Hello all,
I am currently suffering hives and I also had hives 5 years ago and they lasted 2 years before they just magically went away. I never found out what caused them last time and no doctor was willing to go through that process either. Now that I have them again, I've been doing hours and hours of research and I found some things that may be of some use.
First of all, there is a strong belief these days that hives are a sign of an imbalance in the body and a sign that the body badly needs to be rid of some toxins. I am still in the processes but I have talked with numerous people who have done some form of detox and it has really helped or completely cured the hives. Now, some of these people were doing detox for a year or so before they didn't see anymore hives. Some of us I guess are just loaded with toxins. How effective the detox is relies on the kind of herbs, the quality of the herbs, and the strength of the herbs. So if you are going to do detox, do your research.
Second, more and more these days hives are being connected to yeast overgrowth (Candida). In fact a lot of people suffer the symptoms of yeast overgrowth and never get diagnosed because it can be very difficult to test for in some cases. Or they think that it's just life and to get with things. Symptoms are normally ones like indigestion, yeast infections and some people just think this comes with the territory. Oh, how wrong they are! Now, when you have a yeast overgrowth, the good bacteria in your digestive tract is overrun and can't fight back unless you do something to help them. The bad bacteria/yeast are also pumping out a lot of toxins as they go about causing chaos in our bodies. This can also cause a large amount of digestive issues like indigestion, heartburn and even irritable bowel syndrome. When our digestive system is not running at maximum capacity, our health suffers. . More and more doctors are realizing the benefit of grapefruit seed extract as a powerful anti-fungal. Going for a natural anti-fungal is best simply because prescriptions come with side effects and often they can compound any problems you may already have with toxins.
Thirdly, through my research, many naturopaths and homepathic doctors see hives as a sign of liver congestion. Through use of antibotics and other medicines throughout the years, our liver can get bogged down. This happens especially for anyone who drinks or does drugs. Also, the American diet is so loaded with bad things and so overly processed, it's miracle more people don't just drop dead. These doctors recommend a liver detox program or a liver flushing. Obviously, because it is considered a homeopathic method, it receives criticism from pharmecutical companies and conventional doctors. I've lost all faith in conventional doctors mainly because time after time they fail us. Hive sufferers know what I'm talking about.
They also recommend doing a cleanse that gets rid of parasites and cleans out your kidneys. Some of you have probably already ruled out parasites, but truth be told, most tests for parasites are not thorough and most of us probably have some parasites. We can get parasites anywhere, even from breathing. If you choose to do this or the above mention detox program, just know that this may take a while. We heavily load ourselves with toxins day in and day out, a thorough cleaning isn't going to happen overnight. However, a lot of people doing the liver detox who had hives noticed the hives lessening after detoxing or flushing a few times.
A word of caution: Some people who are desparate, like us hive people, tend to overdo things when they are detoxing. You have to start slowly or you could cause more harm to yourself. The body is ready and willing to get rid of toxins, but it can't flush them all at once. You need to listen to your body and go at the pace it dictates. If you do a detox and start feeling unbearably crappy, it means you are going to fast and need to back down a bit. With that in mind, even people who do detox the appropriate way may experience what is called "die-off" or a "healing crisis." Basically it means that symptoms will get worse before they get better. Thankfully though, most die-offs or healing crisises only last for a few days and then patients start seeing some improvement. A healing crisis of die-off means that your body is working.
All of this stuff with detox and flushing is going off the premise that when you're body cannot effectively remove toxins through your colon and liver, toxins come through the skin; the last resort in the elimination system. It also claims that when the liver gets congested and the digestive system is overloaded, we start to develop allergy-like symptoms. The body sees all this buildup and attacks it thinking it is a pathogen. This liver congestion problem also significantly reduces our ability to absorb nutrients and this just makes everything worse.
In my opinion, when someone is suffering from chronic hives, it is something that has probably been brewing for a while and now everything has snow-balled into what we see as the itchy demon; hives.
