I have chronic hives .... why, I don’t know other than I am allergic to a lot of stuff. Sometimes I wake up with them. Sometimes my feet start itching & other times I get them on my thighs and/or around my knees.
I did some research a couple of years ago & ran across an obscure reference to Vitamin D for hives:
“Dr. Andrew Weil highlights a University of Nebraska Medical Center study showing that adding 4,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily to standard allergy medication significantly reduces the severity of chronic hives. In the study, patients taking this higher dose experienced a further 40 percent decrease in symptom severity after three months, compared to those taking a lower 600 IU dose which saw no additional improvement after the first week.
Dr. Weil generally recommends 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for general health, noting that deficiency is common due to limited sun exposure and sunscreen use, but specifically endorses the higher 4,000 IU dose for chronic urticaria based on the cited clinical trial.”
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I started at 4,000 IU, increased up to 5,000 IU, without the addition of ‘standard allergy medication’. I could tell the difference ... on days I took Vit D first thing, I rarely got hives. If I got hives & took Vit D promptly, often the hives would go away. If I had a really bad case, 1/2 to 1 fexofenadine antihistamine takes care of them. I have since gone to 10,000 IU per day (plus Vit K), more for general immunity purposes than specifically hives. Mom is on 10K as well & her Vit D level is 62 ng/ml which is pretty darn good for a 92 yo! The two of us rarely get sick & usually “kick” bugs to the curb in about 3 days. Another factor: neither of us got the immune system killer C19 jabs.
So I mention this to you because, although the cause of your hives is different than mine, Vitamin D just might help. I can’t imagine no red meat!
Might have to try it. Would be good on cloudy days like this when you can’t get Vit D from the sun. Haven’t seen the name Dr Andrew Weil in years but used to watch his talks.
Yeah I’m not big on fish that’s farmed in S America. Fish isn’t real filling either, at least not for long. Shellfish is pricey. After a few weeks of chicken, I get sick of it.
The alpha-gal test was pretty cheap last I knew. Doc takes a little blood and sends it off to VA which is where the medical scientists are that discovered it and patented the test for it. They charged $40 for the test but that was years ago.
You could try keeping track of the time between eating red meat and getting the hives. If it’s 5-8 hours, it’s probably alpha-gal.
The hives like the extremities and skin that never sees the sun. Under the arms, behind the legs, the butt, stomach. Usually starts with my hands/fingers.
I’ve been eating brats a lot lately and they haven’t affected me but it’s probably been good timing. I ate two beef hot dogs years back and got hives. Corned beef hash from the can as well.
X aka twitter is currently viral about alpha-gal syndrome like it’s something new. Got videos of farmers allegedly finding boxes of ticks on their property. People claiming Bill Gates is behind it and the ticks are being dropped by planes.
It’s taken 20 years to spread a distance of 1-2 states. Seems about right for tick walking speed. LOL
Where I am was just outside the map of known cases 15 years ago when we moved here. Had no issue for a few years but then it came back as ticks here started to carry it. Could it be a 20 year old science experiment that started on the East coast? Who knows.