Favorite Moisturizers

Back with some more products that have helped my hives.  

I am getting the hang of finding my hive triggers and getting the outbreaks under control and preventing them.  Definitely food and heat are triggers for me.  I notice if my skin is dry and irritated to begin with my hives outbreaks are more severe and last longer.  If I start off with moisturized skin my hive outbreaks are stay limited around my lymph points and I can get them under control and recover faster.  Therefore, I have been focused on finding effective moisturizers that my skin responds to.  

I tried the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream because it has colloidal oatmeal.  It's a nice moisturizer but I can't put it on when I have active hives because it tingles and actually adds to the burning sensation of the hives.  I think the tingling sensation is when my skin is super dry/distressed because even when I don't have hives if my skin is dry and dehydrated this will cause a tingling sensation for me.  I bought a huge 8 oz tube and will not repurchase.  Luckily, you can use it all over your body so it won't go to waste.  

I just repurchased this Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask.  It really helps seal in moisture and I can use it on active hives without exacerbating them.  I don't use this every night, just when I feel like I need to seal in extra moisture.  

Currently, I'm trying this Fresh Floral Recovery Mask and so far I really like it.  I use it at night instead of my usual moisturizer.  Haven't tried it on an active hives outbreak yet (luckily no outbreak to test it on).  It's nice and thick and I like that I can add a few drops of oil to if I want. 

Not sure if I mentioned my new favorite moisturizer, Dr. Hauschka rose day cream. It's super thick and incredibly hydrating.  I usually order it from amazon unless I see it on sale at Whole Foods.  I have repurchased this so many times.  It is my new nightly moisturizer.  I love that I can mix it with a few drops of marula oil or some meadowfoam seed oil for extra soothing hydration.  I can use it on active hives and it doesn't add to the burning.  Some people don't like how thick it is so they created a rose day cream light, but I like the thickness of the original.  It thins out a bit when I mix it with oil and my skin just soaks it up.  

I am still making my own body wash and tweaking each batch with different ingredients depending on what my skin needs and how much hydration I want.  I use this Alba Coconut Rescue but I hate putting lotion over my whole body.  I have been bumping up the oils and butters in my homemade body wash to eliminate the need to add lotion to my body post-bathing.  

I am learning the lesson that, for me, less is more when it comes to skincare.  The fewer products I use the better for my sensitive, reactive skin.  I don't use toner, serums, etc.  Just gentle face wash, pure oils and a simple moisturizer.  I rarely use facial masks anymore and I find my skin responds better with less.  I still use the Dr. Gross peel pads but only a few times a month, definitely not weekly.  I use the ExfoliKate mask as needed, maybe once every 10 days or so.  White rice flour is still my favorite gentle exfoliator.  

I have heard great things about using tallow as a moisturizer and I am intrigued but have not tried it yet. Not ruling it out for the future.  

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Note: None of the links are affiliate links. They are just to show you the product.

Updated Moisturizers for Hives

I thought I would update products that help with my hives.  One thing I have learned is that if my skin is feeling dry and irritated I can develop small clusters of hives on my shoulders and upper arms and forehead after showering.  (Heat/steam is one of my hive triggers).  I have been trying to keep my skin as moisturized as possible.  I currently live in a dry climate, the humidity daily ranges from 10-25%, and it doesn’t take much for my skin to get dry and dehydrated.  I have tried so many moisturizers from high end (Augustus Bader ) to drugstore (Cerave) and many in between. The Augustinus Bader Rich cream was nice but it has vitamin C (citric acid) in it which causes my sensitive skin to become irritated.  Not to the point I break out in hives but my face is red after applying and stays that way for an hour or two.  It was however, very moisturizing.

My dermatologist recommended La Roche-Posay brand products.  So I decided to look into the brand and try some different products.

