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1. I was very stressed with my job and family when it started. I had not changed anything in my life- not diet, not personal care products, nothing.
2. It started as me scratching my head (no, I did not have lice) excessively. My hair started thinning a little bit, I broke out in hives at random, and finally my lip and occasionally my eye would swell.
3. I was freaked out. I had NEVER had an allergic reaction- I don't get posion ivy or even hay fever.
4. Doctor gave me a steroid pack to "reset my system" and told me to take zantac (histamine blocker, prevents body cells from receiving histamine) and claritin/ benadryl (anti-histamine, stops histamine production)
Recently, this has started again. I think I triggered it when I was yet again scratching too much. My other triggers tend to be stress, and whenever I am on my period it also seems more likely to happen.
The most important things I have learned to deal with the swelling are:
1. Take an anti-histamine allergy medicine, and histamine (H2) blocker if you have it.
2. Wait. Do not touch the area or further irritate it (not even to put an ice pack on it), which would result in the release of more histamine and a prolonged problem.
When you scratch, your body releases histamine. If you scratch too much, the histamine overwhelms your cells and causes an allergic response (hives, swelling, etc). This whole deal is called the scratch-itch response. In my case, this seems to be the problem. Maybe it could be for you too?View Thread
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