Random Swelling

[ashlynapple]

In October 2007, I broke out in hives from my neck to my thighs, and my entire face swelled.  I went to the doctor and got a shot, nothing has happend until January 2008.  Randomly my lip will swell, my eyelid, sections of my ankle or elbow.  One nostril has swollen as well.  They don't all of these at the same time, just at random times.  It has even happend when I haven't eaten or drank anything.  Any suggestions/ reasons why this his happening are welcome.

[hobbes2120]

I have also suffered from random swell ups. My observations are that I sometimes get the itchy feeling, scratch it, then the swelling starts. The swelling is limited to the area that is scratched. I believe the swelling could be contained by limiting the amount of surface area scratched. Not sure what triggers the itching but the swelling seems to come from the pressure of the scratching. I also notice that if I apply pressure to an area for too long, such as folding my leg up on a chair, the highest point of pressure on the leg will swell. While at work, when I use my fingers too much, the repetitive pressure on my fingers will cause them to swell. My fingers are not itchy at the time but the area the most pressure or repeated pressure is applied is where it will swell. I have a theory about it. I had suffered some trauma to my back where my disc was bulging and my sciatic nerve was being rubbed away by the bulge. I think it may be my body swelling pain areas to prevent damage. I had suffered constant pain down my sciatic nerve for over 3 years. When I say constant, there was not a minute the pain did not exist. Now that I have had surgery, I find myself able to cope with pains that use to be unbearable. I have tooth that has rotted 3/4 away and the pain that would come with it, that wants to surface, I can suppress with ease. I think it may be possible that our bodies are trying to preserve us at a hyper rate.

[Illinois89]

Judging from all of your much appreciated comments, you all have experienced the same life altering and crippling effects of this infinite problem.

Apart from an allergic reaction believed to be from sulfa in grade school, this problem of pretty much everything mentioned above began when I was fifteen. I remember feeling weird and itchy patches on my back that responded with welt-like appearance when I scratched-- it was like my pours were dilating to an extreme degree. To make a long story short, I battled the disappearance and re-emergence of the hives ranging from patches to full out all-body hives and it should be noted the reaction to pressure. I ended up missing a lot of school and when I finally got the referral to see an allergist the doctor diagnosed me with some medical jargon that basically means 'spontaneous hives'.  Genus. I'm so thankful she clarified that for me.

That diagnosis, for obvious reasons, did nothing to help me and since then the hives and swellings have reemerged in various manifestations (similar to previous descriptions) for the past 8 years, as I am now 23.

Not only is this problem, as you all know, incredibly uncomfortable but also psychologically trying, as well as embarrassing in regards to facial swelling. Although epidemiology is incredibly complex, it still amazes me how bewildered doctors are in regards to this phenomenon. I think it is important that we put more pressure on physicians and not allow--especially allergists--to elude the problem with medical jargon like "urticaria" and "angioedema"--and prescribe harmful prednisone.

I found many of your theories interesting so I decided to share some of mine. As of now, I am pretty in line with the stress+ trigger combination idea. I also have noticed recently a pattern of hives/swellings appearing after a cold which could be something. The hardest part about all of this is knowing correlation is not always causation, which is again why I believe it is a combination of things. I wonder if there is gene testing that can be done?

I would also like to point out that I have had these allergic reactions while living in Spain, Cambodia, and China so it is not a condition caused by something endemic to America (I am a Caucasian American from IL). I am currently living and teaching in China and my incidence of allergic reactions as more than tripled which leads me to believe that air quality could have something to do with it (and again, stress, as living in China is stressful for a whole shelf of reasons).

Some additional anecdotes are that I also suffer from Raynauds Phenomenon (hypersensitivity to cold, etc that causes blue or white hands. Interestingly enough, I experience no symptoms when my hands are blue but painful numbness when white). In addition, I suffer from (at times severe) restless leg syndrome, sensitive skin, and am very susceptible to coughs, earaches, and UTI's.
I also very rarely get headaches where there is a brief but incredibly intense shooting pain in one area of my brain. Most likely unrelated but I thought I would throw that in there.
As far as family history goes, my mom has fibromyalgia and was diagnosed with a rare gene affected by mold which has provided her various health issues.

Also, I am a vegetarian.

So, does anyone else have concurrent health issues? It would be interesting if there were any trends!

It is good to know we are not alone. I wish the best of luck to all of you and I hope everyone continues to watch for updates and shares any new information or diagnosis that could help others. I shall do the same. I am living in China right now and considering getting acupuncture, if it helps I will let everyone know!    

[mimisharon1940]

I have read all the comments on this forum and an amazed at the many variations of this mystery ailment. Mine started a week ago when suddenly before going to bed I felt a tightness in my throat and couldn't talk (hoarse). A couple of days later I woke up with itchy blotches on my body that became raised welts. The next day I started experiencing the facial swelling that many of you describe. However, there is NO PAIN, and most of the symptoms go away in a couple of hours, but return just before bedtime! I am 69,  a healthy female and have NEVER HAD ALLERGIES TO ANYTHING! I do not take medications. I do not have a family history of allergies. I was going to see a doctor, but after reading the posts wonder if it's even worth it. Have put Zyrtec on my shopping list. Hope this passes.

[jayfed]

Hey everybody i have read through all the comments and i too have experienced most of these symptoms. What i have noticed with me is that i am allergic to seafood or shellfish but only when i am stressed. The more stressed i am the worse i get with my face swollen and hives on my forearms and the back of my neck as well as partially across my stomach. Ive been to doctors and they couldnt figure it out as well, but this seems to be my cause of my breakouts. As far as any kind of remedy all i really do is down some benedryl and stay completly cool(taking a cool cold shower helps) to also keep the swelling down especially if you get it all over your body. Hope this aids any and all in the fight against this!

[fortis123]

Do not dismiss any swelling of the face, mouth, throat as nothing to worry about and seek emergency medical treatment immediately. Subsequent exposure to the allergen will produce increasingly severe reactions and swelling in this area can close off the airway without warning. For you this is even more risky since you don't know what is causing the reaction.

[Atm8790]

My symptoms started the beginning of this year. It started with my lips,but it has happened to my tongue,fingers,and bottom of my foot. It was recommended that I go to an allergist by the emergency hospital Dr's. I had tests done and X-rays........nothing was wrong.I'm now on a 24hr allergy medicine that reduced the episodes,but they still happen.I also have prescription prednisone for emergencies.

I really want to know what's going on!