My skin responds well to oatmeal so I picked up this moisturizer and like it.  I don’t use it daily, I only use when my skin feels dry and tight or it I have hives.  I also tried this balm  and loved it.  I add a bit of it to any moisturizer I use morning or evening. Just a tiny amount does the trick for me.  I liked it so much I reordered a new tube when I ran out (the tube lasted for months).  I also got this moisturizer which I know is formulated for evening but I use it in the morning.  It is great for calming my skin when it's irritated.  I tried the morning version but didn't like it as much as the evening formula.  

I also decided to try a new face cleanser.  I got this one and only use it if I have hives or my face is actively irritated It's nice and gentle.  I still have Cerave because my husband uses it (Cerave was another brand my dermatologist recommended).  But I like the vanicream better for myself.  I also stopped washing my face with face wash in the morning, I just splash my face with water.  Oddly, that really has helped.  It was hard to get used to at first, I always wash my face in the morning, with just water my face didn't feel "clean."  I use cool water (again, hot/warm water is a trigger for my hives) so it's quite brisk.  I splash it a few times til I feel "clean."  Now I'm used to it and it really has helped cut down on the facial hives outbreaks.  

I did order some new-to-me brands of moisturizers at the sephora sale and will report back on any that work.  

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Note: none of the links are affiliate links. They are just to show you the product.

My Xolair Experience

I can't believe I haven't updated on my xolair experience.  I finished my course of six shots in Nov.  On average most people start to see the results of xolair after the third shot.  I didn't notice any difference in my hives until after the 5th shot.  Anyway, here is my experience.

The Process 

I got 2 shots, one in each arm (some patients only require 1 shot in one arm) and had to sit in the allergist office for an hour after the injection so the nurses can monitor me.  I bring and have to have my EpiPen handy in case I have an adverse reaction to the xolair. Halfway through my hour wait the physician’s assistant comes in to check on me and discuss my symptoms, vitals, etc, kinda like a regular follow up appointment.  At the end of the hour the nurse comes back to ensure I’m still not experiencing any adverse reaction before releasing me.  They encourage you to bring something to do while waiting so I brought knitting to work on and that made the wait pass quickly.  

The shots go in the back of the arm muscle and the medication is so viscous that it takes a bit to get it plunge out of the syringe (only a few seconds).  My first two shots where uncomfortable and I had dark purple bruising that lasted two weeks after the injection (I must note that I bruise very easily).  The third shot I had a nurse who was smart and left the medicine out at room temp to warm up and I barely felt those injections and have zero bruising.  So if you are getting these injections have them set the medicine out at room temp for at least 15 min.  

My shots were 4 weeks apart and for my fourth, fifth and sixth injections I only need to stay in the allergist’s office for 30 mins. 

My Results

The first shot I didn’t notice a difference in my symptoms.  After the second injection I started to have severe stomach distention after eating.  It’s hard to say this is related to the xolair as I suffer from this distention due to GI issue flair ups off and on (and have for years)  But the further away from the second injection the better my hives became.  I still got daily hives but the patches of hives were smaller and not as wide spread.  The day of my third injection was the first day I woke up without hives in months.  But the day after my injection the hives came back in the evening but limited to a much smaller area. 

I also noticed after the second shot I started to retain more water and my body seemed “puffy”.  Especially my fingers, arms, legs.  Symptoms stayed the same until the fifth shot.  I started to finally have more hive-free days.  

Now I can get a xolair shot as needed.  Some people wait 3, 6, or 9 months. Others go once back once a year.  I haven't had any xolair since my sixth injection in Nov and I don't know if I will go back for one as I suspect my body didn't tolerate the xolair well.  The further away from my xolair shots the more my symptoms improved.  I really never noticed immediate results after the injections.  

Today, I still get hives but I am learning how to mitigate them better and I'm starting to get longer spans of hive-free days.  And my hive patches are much smaller and easier to manage.   

Natural Remedies

I also discovered some other things that help minimize the hives outbreaks. It’s nice to have things that can help relieve the hives when they pop up.

