Why am I breaking out in painful hives when I touch/eat anything?

[Felinecatapult]

I have always had really sensitive skin and I've developed reactions to most medications, but I had the flu about two weeks ago, which seemed to clear up and since then I've been covered in extremely painful hives as well as sores in my mouth and throat. I've tried everything (benadryl, other antihistamines, hydrocortisone, even neosporin on really bad areas) and tried to avoid almost every possible allergen I can think of. If I eat anything, even my "safe foods", the hives seem to worsen. Even wearing loose fitting clothes is excruciating and inflames the hives more until the scab. Almost everything that touches me, even taking a shower burns and hurts way more than hives have ever felt to me before.. Besides the sensitivity, my head has been aching and sort of foggy, like i can't think straight and I've had the same sore throat, achy muscles, and fatigue (which isn't uncommon for me). I don't know what to do, any ideas on what it may be?
Sorry, I forgot on major detail; I've had diarrhea since the flu started and it's extremely uncomfortable

[shauna]

I don't know if this would help, but you might want to explore something called a mast cell activation disorder (MCAD, similar condition is called MCAS).

Basically, this is a disorder where the mast cells, which usually degranulate and cause an allergic reaction when they come into contact with an allergen, can degranulate from things that you are not actually allergic too. And things that you CAN'T be allergic to, even. Any physical, environmental, or emotional stressor, is the definition. And symptoms can include gut, bowel, skin, headaches, foggy headedness, hives, anaphylaxis, itching, bone aching, fatigue, frequent reactions to chemicals, foods, medications, all sorts of fun stuff.

But because it can be from pretty much anything, heat or cold (like a hot shower) can cause an allergic reaction, for example. It's pretty rare, so it's hard to find a doctor who has even heard of it, let alone knows how to test for it (the mastocytosis society has some information on it, although it talks more about mastocytosis. However, this condition can have similar effects, even if it's for a different problem with the mast cells). Also, some doctors who study it are starting to think that it may be more a case of 'rarely diagnosed' than actually as rare as people think.

Also: mast cells are used by the body for normal functions. Like triggering a small histamine release whenever we eat, or when we stand up from a lying down position, or to heal wounds or infections, OR to fight off viruses. Because the mast cells trigger more frequently in MCAD folks, mast cells are releasing histamines more often, so it can take very little to make the, well, the histamine 'cup' go from partially full to overflow, and when it overflows, you start having more major reactions, like hives.

So when an MCAD person gets, say, a virus or a cold, they can suddenly start reacting more, to everything that might cause a histamine reaction, like eating, exercise, standing up. it's not the same for everyone, but your description does match what some of these folks go through, definitely. Headaches and foggy headedness - totally typical during reactions, too.

A low histamine diet can sometimes help - there is one website called the low histamine chef that might be worth exploring. It helps lower your histamine levels a little bit.

Keeping a trigger journal can help - basically, you record down how you feel all day, and then you record ANYTHING that happens or is around you or touching you in the few minutes before you feel it. Like, if you suddenly get a headache, write down what you ate, drank, breathed in, touched (including clothes, floor, walls, it doesn't matter), what temperatures you contacted, what place you were in (some folks with this can even react to sunshine), and what your emotions were (stress can make this worse). And then you try to avoid this.

Anything, no matter how crazy sounding, can trigger mast cell release in MCAD people. I've met one gal who, during a cold, had room temperature trigger an allergic reaction. She bundled up until she was overheated for over 2 weeks, just to keep from reacting constantly. Another I know triggers when her cholesterol goes up. I trigger when I get a blast of heat, like from cooking, or when I touch something freezing in the freezer, or when I get to tense - I have frequently had what amounts to an allergic reaction at the tense parts of a movie!

Getting tested is important, and you'll want to do it ASAP, try to get the doctors to understand just how critical this is getting. Best information I've found on how to get tested and other information has been, oddly enough, at support groups on facebook - there's not much else out there. But there are MCAD support groups, mastocytosis support groups, and mast cell disorder support groups on facebook. Joining them all would be good - they have, in their files sections, information on all sorts of things, and files I've never seen anywhere else. And the groups are very supportive, good at offering information and advice, helpful. One that involves holistic stuff (there are two, but one has been shut down due to a technical error) has a lot of ideas that can help mitigate symptoms that you might be able to do right now, before seeing a doctor. Just take PICTURES of what's happening now, so if you feel better later, you'll have proof.

Also might not be a bad idea to get to urgent care or ER and see if you can get tryptase level measured right now. that can help with diagnosis later, sometimes, if it's elevated.

Wishing you the best. I was just diagnosed with this a few months back and it suddenly makes some very crazy times in your life make perfect sense. Even if this is NOT what you have, some information about how allergies work, and how one can lower our likelihood of reacting to them, can be useful to you right now as you try to calm your body down a little bit.

[E]

You may need to deal with the diarrhea, try not to become dehydrated by drinking water and eating popsicles. You also may need to eat a bland diet such as toast (white bread), broths, peaches, scrambled eggs, boiled or baked potato (without butter or pepper), eliminate greasy spicy foods for a while. All your symptoms need to be evaluated by a doctor as there is also a possibility of either scarlet fever, tonsillitis, medicine reaction, food allergy, or something else, etc. Some food culprits could include wheat products (you may be able to tolerate enriched wheat instead of whole wheat), shell fish, oats, bran, rye, some pastas, some cereal, peanut products, glutton (Worcestershire and soy sauce and other products contain this), some spices, etc. Several things may need to be done including allergy testing, throat cultures, medicine change, seeing a dermatologist and your medical doctor. You may also need to change to a sensitive unscented soap like Dove, take short warm baths--not hot, and switch detergent also. Avoid wearing flannel, wool, and wool blends close to the skin. Neosporin is not effective against allergy, Trimencelone or Elidel are good as well as other products. With elimination of your rash triggers, using effective cream, effective antihistamine--try Tavist 1 (no decongestant), you should start getting some relief.