Interestingly, my father -- who has never had hives in his life (other than an isolated incident here or there) has been having hives on his chest, stomach, and back for the past six days. Not considered a chronic case yet, his started at the end of a bad stomach flu/virus. His hives emerge in the late evening and by morning are cleared up. He has been taking Benadryl, which helps to reduce them.
Like me, he's been going through the list:
- No new shampoos, detergents, soaps, or other personal care products
- No new foods/drinks that he hasn't eaten before
- No exposure to plants or animals
- No medication changes or additions
Since his hives started after the stomach bug, I suggested to him that he contact his doctor for a bloodwork order to test for H. Pylori, a bacteria in most of our digestive tracts which has been reported to have a correlation with hives for some people. He wants to give it a few more days before he does that.
I will keep you all posted, and hope that he doesn't go through nearly 7 months of them like I did! (Or longer, like some of my blog readers have.)