Shower filter.  I don’t think I mentioned this before but years ago we bought a charcoal water filter that fits onto the shower head and you replace every year. (Rotate it every six months).  

Charcoal soap that I picked up on a whim at my local heath food store.  I let the lather sit on my hives and it really helps to calm them, especially on my shoulders, arms, chest and neck.  

Also, I started using white rice flour on my facial hives and it helps with the itchiness, stinging, and redness.  I just add a few drops of water to make a past and gently massage it on my face and neck and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing.  Sometimes I blend oats into a fine powder and mix the oat flour with the rice flour which is great for calming the hives.  I try to use the rice flour every day because it really helps calm my skin. I use Bob’s Red Mill rice flour (the same that you cook with) and I like how finely ground it is.  I was surprised at how effective these two things have been to help calm an active hives outbreak.  

Unfiltered raw honey.  In the morning I apply it to my damp face and allow it to sit while I brush my teeth.  Then rinse it off.  Any brand will do as long as the honey is raw and unfiltered.  Trader Joes has a good one as well as Local Hive.   

There are also supplements I have been experimenting with that help control histamine in the body.  Vitamin C, Nettle, Turmeric (with black pepper for better absorption) are ones I have handled well.  I was taking quercetin with bromelain  but didn't seem to tolerate it well so I'm pausing that but may try again in the future. (I think it's the bromelain that didn't agree with me).  I also am interested in trying black seed oil as it is supposed to help reduce inflammation.

I'm currently exploring anti/low histamine diets.  I just started this past week and I will update if I find anything useful.   

Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (aka Chronic Hives with unknown cause)

Thought I would write this post to help others who find themselves with the dreaded diagnosis of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (chronic hives with an unknown cause).  

It all started last fall with what I assumed was a skin rash mainly on my neck, shoulders, upper arms and chest.  I didn’t think too much of it at the time because I have always had sensitive skin and can develop rashes from certain fabrics and products.  I thought that trying new skincare products was the cause of the rash.  Later, when this rash appeared on my neck the same day as of one of my allergist appointments I asked about it and the nurse told me it was actually hives.  I should have paid more attention to these rashes at the time.

  

In Sept I was eating a new brand of granola and halfway thru eating I started feeling a hot, tingling sensation in my face that turned into full blown hives all over my body.  They made my skin feel like it was on fire, itchy and covered in raised red bumps.  I started to panic and my husband suggested I take benadryl to see if it would help.  After 20 min the itchiness lessened but the raised red rash lingered for hours.  I thought it was a food allergy from the new granola (it contained cashew butter and tree nut allergies are common) so I tossed the granola and moved on.  

The next month, almost to the day, the same thing happened—full blown raised hives all over my body. This time while I was drinking my morning cup of Early Grey tea with milk and honey (I have been drinking this daily for the past 3 years—same brand of tea, same brand of milk, same brand of honey).  Once the same hot, tingling sensation in my face/ears started I looked in the mirror my face neck and upper chest were covered in hives.  I took some benadryl and immediately made an appointment with an allergist.  

These full body hives attacks have continued to happen 1-2 times/month at random times ever since. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes afternoon.  I have no idea what triggers the hives which is frustrating as I want to prevent them.  Once I was vacuuming when I broke out in hives.   

Symptoms

For me, they usually start with the sensation of a burning and tingling sensation in my face/ears.  Then it moves to my joints—shoulders, elbows, knees, and spreads to the rest of my body from these points. 

My lips also tingle and swell, some times my lips are so swollen it looks like I had lip injections. I have had my tongue tingle along with feeling itching all down my esophagus, similar to the feeling of chicken pox down your esophagus.  My ears itch and pop as if there is an altitude change.   

Also I will get a rash--small red bumps usually in clusters.  Mostly on my forehead, neck, chest, shoulders, abdomen.  It is random and can appear on one or multiple areas and it usually itches.  I’ll talk later about what helps ease my hives.

