how to find cause of hives?

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John - 28 Feb 2004 20:12 GMT

My new girlfriend was at my house for the fourth time when she broke out in
hives shortly after lunch time. The hives are all over her body, chest,
abdomen, back, hips, arms. She said her eyes were itchy too.

Is there a non itching way to figure out the cause (my cat or the lunch we
ate at a new restaurant) from the symtom and its duration? It lasted 3 or 4
days more after she left my house. She said she used to have cats when she
was young.

Now she's afraid to come to my house. I'm hoping it was caused by the food,
but if it turns out to be my cat, I'm not sure what to do. Getting rid of
the cat isn't going to remove all the allergens right away.

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anon - 28 Feb 2004 22:47 GMT

> Is there a non itching way to figure out the cause

Nope. Trial and error, putting two and two together, etc. If you've had
only a single episode, forget about it. If you have more than one,
sometimes you can start to see a pattern...but not always. Hives can be
caused by almost *anything*, and 90% of the time you aren't going to be
able to figure out what caused it. Good luck.

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Lisa - 29 Feb 2004 15:36 GMT

I'm betting it's the cat. You need to ask her if she's eaten whatever
you had before. Or, are there any new ingredients that she never
tried? I'd also encourage her to go for allergy testing and they'll
test her for various foods as well as animals. Another thing, if she
was petting the cat, chances are she got fur on her clothes. If she
went home, put her clothes aside, the fur from the clothes could be
lingering?

> > Is there a non itching way to figure out the cause
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> caused by almost *anything*, and 90% of the time you aren't going to be
> able to figure out what caused it. Good luck.

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PF Riley - 29 Feb 2004 21:26 GMT

>I'm betting it's the cat.

Probably not. Diffuse urticaria lasting several days as the sole
manifestation of a cat exposure would be extremely unusual.

>You need to ask her if she's eaten whatever
>you had before. Or, are there any new ingredients that she never
>tried? I'd also encourage her to go for allergy testing and they'll
>test her for various foods as well as animals.

Which would be more likely to confuse matters rather than prove what
caused the hives.

PF

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oldal4865 - 29 Feb 2004 18:54 GMT

John wrote in message
<627da1c5fd9d832bcf3232855c50da1e@news.teranews.com>...

>My new girlfriend was at my house for the fourth time when she broke out in
>hives shortly after lunch time. The hives are all over her body, chest,
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>but if it turns out to be my cat, I'm not sure what to do. Getting rid of
>the cat isn't going to remove all the allergens right away.

It's usually trial and error and it's hard.

I ended up replacing clothes, cleaning the carpet, and totally changing
my diet item by item until I identified coffee as the culprit. Not
caffeine, just coffee. Out of nowhere, at age 50, a coffee allergy.

The prescription med Allegra did wonders for the hives. Though I haven't
had a cup of coffee in 12 years, I still keep some Allegra around. Hives
on the stomach are annoying, hives in the throat are life-threatening.
(Allegra had a different name back then)

Regards
Old Al

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