posted
I've been having chronic joint pain that flares up and recedes. I'm not too worried about it (I know what causes it) and that's not what my question is about anyway.
I've been having hives that come just about daily, go away for a few months, and then come back again. I take an antihistamine and they clear up. That's not what my question is about, either.
It dawned on me that perhaps the pain is triggering the hives. I've never heard of this happening, but two things happened that make me wonder. A couple of nights ago, while doing some (inadvisable, but, what the hey) heavy lifting, I wrenched my back painfully. The pain flashed and flared, and was just settling into place, when my hands started itching. And my wrists, and arms and legs and torso, and I was getting welts and hives all over.
Today, I was getting X-rays of my spine (I saw the films, and oh boy! I've never looked so slim. My ribs! My hipbones!) Lying on the X-ray table was quite uncomfortable, and before I got a chance to get up, itchy. My chest, back, arms, legs all developing itchy hives.
So now I'm thinking, can pain bring on hives? I've never heard of it, but there are more things in this world that I have heard of. Do any of you have any experience with this?
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
There is a condition called pressure urticaria. I imagine that pain could cause similar local inflammation and trigger urticaria.
I get itchy/inflamed palms when I carry plastic grocery bags that "cut" into the skin, or after other very localized intense pressure on the palms. (No jokes, please. ) Oddly enough, this occurs more rarely on the soles of my feet and very rarely anywhere else. However, I recall that the swollen stripes on my face at Noemonicon from napping on a corduroy fabric made people think I'd clawed myself.
(Again, please, refrain. )
I hadn't. Just pressure urticaria. Some of us happen to be terrible delicate of nature, don'tcha know.
posted
Oh, I get those, too. Like under my bra straps, my waistband, the tops of my socks, under my wristwatch. Lots of times when I start with the hives, they will emerge at these pressure points first, then start blossoming at non-pressure places (my tummy, back, arms, legs) soon after. I rarely get them on my face, which is nice.
But the parts of my body that I hive up don't necessarily correlate with the parts that hurt. Like right now, I have knee, ankle, toe, wrist, hip and back pain, but I have hives on my torso, arms, and legs.
Not like I'm complaining, mind you. I'm just stating the facts. Mostly, I'm a happy person. And I am well enough to go to work every day, take care of the house and my family, and still have enough time left over to spend too much time posting on forums. So, I am content.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Like I said, I have an aquaintance who gets hives when she's in pain. She has since she was a little girl, though. Have you had them since you were a little girl?
I have another who gets them from the cold.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
Well, hives often pop out when a person is under stress, and pain is stressful. Could it be stress, caused by pain?
My son was home today with hives. Later in the day, he had diarrhea. I remembered that the last time this happened, he got hives. So, I think his body reacts to certain sicknesses by breaking out in hives.It is hives first, then the virus.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Tante -- I don't want to second guess what you are saying about being a content person, but times in which you are in a high degree of pressure and "tough it out" can cause involuntary pains and even some mild allergies to flare up. This is particularly true of joint aches, lower back aches and stuff like that.
This is not to say that these don't have proper, physical origins, but please do make sure that you are not denying some things which you might be subconsciously worried about.
It might sound like some psychobabble, but it is worth a look in case other things don't work. I too had some similar problems ( mild allergies and strong back pain) and have always been the impossibly content sort of person. I did have to acknowledge finally that much of this worsened during periods of trouble and maybe that I was in semi-denial. For what it is worth, acknowledging this did help reduce the problems.
I apologise in case this seems like mind-reading. I am just a super-lurker but I thought that some pressure issues might be a remote possibility... Hope you get healthy soon.
Posts: 107 | Registered: Dec 2005
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posted
I'm doing OK, really. I have a mild case of lupus, so that accounts for the joint pain. I take it in stride, though.
It is true that I have stress in my life. Tons of it, really. I don't deny that I have stress, but what can I do but deal with it? Would I be happier without the troubles and worries that go along with life? Perhaps, but maybe I wouldn't feel as fulfilled as I do in dealing with and overcoming them.
I have a pretty positive outlook, and I have faith in my ability to overcome barriers and attain my goals.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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However, Sarno (the author of the book I linked) says that there might be some psychological issues that need acknowledgement before the problem reduces. Just acknowledging the pressure is not sufficient in his opinion. I am afraid this might sound like psychobabble. In all honesty, it still does to me. However, it seems to have worked in my case and in the case of some friends of mine.
Incidentally, Sarno says that some skin disorders such as (I quote from pg 30) "eczema, acne, hives and psoriasis" seem to frequently accompany people who suffer from severe back aches which lack strong physical origins. He has also listed other concomitant problems, but I thought this one might be reevant to you. Maybe you can just browse through other mentions of hives in the book to see if you also have some of the other symptoms that he lists along with skin disorders.
Most importantly, he lists personality types such as perfectionists and "good"-ists (i.e people who go out of their way to help others) that commonly seem to be affected by this. Again, I admit my skepticism to the whole thing (who wouldn't want self identify as a "good"-ist?), but since it is a short book that is probably available in your local library, it might be well worth a shot.
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) Oddly enough, this occurs more rarely on the soles of my feet and very rarely anywhere else. However, I recall that the swollen stripes on my face at Noemonicon from napping on a corduroy fabric made people think I'd clawed myself.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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