Sometimes if I take a shower that is too hot I break out in hives in my joints and along my upper chest and shoulders.  

At the Allergist

At my first allergist appointment, after explaining my symptoms, the doctor performed a simple skin histamine test.  He took a wooden stick (one of those long cotton swab sticks) and made three lines on the underside of my forearm, from light to moderate pressure.  All three lines immediately became inflamed, raised and red, which is positive result for urticaria.  He ordered bloodwork to test for any possible underlying conditions that could be causing the hives.  Gut issues can also lead to hives and I asked if my eosinophilic gastritis was related to the hive attacks.  He said it was most likely related but not sure how (were the hives causing the gastrsis or the gastritis the hives? Answer was anyone’s guess).

I noted how the attacks came around the same cycle day of my menstrual cycle, CD 23, and I asked if the hives could be hormone related.  The doctor said hormones can act as carriers for the histamine so he wasn’t sure if the progesterone was causing my hives or just acting as a facilitator for the histamine to move through my body.  He ordered a progesterone allergy test to show whether or not I had progesterone sensitivity allergy. 

 

The progesterone allergy test wasn’t too bad.  It was supposed to take about 30 min but I ended up being there for 3 hours.  It took so long because I did react to the progesterone shots but the wheals weren’t the minimum size (they needed to be 7mm for a positive result) so the nurse had to consult with the doctor and they decided to do an additional dilution.  The progesterone test turned out negative for me.   

In the end they determined that there was no way to know what was causing my hives.  It could be anything and I likely would never find the cause. My case is not uncommon, with chronic urticaria the root cause is often never discovered.  Most likely it is related to an autoimmune issue rather than an allergy but the doctor said it's hard to know for sure.   

Treatment

The allergist immediately prescribed zyrtec.  Zyrtec is a H1 blocker (histamine blocker) and is supposed to be the best for hive skin issues.  For me it didn’t help so they bumped me up to 2 a day.  That made me more tired but I still got hives.  I was told to add pepcid everyday which is a H2 blocker (in addition to being a stomach acid drug).  That didn’t help so they doubled that dose (the doctor actually wrote me out a prescription so I didn’t have to keep buying a bunch of OTC meds).  I’m still getting clusters of hives on my face, neck, shoulders, chest, and/or abdomen. I  also experience the mouth/lip/tongue tingling sensation as well as itchy hives in my mouth and esophagus.  Also, my lips still swell and lasts a day or two.  

Since the H1 and H2 blockers aren't effective, the next step for me is xolair.  It's a drug which binds to IgE in the blood it can’t bind to the histamine receptors which causes the hives response. In my case, the doctor ordered a round of 6 shots total, one shot every 4 weeks.  The doctor told me xolair could help my autoimmune GI issues as well as my hives.    

For the first 3 appointments I have to stay in the doctor’s office for 1-2 hours after the shot to make sure I tolerate it well and don’t go into anaphylaxsis shock (you are also prescribed an EpiPen). The approval process is pretty involved since it’s a specialty drug and it takes anywhere from 2 weeks to 30 days.  

What Helps?

Since I have been dealing with hives the past eight months I have had plenty of time to experiment and try different things to find relief.  Here is what works for me.

Ice

When my face starts to feel hot and itchy I grab ice, wrap it in a muslin facial cloth and start rubbing it all over my face and neck.  This works fast and usually within 10 min or so the itchiness has stopped and it stops the hives from spreading past my face/neck.    

Oatmeal Baths

When the hives are all over my body I like to take an oatmeal bath.  I take quick oats and blend them into powder and add it to my bath water.  This helps with the itching but doesn’t remove all the redness.  

