No laughing matter.

I receive a good number of hits from people searching for "hives" and "hives and H Pylori." They arrive to this site because of this post.

It isn't the intense itching, welts or redness that really bothers me. It's the fact that some ailment can just pop up one day, continue for years and be considered undiagnosable or even normal.

What the heck is in my system causing all of this? And more importantly, how do I make it stop?

Joe Maller led me to this site about Tartrazine. It's the coloring commonly known as Yellow #5 and, according to the page, is responsible for a slew of problems.

The fact that some birth control pills contain the additive was promising -- afterall, these hives started a few months after I first began taking the Pill. But after checking my Ortho Tri-Cylcen pack, I learned that Yellow #5 is not added to the pills.

So, I'm back at square one. I'm frustrated and confused.

I'm not going to get all government-conspiracy on you, but I propose that hives might become the new lactose-intolerant. I had never even heard of lactose-intolerance until a couple years ago. And now, half my friends are suffering from the symptoms.

Our processed food is slowly killing us.

And if there wasn't already enough to worry about, the biotech firms are forcing their Frankenstein foods onto farmers.

Link via Rebecca's Pocket.

Do you suffer from mystery hives? What do you do about it?

Comments

[Rebecca]

I'm so glad to see your post about hives. I have had bouts of chronic "idiopathic" hives off and on for two years. I'm so sick of doctors telling me that just because they couldn't discover the cause during a 10 minute exam or a single biopsy or bloodtest, that there is "no cause". Nope, sorry kids, but "idiopathic" means no KNOWN cause, which they think means they can stop looking. Those of us who have to live with this would prefer that they not!

It amazes me how quicky doctors (GPs, internists, allergists, dermatologists) have given up on finding the cause, and just told me to take my 3 antihistamines, steroid creams, pills and injections like a nice little girl, and be on my way. Very patronizing, and shows how little they appreciate the investigation of a good mystery. Its not about insurance coverage in my case - just paid over $350 for a comprehensive food allergy test, only to be told that the good doctor didn't think I needed it anyway, but did it basically to shut me up.

I don't think anyone has bothered to do much research on the recurring hives cases that are harder to diagnose -- its too time consuming or difficult, or will lead to too little profit for drug companies, so its not done. I'm sure there are perfectly good, logical reasons why you and I are having these nasty reactions, and I promise I'll let you know if I find the cause of mine!

Good luck to you!
Rebecca N.