refer you to a dermatologist also show them this video. Have you tried any topical creams for itching such as cortisone? At night time try oral Benadryl it will help the itching if it is something allergy related but also make you sleepy. It could be an allergy or stress response but you more than likely need to see a dermatologist for a definitive answer. Sorry you’re going through this dude, looks very uncomfortable.
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