Does drinking water help with hives
Aquagenic Urticaria
Aquagenic urticaria refers to hives caused by exposure to water. It is also known as water allergy and is an extremely rare condition, with only 37 cases reported in medical research.
Aquagenic urticaria is an extremely rare form of urticaria (hives) that causes a rash to appear after you touch water. The hives may appear red or similar to the color of your skin tone. They may be harder to see on darker skin.
Its a form of chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU)
Aquagenic urticaria is considered a water allergy. However, research confirming this is limited. A
Most cases begin in or shortly after puberty and are most common in persons assigned female at birth. Additionally, genetics may play a role.
Various water sources can trigger hives from this condition, including:
- rain
- snow
- freshwater
- seawater
- sweat
- tears
Water temperature, pH and saltiness, or anxiety do not usually cause this type of hives.
Aquagenic urticaria is also different from a cold allergy or cholinergic urticaria, which is an allergic reaction to heat. The reaction caused by aquagenic urticaria occurs directly from exposure to water, regardless of its temperature.
Aquagenic hives appear as a scratchy, stinging rash. This rash usually occurs on the chest, neck, and arms. Sometimes hives can appear anywhere on the body except on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands.
Within minutes of being exposed to water, people with this condition can experience:
When you dry your body, symptoms should begin to fade within 30 minutes to 2 hours.
For some people, drinking water can cause them to experience symptoms including:
In more severe cases, you may develop the following symptoms of anaphylaxis:
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience anaphylaxis.
Researchers are
When you have an allergic reaction, mast cells underneath the skin
To diagnose aquagenic hives, your doctor will conduct a physical exam to observe your symptoms. Theyll also review your medical history and may also perform a water challenge test.
During this test, your doctor will apply a room-temperature water compress to your upper chest for 30 minutes. This test is done to trigger a reaction.
Your doctor will record your reaction to the water challenge test and compare it to symptoms of a similar condition called aquagenic pruritus. The difference between these two disorders is that aquagenic pruritus causes itching and irritation but doesnt cause hives or reddening.
Additionally, the doctor may apply salty water, ice, and heating pads to
Theres no cure for aquagenic hives. However, there are treatment options available to relieve symptoms.
For short-term relief of itching, swelling, and irritation, youll likely need to take an antihistamine, which is a medication used to treat allergy-like symptoms.
Preferably, this involves a less sedating second-generation antihistamine, such as cetirizine (Zyrtec) or loratadine (Claritin), to prevent your hives before contact with water.
Some people may not improve using antihistamines, and the doctor may add omalizumab (Xolair) to prevent flare-ups.
Phototherapy may provide some benefits by thickening the top skin layer and preventing water from getting under the skin.
If you have a severe case of aquagenic hives and cant breathe, you may need to use an EpiPen. These auto-injector pens contain epinephrine, also called adrenaline, your fright-flight hormone.
Epinephrine increases blood pressure and reduces throat swelling and hives. In addition, they open up the lungs when they have started to close because of a severe allergic reaction.
Learn how to use an Epi-Pen.
When a flare-up of hives happens, you can try the following for relief:
- make sure the skin is completely dried immediately
- avoid getting too hot or cold
- wear loose-fitting clothes, or remove clothes at the site of the hives
- sit by a fan (not for cold-triggered hives)
- apply calamine lotion or over-the-counter anti-itch medication (when water is not an ingredient)
Once you receive your doctors diagnosis of aquagenic hives, it is best to avoid touching water.
Still, this isnt practical for everyday life. So, try to restrict your contact with water as much as possible. Preventing a flare-up includes:
- apply mineral oil or 100% petroleum jelly to the skin before showering
- using dry shampoo and waterless cleansers in-between showers
- taking short, periodic showers
- wearing clothes that draw moisture away from the skin
- wearing cotton-lined dishwashing gloves when cleaning
- prepare for rainy, snowy weather
Remembering to take your medication and following your treatment plan can decrease hive outbreaks. If your treatment plan is not working, contact your dermatologist for suggestions.
Does aquagenic urticaria ever go away?
So few people worldwide have aquagenic urticaria that it is unknown if it will resolve on its own.
Can someone with aquagenic urticaria drink water?
Some people with aquagenic urticaria can drink water if they keep it off their skin. Even so, a more severe allergy can develop anytime, causing swollen lips and irritation inside the mouth and throat. In the worst cases, anaphylaxis, a life threatening reaction, can occur when drinking water.
How rare is aquagenic urticaria?
Only around 37 cases of aquagenic urticaria have been documented in medical research.
How do you shower with aquagenic urticaria?
If you have aquagenic urticaria, applying a barrier of 100% petroleum jelly to the skin before showering is best. Doctors also recommend short showers and limiting the number of showers. It is best for a person with aquagenic urticaria to determine a showering schedule based on a doctors advice because a severe allergic reaction can happen anytime.
What is the life expectancy for aquagenic urticaria?
There are no published studies on life expectancy for those with aquagenic urticaria. That said, the risk of a severe allergic reaction to water is higher in persons without medical evaluation and treatment. Working with your doctor, you can decrease the risk of an allergic reaction and improve your quality of life.
Maybe I can help with hives...
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 getwith things. Symptoms are normally ones like indigestion, yeast infections and some peoplejust 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 largeamount of digestive issues like indigestion, heartburn and even irritablebowel syndrome. When our digestive system is notrunning 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 sideeffects 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 failus. 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 notthorough 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 thoroughcleaning 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 ofcaution: Some people who are desparate, like us hive people, tendto 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 thepace 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 whatis called "die-off"or a "healing crisis." Basically it means that symptoms will get worsebefore they get better. Thankfully though, mostdie-offs or healing crisises only last for a few days and then patientsstart seeing some improvement. A healing crisis ofdie-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 yourcolon 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. Thisliver congestion problem also significantly reduces our ability to absorb nutrients andthis just makes everything worse.
In my opinion, when someone is suffering from chronic hives, it is something that has probably been brewing for a whileand 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 Deflectthat 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 toknow 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 surprisinglygoodand 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 wasa 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)
