Urticaria?

[Nozzzs]

Over the past 4 yrs., I have had a reaction that seems to happen 1X each yr. The reaction occurs when I am traveling. What happens is first I feel my forehead is tight. I notice over time, swelling in my forehead as if there is a fluid. Then over the course of a day or so, the swelling (fluid) drops. I feel it dips down my nose, my eyes are far apart. The swelling takes over the shape of my nose, causing me to not look like myself. The only treatment that has caused the swelling to disappear is taking prednisone. I had been prescribed prednisone each time this has happened. Allergy medicines such as Benadryl have no effect. I am quite frustrated because each occurrence has been while I was traveling, and has caused me to go get emergency care (one time being out of the country). The only thing I can think of is different climate, being in warm climates? Maybe it’s the sun, all destinations have involved being in the sun yet I have been in the sun more than 3 times in the past 4 yrs, so it can't be that. I eat the basics when it comes to food, i am a bland eater.. .i do not really ever try new foods... Reaction to linens? I really have no clue where to begin. I was given a scrip for epiphen, and I am not even so sure it will help my symptoms since I know for a fact prednisone helps. Has anyone had these kinds of occurrences?

[Nozzzs]

Thanks for the post but Its definitely not the wind.
the locations I have been to have not been windy.. (las vegas, st. lucia and s. nj) The tightness of my forhead is due to swelling. There is a Histamine, (fluid) underneath my skin between my skull and my skin. The fluid under my skin, the swelling speads, to the point where the back of my throat was swollen that I had to be injected with a hydrocortosone and an anti histamine.

It is some sort of reaction. I just can not pin point how or why it happens.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!
Well, since the symptoms occur only while travelling and that too once a year, then we can probably relate the symptoms to travelling.
When we travel, our face is the one that is most exposed to wind, dust and pressure applied by the above on our face is great. You too must have felt the wind blowing against your face while travelling. This can cause pressure like symptoms, tightness etc on the facial aspect. This however will not hold true if you travel in closed air conditioned vehicles.
If you have noticed this while travelling to higher altitudes, then you will be surprised to note that this happens with many people.
Wearing a tight forehead band, while travelling long distances, will help overcome these symptoms. The swelling just seeps down from forehead due to common space from forehead to jaw under the skin of the face.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Nozzzs]

Hi Kindd

Thanks for the post, I appreciate the feedback.

I have the forehead tighness, swelling and it does seem fluid is what causes the swelling. The swelling spreads, underneath the skin. I do not have dizziness or congestion...
An ENT specialist could be a good idea and i will look into that. I checked out Transillumination online and got this result:

Transillumination is the transmission of light through tissues of the body. A common example is the transmission of light through fingers, producing a red glow due to red blood cells absorbing all other colours of the light.


I couldn't find causes, but need to do more research on my part.

Thanks again, its all a mystery to me so any ideas are helpful..

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The symptoms that you have are due to chronic sinusitis.It can cause forehead tightness,dizziness and post nasal drip and mucus congestion of the nose that may drip down the nose.It may be due to allergic rhinitis or hay fever also.

I would advise you to consult an ENT specialist and get Tranillumination tests and X-ray and CT sinuses done to confirm the diagnosis. Also consult an allergist and get your self evaluated for the different air borne allergens. Skin tests and blood tests like RAST are used for this purpose.

I hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted.