I've been hive free for the past two days. Took my antihistamine on Sunday and Monday, but for past two days, have been able to do without. I am keeping watch a few times a day, to see if any are cropping up.
Idiopathic means that the cause is unknown, hence CIU (chronic idiopathic urticaria) is used for cases like me.
Interestingly, there seems to be a lot of medical research happening that link the bacteria H. Pylori to CIU, and that treating H. Pylori is leading to a 'cure' rate of around 70% for those suffering from chronic hives of unknown cause.
That is certainly not a test that I've had yet, so I am definitely going to ask my PCP about it! There seem to be three testing options: bloodwork, breath test (after drinking some kind of fluid -- blechh!), or the much more invasive endoscopy where they remove a tissue sample for lab testing.
I found this link to a study done in India a few years ago, with very promising findings and results:
http://www.indianjmedsci.org/article.asp?issn=0019-5359;year=2008;volume=62;issue=4;spage=157;epage=162;aulast=Yadav
The CDC website has more details on H. Pylori and the tests that can be done, including the reliability of those tests to accurately screen for the bacteria:
http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/keytocure.htm
Not that I want to have to endure a course of antibiotics, but any information can help and then I can make a decision accordingly!
No comments:
Post a Comment