Fourthly, I have seen one site that encourages people to eat as their blood type determines. It's really interesting, but the more interesting part came when I learned about lectins. Lectins are in almost everything we eat and are not digested by our current enzymes. Now, I'm not sure, but I think that some are good and some are bad. What happens though is that since these lectins do not get digested, they clump together and attached themselves to cells in our body. This triggers the immune system to attack and release histamine. More info can be found at these sites:
The last site has a product called Deflect that was made by the doctor who runs the site and who came up with the Eat Right 4 Your Type program. Deflect is supposed to gently scrape off the lectins and provide a barrier for future lectins.
Some of you mentioned stress and I have to agree that stress is not good for hives. But the fact that your body is reacting so poorly to stress means that our immune systems need help and that our hormones might need some balancing. A lot of people treated for hives have found a lot of help with vitamin B-12. It's the anti-stress vitamin and it can also help balance hormones. Some people get B-12 injections. Some have been known to react badly to these injections, but it is very very rare. A healthy immune should be able to manage stress. Over time our immune systems suffer due to large amount of stress, emotional events in our lives, taking medications including OTC pain killers and antibotics, not eating right, and not exercising. Normally, if we take care of our bodies, when we suffer such things like stress or have to take medications, our immune systems can handle it to some degree. But a weakened immune system means that problems are knocking at your door.
Currently I'm taking numerous things. One thing that I just started taking and has been shown through some medical studies to help hives is a vitamin called Quercetin. It's a natural histamine inhibitor and it stablizes mast cells (these cells are the ones that release the histamine.) It also has numerous other health benefits like heart health and such. They also say that Quercetin taken over a period of time can help our body rid itself of allergies. They also say that the body does not build an intolerance to this vitamin, so it won't suddenly go ineffective. You can find this at your local health store. Be sure to get the non-citrus formula. I'm also taking about 2,000mg of Vitamin C per day. It aids it taking out toxins and it lower histamine levels. I'm also on a regimen for Candida. I have a lot of symptoms that suggest that I might have yeast overgrowth so I'm taking grapeseed fruit extract and following a strict diet for a month or so to see what happens. If you'd like to know more about this option, you can email me at I'm also taking some probiotics to help out my digestive system and I'm supplementing with enzymes and hydrochloric acid. However, it has B-12 in it and even though I have the hives, I don't feel stressed or worried. My attitude has been surprisingly good and I think that is because of B-12. The remedy for hives is under Utricaria. They also have remedies for allergies. They reason I trust these guys is just the way they have done business. They have online doctors to speak with and they also allow patients to get discounts on their products if the patient is in true financial need. I also want to do a detox program, especially ones that target the liver. When I had hives before, at some point I learned about the connection between toxins and hives and so I started drinking a detox tea 3 times a day. It was a very mild detox and my hives were still there for quite some time after starting detox, but I almost think that my hives wouldn't have gone away unless I had detoxed. So this time, I'm going to find a slightly stronger detox and just make sure I don't overdo it.
As you can see, I'm doing a lot, but I am determined not to suffer any longer than I have to. I WILL NOT go through 2 years of hives or any amount of time that involves years.
If you look there are a lot of remedies out there and I know I've talked about a lot, but if you feel that way I do about these hives, you're willing to go the extra extra mile to resolve the problem. Be careful of remedies that claim to work overnight or something akin to that, because as we've already figure out, hives for us don't go away that easily. And I know that there is a lot of information out there and it is hard to sift through it all, but to me, I'm willing to do anything. If someone told me that I could get rid of the hives by sticking my head in the toilet, I'd probably do it. I'm still taking some antihistamines, but the homeopathic doctor I spoke with said that it was okay to do so and that it wouldn't interfere with the remedy I got from them.
Do not take steriods, even the cream kind. I'm sure most of you already know this, but the steriods will get rid of the hives, but they will come back and they will be worse than before. Plus steriods basically destroy the very body that you're trying to heal. It's still a wonder why so many people still rely solely on conventional medicine if steriods are their best option.
Well, know that I've given you all about a truck load of info to take in, I'll leave. I'm totally up for speaking with you guys through either this forum or through my email.
Hope this helps. I'm looking forward to see if these things help. I just know that hives can be cured, but the battle is going to be a tough one.
-Anna
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Post Edited By Moderator (Another Day) : 6/9/2008 8:05:36 PM (GMT-6)