Welts

[galnstoon]

Hi there, this is my first posting on this site and I have just recently put all my symptoms togther and realized that I have probably had DH for years (10-20), with the help of all the sites avail and people sharing their symptoms, especially the ones that are not typical, thank you all for that. I do have a few questions though if you don't mind reading my story.

It all started when I decided to get "healthier" and started eating whole grain bread with poached eggs every morning beginning last spring.

The beginning of June, I had my first welt/bump about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter, swollen, hard, itchy to begin with (while growing) and then to painful to itch. I had one that showed up somewhere everyday and in 24 hours it would be gone and would show up somewhere else. Usually on the bottoms of my feet or the palms of my hands but could be anywhere, in fact it was on my tongue twice. I have read it described by others, but tonight I can't find where that was. Others have described it well by feeling like walking on golfballs. By August I was getting up to 5 of them a day and had some days that I really couldn;t walk but didn;t worry because I knew it would be gone by the next day. I was losing sleep though and of course friends and family urged me to go to the doctor, who has no idea what they are but referred me to a dermitologist (appt is booked for Feb/07), so that they both wouldn't know together, his words, lol. He also recommended that i switch back to eating good old white bread and see if it helps. It didn't, so after looking it up on the internet I decided to go without gluten and have done so for about a month (at least I think so). I have not had a welt/bump since about 1 week after starting this diet but would like to know if they have a name?

The other symptoms I have are a rash (DH) on my hands and forearms that I have had forever but it definately got worse this summer, as well as spreading to my stomach where I also had some hives. And of course the huge bloated stomach that my doctor felt was just a few extra pounds from overeating this summer (scale said I didn't gain any pounds, but belt was out 2 more notches).

I definately have been feeling better but had some soup with MSG this past weekend and my stomach bloated up again and I got hives and DH on my stomach again. I have read that MSG is ok but some still react? Is that right? I have also read that Citric Acid is bad and on another site its ok. What is the word on MSG and Citric Acid?

My Doctor told me to take an anihistamine for a month and the itch lessened but the rash(DH?) did not go away. If the rash is DH would an antihistamine help or would that say that it is prob an allergy? Anyway when I stop taking it the itch gets worse again.

A pleasant surprise is that I am not constipated anymore, another symptom that I have talked to doctors about in the past and of course they recommend more bran and cerials etc. I always felt that it made it worse and gave up trying to add more to my diet. Of course I have been eating more fruits and vegetables and that could be helping but really didn't befor the new diet.

Sorry to bore you with my story but it sure has been good to read yours and see that all these things could be connected. I don't think it has been as bad for me, and I seem to have figured it out pretty quickly because of this site, but I have also read that you get more sensitive after starting the gluten-free diet and I think I already notice that, hopefully it will be more good then bad in the time to come. Thank you for your answers, I really want to have this figured out by the time I go to the Dermatoligist in Feb.

[2kids4me]

I hope this helps.

My daughter had dermatographia (a form of angioedema and not what you have....)which is mentioned in the quote from the site. At first I thought we ended up with a quack dermatologist - when he took a tongue depressor and ran it down my daughters' back - then a huge welt line appeared before my eyes and he says : dermatographia.

The article has good info on angioedema which may or may not be what you have:

Open Original Shared Link

Hives — also known as urticaria — are raised, red, often itchy welts (wheals) of various sizes that appear and disappear on the skin. Angioedema, a similar swelling, causes large welts deeper in the skin, especially near the eyes and lips

Hives are raised, red bumps of various sizes that appear and disappear on your skin. They're often itchy and may look similar to mosquito bites. Wheals tend to occur in batches.

Angioedema is similar to hives, but occurs deeper in the skin. Signs and symptoms of angioedema include large welts or swelling of the skin that may occur in the following locations:

Especially near your eyes and lips

On your hands

On your feet

On your genitalia

Inside your throat

The lesions of hives and angioedema are caused by inflammation in the skin. In some cases, hives and angioedema are triggered when certain cells (mast cells) — which line the blood vessels in your skin — release histamine and other chemicals into your bloodstream and skin.

Allergic reactions to medications or foods can cause acute hives or angioedema. Many allergens have been identified.

Examples include:

Foods. Many foods can cause problems in sensitive people, but shellfish, fish, nuts, eggs and milk are frequent offenders.

Medications. Almost any medication may cause hives or angioedema, but more common culprits include antibiotics, aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) and blood pressure medications.

Other allergens. Other substances that can cause hives and angioedema include pollen, animal dander, latex and substances injected into your skin from insect stings.