Topical Treatments

I have been trying to find a moisturizer that helps when I have active hives on my face, neck and chest.  I always have Cerave moisturizer on hand and while it doesn’t aggravate my hives it doesn’t really calm them.  I have tried so many moisturizers and, so far, the best for me is Kate Somerville’s Goat Milk moisturizer.  It helps remove the redness and makes my hives noticeably smaller.   Cerave also has this anti-itch lotion that I use when I have a flare up on my neck. It helps with the itching but again, does not clear my hives.    

Also, this Kate Somerville exfoliator is amazing.  It’s not too harsh to cause a hives flare up and it makes my hives less noticeable.  I use it a few times per week and every time I use it my husband comments the next day how good my skin looks.    

I also have some clear calamine lotion that helps with the itchy patches that crop up.  I don’t notice that it clears the hives just helps with itching.  I usually apply this to my neck and upper chest/shouder hive patches not my face.

I also have a prescription steroid cream (topicort) which I use on my facial hives (mostly on my forehead).

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Note: none of the links are affiliate links. They are just to show you the product.

Pso-Spine for diy myofascial release

Whenever I discover something that helps with pain I have to share it. We recently ordered a pso-spine and I have been amazed at how quickly I felt results. I have a lot of neck/shoulder pain because I hold a lot of tension in my thoracic spine (my physical therapist always had to release my T5 vertebrae during my mysofacial appointments). Laying my upper back on the pso-spine really helps loosen up the muscles in my back and shoulder. It is kind of like a diy myofascial release in your home.

I'm not gonna lie, it can be painful, especially at first. For that reason I don't use it everyday--I like to give my muscles a chance to rest so they don't become too inflamed and irritated and thus tighten back up.

We also have the pso-rite (we ordered it a couple years ago) and I use it occasionally. It does help if you want to release your psoas and help loosen up your pelvis and hip flexors. I actually prefer the pso-spine. I can lay on my lower back and get a really good release in my lower back, pelvis, and hamstrings. My hamstrings are constantly tight due to a slight anterior pelvic tilt I have and both these tools help.

The pso-spine is one of the best tools I have purchased for at home pain relief. I miss my myofascial release PT appointments and this device comes closest to recreating that myofascial release. Best part is I can do it myself.

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NOTE: Not an ad--I found the pso spine helpful and just wanted to share it with others. The links above are not affiliate links

Building The Perfect Smoothie

Remember when I shared with you that I was starting to make smoothies? I promised some recipes once I perfected them and those are coming. Before I share some of my favorite concoctions I thought I'd pass along a few tips I've learned.

Above is a visual "formula" for my smoothies. I've detailed each "layer" below. Basically, I mix and match what I have (or what is in season)to come up with the daily smoothie. I love this method because I can customize it by making it low-oxalate (which I've been trying to follow recently due to some recurring GI/pain issues).

I can’t be the only one

I believe there must be other people out there who have experienced severe pain attacks. I have been suffering from them monthly for the past 5 years. It starts off as a burning in my abdomen that quickly spreads to my chest. Then BAM….instant pain coursing throughout my body. It feels like a vice is around my rib cage, squeezing all the air out of my lungs. In addition to that, I feel an elephant or bowling ball is on my chest. Also, it feels like someone is pouring hot oil all over from my hips to my pelvis. Intense pain between the shoulder blades. Stabbing, “fire poker” pain in my left, upper abdomen, behind my ribs. This “fire poker” pain feels like a sharp, searing pain, followed by a feeling of ripping out of my flesh; like someone is repeatedly stabbing me with a fire poker. It feels like a hamster is trying to scratch & crawl its way out from behind only my left rib cage. I break out into a sweat, yet my teeth are chattering and I’m freezing cold (I have been told that this feeling of being cold despite sweating is my body going into shock). I lay in a fetal position crying, wrapped in a blanket, trying to gain control of my breathing. I lie there, in intense, debilitating pain, until the attack ceases; anywhere form 30-60 minutes. Once the pain becomes tolerable I’m weak, spent, exhausted. All I can do is drink water and curl up to sleep. I’m dazed, light headed, unsteady.