Hives!

"Ouch!"  I suddenly jumped up and ran to the bathroom mirror to see what was on my face.  It felt like I had been stung by a million bees.  The pain, itching and burning was almost unbearable.  I thought for a moment that I should go to the hospital.  

I realized it was an attack of hives (Urticaria).  It was a first for me.  My face turned bright red and it quickly moved to my neck, chest, back, arms and hands.  The weirdest feeling I have ever experienced, like the sun had fried my skin in an instant.

What caused this attack?  There were 4 things I had learned could have triggered the outbreak of Urticaria. 

My gall bladder.  Gall stones in the duct can trigger an outbreak.  I already know that I have 2 gall stones at the base of the bile duct. 

I bought a new B Complex vitamin and took it today.  Only to discover that the amount of B1 was pretty high, which can cause hives in some people.  Great!

Other things that can cause hives is prolonged stress.  I was stressed out for years while caring for my mother and now that my mom has passed, my MIL is stressing me out.  It feels like I am back to the time when I took my mom's car keys away.  Taking my mom's driving privilege away was a horrible experience, it is when my mother screamed in my face that she hated me.

Food allergies can bring on hives too.  Corn, gluten, nuts, eggs; all can trigger histamines which flood the system and cause a hives outbreak.   The new supplement had corn in it.  Maybe it was the corn?

So, who knows.  Maybe it was a combination of everything?  The hives are gone.  I took some Rhus Toxicondron, a homeopathic remedy that I had and tried in an effort to stop the rash symptoms.  It worked.  Thank God I have a box full of different homeopathic remedies.  

Looks like it is time for me to run on the treadmill.  After all, running does reduce stress and it always makes me feel much better.   Like my dad used to say to me, "Susie, wait a minute, nothing ever stays the same."