HomeAnswersDermatologyurticariaMy wife has urticaria. Please help.

My wife has urticaria. Please help.

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The following is an actual conversation between an iCliniq user and a doctor that has been reviewed and published as a Premium Q&A.

Medically reviewed by

iCliniq medical review team

Published At August 14, 2014
Reviewed AtJanuary 21, 2022

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

My wife has been getting a rash which the doctor has termed as urticaria. What could have caused this? I feel she could be having a yeast intolerance. Please help.

Answered by Dr. Sushil Kakkar

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your wife has been treated for urticaria. I would keep a possibility of idiopathic urticaria/hives.

It presents as sudden skin welts/swellings, which can be distributed all over the body. Itching is usually severe; however it is subjective in individuals.

The causes of urticaria includes various factors such as infections (bacterial, viral or fungal), drugs like painkillers and also certain foods, additives and preservatives.

Physical urticaria can occur due to cold temperature, heat, dermographism, etc., and cholinergic urticaria will occur in response to strong emotions, exercise, spicy food, etc.

Autoimmune urticaria associated usually associated with autoimmune disease such as thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc.

The most common one is idiopathic urticaria, where there will be no underlying identifiable cause.

Regarding treatment, I suggest oral antihistamines like Montelukast and Levocetirizine once daily. Also she can take tablet Allegra 120 mg (Fexofenadine) once daily.

Treatment may sometimes last for months or years. A topical soothing lotion like calamine would help her symptomatically.

Kindly get the food allergy tests and thyroid tests to rule out yeast intolerance.

Revert back with the reports to a dermatologist online --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/dermatologist

Patient's Query

Hello Doctor,

Thank you for your quick and explanatory reply.

We have done the thyroid tests, the results show no abnormalities. Do we have to do any other tests?

Answered by Dr. Sushil Kakkar

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I guess you suspect her to be yeast intolerant and it could be the responsible cause for her urticaria.

There is no scientific proof regarding an entity called yeast intolerance.

I would rather suspect that she has Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (CIU).

It is well-recognized that 30-40% of Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria is autoimmune in nature.

I would therefore recommend an ASST test for her (Autologous Serum Skin Testing).

This test is to either rule out or confirm Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria (CAU).

  • The Autologous Serum Skin test is used as a screening test for Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria and has a sensitivity and specificity of about 70% and 80%, respectively.
  • There is a strong link between Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria (CAU) and Autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • However, most of these patients are euthyroid (normal thyroid gland functioning) just as in case of your wife.
  • Treatment would remain the same and may sometimes need to be taken for months or years.

Revert back with the test reports to a dermatologist online --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/dermatologist

Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!

Dr. Sushil Kakkar
Dr. Sushil Kakkar

Dermatology

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