SID and hives

Post Reply New Topic

A friend of mine from another support group has been diagnosed with SID (the sensory kind!) and upon touching certain fabrics she develops hives.

She is having a battle with her allergist, because he does not believe it can be an actual allergic reaction and has kind of left her hanging. I thought that since there seem to be a couple few people here with SID on the touching level, I might be able to find someone with some opinion, or similar experiences with her. (She does have several diagnosed allergies and some are severe.)

what is the question?

i have eczema. it's itchy.

ive never heard of hives resulting from SID (SPD). SID is neurological.

has she ever tried an antihistamine?

what kind of fabric causes this? for how long does she touch it before developing hives?
could it have more to do with something that the fabric has been exposed to?

some drugs can cause this as a non-allergic reaction.

I've got SID and I'm allergic to pretty much everything (including the crappy tap water at my school). I don't know if the two are related though...it seems like it would be two separate things.

Also, allergy to a type of fabric sounds unusual...maybe she's allergic to a type of detergent or fabric softener? Also, synthetic fabrics sometimes don't breath, which might lead to a reaction...

I used to get hives every day until I started taking Zyrtec. That stuff literally saved my skin.

She could very well be allergic to the synthetics (nylon, lycra, etc) it's not impossible. She may want to start a log on what triggers the reaction.

Here's a link with more info:

http://www.latexallergylinks.org/lycra.html

Thanks for the link!

About Zyrtec, I have a 6 year old on that, worked wonders for his environmental allergies, he hasn't had an ear ache since we put him on it.

I don't know all the specifics of how long it takes or how long they last, I have e-mailed her a link to this thread though, I'll let you know if she feels comfortable with me posting more about it.

One of my sons has conditions called dermatographism and physical urticaria. Which means he can get hives from pressure (touching), heat, cold and stress. Having a rough fabric against his skin would cause him to break out in hives, so would being bound tightly with any fabric (i.e. tight waist band). This could be what is causing your friend's hives.

The other suggestions about a possible chemical allergy or sensitivity are also good ones to investigate. My son can't tolerate any kind of fabric softener and only very mild detergent used to wash his clothes. I also know a little girl who is highly allergic to the flame retardant chemicals that they put on certain fabrics.

Sorry to hear her allergist isn't being helpful.

I get hives; I chalk it up to anxiety from the ASD.

No precipitating factor other than sweating (it's not miliaria rubra). It comes and goes.

Hi,

I am Detren's friend.

I get hives when certain fabrics touch my skin for even short periods of time.

Since I was a kid, I could tell people the percentage of certain fabrics in the material based on how much pain I was in by just brushing my fingers against it.

However, during the last two years I realized that I was getting hives when I touched the offending materials with my hands and I could no longer wash away the pain (used to wash my hands immediately afterward and that would lower the pain load).

I am allergic to Corn and get the same type of hives to it when touched as I do to materials. Getting noticeable hives to Corn started at the same time as getting hives to materials.

The fabrics I react to: Polyester, Wool, Angora, Microfiber (the worst), Elastic, Silk, and some other synthetics.

I do not react to: Cotton, Nylon, Leather, and Velvet.

I also do not react to Latex gloves, but I do react to the Corn that is used to powder most Latex gloves.

I react to the adhesive in standard bandaids. Actually, I react to all adhesives.

Since December 2008, I have had to remove all the tags from my clothing. They were always annoying, but now they cause hives and endless itching.

I can not take Zyrtec. I get an allergic reaction to it.

I react to almost all medications negatively. I have to have all my medications handmade without Corn to have even the smallest chance of not having a negative reaction to it.

I am not Autistic, but I do have some severe Neurological problems (Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis) as well as the SID and Allergies. Hope you don't mind me posting here. I don't know which chicken, egg, or yolk came first.

I used to get hives when I was seven and my mother always kept me home from school. None of us never knew how I got them.

Hmmmm...that is complicated. My sons also have multiple environmental and severe food allergies, I know how incredibly frustrating it can be when you can't figure out what you're reacting too.

Some of the fabrics you are listing are natural and some are synthetics, so that would seem to contradict a chemical allergy (unless they are all being laundered in the same detergents or all dry cleaned). There is no way that most people with any skin sensitivity could tolerate angora or wool (even thinking about them makes me break out in hives!?!) and polyester can be extremely irritating. My sons and I wear only 100% cotton clothing. Tags in clothing will also cause painful hives and itching for my son. It is because of his physical urticaria and there isn't anything that can be done to prevent this other than avoidance and then treating with antihistamines and/or a cortisone cream.

Is it possible to take some of the offending fabrics into your allergist's office to do a test with them right then and there, and show him exactly what you're talking about?

I hope you get some answers and relief soon.