My 13 year old son recently started puberty and about the same time, unexpectedly and out of the blue came down with a pretty bad case of hives (urticaria). Â They started on his thighs and then within a day or so, covered his whole body except for his face, neck, hands, and feet.
Being a bit of an analyst in this area, I sat down with him and thoroughly reviewed what he had been eating and drinking over the past few days. Â We came up with nothing unusual that could have triggered the event including any exposures to possible environmental allergens.
My son has no allergies or sensitivities of any kind and had never had hives or a skin rash before, so I was completely baffled!
Not wanting to resort to any meds, even over the counter diphenhydramine (Benadryl), I consulted a professional who advised that the hives were likely caused by the sudden burst of testosterone and were nothing to worry about long term.
She advised the homeopathic preparation “Skin” which he was to take whenever he started to itch or feel uncomfortable.
He was to take 1-2 tablets on the tongue and let them dissolve before swallowing taking care to ensure that he had nothing to eat or drink 15 minutes before or after taking them.
This homepathic preparation, a completely natural remedy for hives, worked wonderfully well. Â He had to take these pills off and on for about a week before the hives gradually faded away on their own.
The hives haven’t come back since so my hope is that using homeopathics instead of short circuiting the immune process with meds like Benadryl allowed him to adjust to his changing hormonal pattern without causing any long term imbalances in any way.
Has your child had hives before? Â What natural remedy for hives did you use that worked for you?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Christina
For those that have recurring hives without any obvious cause and other unexplained symptoms, check out mastocytosis.
Kaitlyn Lerdahl
I had a few random cases of hives this year. I have never had any known allergies, but three months in a row, at the beginning of my period, I broke out into hives. The red, raised skin and burning itch basically wandered around my body for several days. So I definitely agree that hormones can be a cause of hives for some cases! Like many have already posted, I took Benadryl and Prednisone immediately (which I didn’t think helped). But my body probably just needed to work things out naturally. It would have been nice to have a homeopathic remedy to either stop the hives or ease the itchiness and pain as my body dealt with them! And it has been a few months since I’ve had hives, but each time my period approaches, I get worried that I will suffer from them again.
Diana Cronin Fiorino via Facebook
So what is in the remedy? Apis Mell? Rhus? Dulcumara?
Kristi
I used to get hives VERY frequently as a child, and it was always after a big temper tantrum. Recently I got a small case of hives (after 20 years of not dealing with it) shortly after a heated discussion with my husband. So I believe that hives can be quite linked to sudently increased hormones for some people like myself and thought it was neat to see that confirmed here.
Mine was never so severe that I had to treat it. It would wander around my body for a day or even a half-day then go away.
Shanna Bunel via Facebook
I suffer from hives due to a hormone imbalance and I will be looking this remedy up today! Thanks 🙂
Terri Stucki
Hi Sarah,
Is there any chance Skin would work for eczema. I have battled this for over 10 years now. Right now I am on the GAPS diet, it helps some but at times gets worse. I have only been doing this for 19 days so I am thinking it will take time……But how long will this go on? You said your husband had eczema and after GAPS he doesn’t have it any more. How long did it take. I am so tired of it, but shouldn’t whine, others have had to deal with it a lot longer.
Terri
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
Yes, the bottle says eczema too.
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist
My husband eczema that flared while on GAPS (healing crisis) lasted a few weeks and then was gone and has yet to return (a year and a half later).
Lois Cherry via Facebook
where do we get Skin?
Christy
My 2 year old son also got a very bad case of hives on his hiney after I used some dry max diapers someone gave us… it looked almost like a chemical burn and would be so blistered it would bleed… he has NEVER had that problem before. The only thing that worked was aloe gel. But thank goodness we dont have to worry about that anymore, now that he’s potty trained 🙂
Mindy
I had hives when I was younger, and continued to have them through college.
When I was younger, I was told to use OTC ointments. When they gave me no relief I was taken to the doc who prescribed a tapered series of corticosteroids as treatment. They were horrible. I lost my appetite, my attention span, and felt tense.
The hives seemed to return every year when the days got hotter in early summer.
So later on when I was in college and was no longer on my parent’s health plan, I opted to visit an acupuncturist because it was more affordable and I didn’t want to deal with steroids. Her treatment was amazing. She knew just by looking at my ears which side of my body the hives were concentrated on. She used not only needles as treatment, but practiced ear bleeding (not nearly as invasive or uncomfortable as it sounds), gave me a menthol-based topical cream, and advised me on which foods to avoid. The hives resolved so much faster with this treatment, and it was much more comfortable. And of course I was not subjecting myself to the dangers of steroids.
Penny Sp via Facebook
Thank you for this!