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Q. My son, age 14, has suffered from chronic idiopathic urticaria (hives) for five years. Several months ago, your column featured another person suffering from hives. He had success with vitamin C so we decided to try it.
My son is now taking 1000 mg of vitamin C twice a day. He has been able to stop two of his three medications, Zyrtec and famotidine. With his doctor's approval, he has halved his Allegra prescription. We are so thankful!
A. We found nothing recent in the medical literature on this approach. Some research five or six decades ago suggested that vitamin C might dampen allergic reactions, but it has not been confirmed.
We are pleased to learn that your son's hives have responded so well to this approach. Please make sure his doctor is aware of his continued use of high doses of vitamin C.
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I found a cure for hives that had bothered me for over eight months. A relative recommended that I take Zyrtec and Pepsid AC and within 10 days the hives stopped appearing and I continued taking these over the counter drugs for two months and have not had a recurrence for over 5 years. It may be worth a try in your son's case.
What are the dangers of taking too much Vitamin C? . . . and what is considered too much?
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: THE MOST COMMON REACTION IS DIARRHEA. THE AMOUNT VARIES FROM ONE INDIVIDUAL TO ANOTHER.
Good to take vitamins but figure out what is causing the hives. Keep a daily record of what he is drinking, eating, with hive reaction. The Ingredient list will help you find the exact cause. Papaya was the trigger for my son. Little hug drinks and chik fil'a had it for my son.
No more hives!
Many medications intended to control allergic reactions have, and even list, hives as a side effects . I had a long siege with hives until a doctor told me that Benadryl lotion/cream contains diphenhydramine which some people are sensitive to. Diphenhydramine was also in one of the oral medications i was taking. He put me on both hydroxyzine and allegra which solved the problem.
I have had idiopathic angioedema and urticaria since I am 14, which has led to anaphylaxis countless times.
I have been on so many medications and hospitalized so many times. One of the best combinations is Zyrtec and Zantac (which attack the two different histamine productions) to avoid swelling. Two pills of each twice per day.
But I still get breakthrough hives or swelling especially if I have a cold or something. So I read about the buffered Vitamin C and figure it couldn't be worse than taking tons of Benadryl and tried it during my last bout with face swelling the other day. I have to say I was surprised but it worked!
I have been suffering from chronic hives for 2 years now. No antihistamines completely stopped it and I became immune to them after a while anyway. And I was taking double the recommended daily dose. Well, after doing my own research, I decided to try to vitamin C in high doses. I will try anything because I am desperate, and it works!!
Anyway with hives should DEFINITELY try this. You have nothing to lose and it must be much better for you than taking all those tablets. We need to spread the word too because more research needs to be done on this :)
If you have thyroid issues, you might have a doctor check your blood for thyroid antibodies. Even if your thyroid level is in the normal range, if thyroid antibodies are present, you need to be at the high end of the normal thyroid range to keep hives at bay. A lot of people with thyroid issues get chronic hives. My mom's flared up when her doctor reduced her thyroid dose.
Hives after recovering from cancer
by Chey
(California)
I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2007. In 2009, my 2 year check up showed I was completely clear and my doctor even said I was cured.
Some months later I developed a bladder infection and took Cipro after which I had hives all over my body for over a month at various times. They abated. This year I took Valtrex and the same thing happened. But worse. My body, feet and hands as well as my face which was was swollen and my eyes slammed shut. I imagined, like many other things, that it was a result of how my body changed due to chemotherapy, and now reacts to things. I never had an allergic reaction before.
Not to bore you with how we got here, I started taking a multi vitamin which has 1000mg of vitamin C, and 2 additional vitamin C supplements. That was a week ago. Today I am taking 6000mg C a day and I have been hive free for three days!!! Okay, so I think it is worth a try.
Signs and symptoms of scurvy - a vitamin C deficient disease - include rash, hives, heart problems, weakness etc. And most of us don't really ingest that much C anymore. Plus, for me, after the chemo I think I needed a boost. But try the C and I truly hope it works for you!
Vitamin C works. But not just any ole brand ... It has to be a high quality.
I started getting hives for no apparent reason 7 years ago. After years of zytrec - which certainly helped but did not cure - I asked my naturalpath doc - the only doc after 8 others who discovered I had developed food allergies and had put me on an elimination diet which got the hives under control - if there was a natural remedy. I felt like zytrec was making it hard to get up in the a.m.
He put me on 900 mg three times a day of Integrative Therapeutics (brand) Vitamin C With Quercetin and it is the best thing that ever happened to me! My hives are now under control - meaning the difference between head to toe hives so just some on my hands if I don't eat right or get stressed. I can now go in the sun - before it would trigger a full hive attack. It also treats my seasonal and cat allergies. (my husband takes it too for his). Strangely, my glasses prescription has gotten better in recent years. I get the flu less than I used too - once in last 4 years. I have my life back!
I tried other brands vitamin C, but did not get same result. I order online. 20$ per bottle of 90 pills. I took 6 pills a day for years but have back off to 2 to 6 pills as I've gotten better. I will never be without this stuff and hope it helps someone else out there too!
I have been suffering from hives for a year now after doing chemo and radiation for breast cancer. Spent tons of money on doctors for help with no answers. In the last week I upped my doses of vitamin C and omega 3 and garlic. Something is working and I suspect the "C". Finally something is happening and it could be as simple as good 'ol vitamin C. I hope this helps someone else out there because hives aren't fun. Thanks to all who take the time to leave comments. It helps!
I've suffered w/ chronic hives for over 5 yrs. now and I'm just spent. I find it hard to believe that simply adding high doses of vit c can cure this, but I am desperate and anything is worth a try.
Has anyone out there been diagnosed w/ eosinophilic esophagitis, a condition where eosinophils (fighter blood cells) grow in abundance and colonize in the esophagus)? I have been and believe it is directly related to the hives outbreaks, but my gastroenterologist does not believe there is a correlation!
Any comments would be appreciated!
I too have been suffering from hives, on and off for 2 years. Specialist said I may be prone to getting them if I have any infections ie, flu/colds etc. I also developed asthma 8 years ago and since I use inhalers really didn't want to use any other medications. Normally the hives disappear in a few days without the use of meds. However, this past week the hives lingered and spread to feet, hands and back of the neck. Ice pack helped.
I've been reading up like many others, and, green tea 3 times a day is a remedy also. Doctors usually cannot pinpoint the cause of hives, like others I too tried to figure it out and the detective work was frustrating. I'm trying the green tea as so many have said it has natural antihistamines just like the vitamin C. Hope this helps others.
My husband is suffering from severe chronic hives. The Allegra is not working anymore. The Prednisone works but this medication is a steroid and terrible for your health in the long-run.
We are trying desperately to search for a "natural" alternative before the prescriptions drugs bring on another health issue.
Currently, he is documenting what he eats and has started an alkaline-based diet. (We purchased PH strips and found he had a high level of acid in his body.) Right now he is taking Quercetin and Bromelain but will also add Vitamin C. I pray to God this works so he can get off the prescription drugs!