Additional triggers that may produce hives or angioedema include:

Physical factors. Environmental elements also can result in the release of histamine with subsequent hives or angioedema in some people. Examples of these factors include elements such as heat, cold, sunlight, water, pressure on the skin, emotional stress and exercise.

Dermatographism. The name of this condition literally means "write on the skin." When pressure is applied to the skin or the skin is scratched, raised lines appear on those areas due to histamine-based angioedema that leads to swelling beneath the skin.

[AndreaB]

I definately have been feeling better but had some soup with MSG this past weekend and my stomach bloated up again and I got hives and DH on my stomach again. I have read that MSG is ok but some still react? Is that right? I have also read that Citric Acid is bad and on another site its ok. What is the word on MSG and Citric Acid?

Welcome Galnstoon!

I don't know your DH questions but we have had people with multiple chemical sensitivities as well as people with some intolerances react to citric acid. It is corn derived and is a source of hidden msg. I tend to believe the msg site that another poster pulled a huge list from. I think I saved it over to my computer, if you are interested I can post it on this thread.

[galnstoon]

Welcome Galnstoon!

I don't know your DH questions but we have had people with multiple chemical sensitivities as well as people with some intolerances react to citric acid. It is corn derived and is a source of hidden msg. I tend to believe the msg site that another poster pulled a huge list from. I think I saved it over to my computer, if you are interested I can post it on this thread.

Thank you, I would appreciate more info on MSG.

[AndreaB]

This is a list of ingredients that contain hidden msg.

MSG hidden in foods, more complete list.

annatto, artificial flavorings, Auxi-gro (yep- they're spraying it in the soil), B vitamins from yeast, barley malt (beer) scary thought mixing msg with alcohol, beef flavoring, bouillon, broth - all types, buttermilk powder, carrageenan, casein, cheese culture, chicken flavoring, citric acid (where you would not normally find it naturally), clam broth concentrate, corn syrup (soda - need we say more), cornstarch, cream of tarter, cream powder, cultured whey, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, all encapsulated drugs, vitamins, minerals, enzyme modified butter, enzyme modified parmesian cheese, enzymes, flavorings (too many to number), gelatin, guar gum, malt extract, malt flavoring, maltodextrin (solutions for frozen turkeys and chickens), modified corn starch, modified food starch, molasses, monoammonian glutamate, mushroom powder, natural flavorings, nonfat dry milk, paprika oleoresin - not paprika itself, pasteurized part skim milk, pork flavoring, protein, phosphoric acid, seasonings and season mixes, selenium from yeast, smoke flavoring, sodium citrate, soy extract, soy protein, soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, soy sauce, soy starch, spices (any time you see the word), stock - all types, tapioca, textured protein, torula yeast, vegetable gum

waxes on fruit and vegetables, whey protein, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate.

Besides the above, all fruits that have been waxed for appeal have MSG in the wax. Many farmers are spraying Auxi-Gro on their crops now, which has MSG in it so that pertains to vegetables. Most all frozen meats and poultry now come with a 12% maltodextrin solution shot into it for better flavor due to freezing. That maltodextrin is the ingredient that they used to get the MSG into that Thanksgiving turkey. And of course, this is what makes the Colonel taste so good. Can't stop eating it can you? Candy, cookies and even ice cream have MSG in them now so it's not just salted food items but even sweet foods. If you ever buy a citric acid product like juice and it has 'citric acid' listed in the ingredients - that's because monosodium glutamate is added to citric acid in order to hide it.

Worse yet are sodas and beer. MSG is being found in barley for beer and corn syrup for sodas. We'll all agree that everyone abuses those. Remember, the FDA is allowing this.

[azmom3]

The big welts soundlike hives to me. Hives can be small or large, can come 1 at a time or 100 at a time, can stay for a while or disappear quickly. I had 1-2 inch diameter hives all over my body several times (never did find out what from), but the description you gave about walking on golf balls was exactly how I felt. They are unbelievably itchy and are usually hot and swollen and sometimes painful, too, especially on the bottom of your feet when you're walking on them. Two of my 3 kids get hives. My youngest gets lots of them all over and they look more like mosquito bites and come and go all day long, reappearing in different areas. My oldest gets huge ones, anywhere from 1-6 at a time and they don't completely go away for up to 5-6 days. As soon as they're gone though, they appear somewhere else.

Good luck! They can be absolutely miserable. I rank hives up there with some of the worse things I've gone through.

[Budew]

I found out white potato makes me itch. Even a slice and by bedtime my face legs and arms are effected.