I started getting hives when I moved to a different area where well water is provided. The area I was born does not use well water. I've had them really bad since 2008 after taking some medication for a urinary infection I had, and they have just gotten worse and worse. I don't like taking pills, and I am suppose to take fexofenadine everyday or twice a day, but I only take it every other day or if it's really bad I will take it once a day every day until they subside. It's horrible and I am just waiting for it to go away, I feel disabled and it makes me feel unattractive and I have always been fairly good looking, but with these hives its just awful. I will pray for anyone who suffers from this almost debilitating thing.

I am experiencing my third bout of hives. The first time was in 1980. I was traveling on an extended vacation. Mount St Helen erupted and I was covered in hives within two to three days. They lasted for about a year. The second episode occurred after we had Hurricane Isabel. They were extremely severe, scratching until my body was covered with scabs secondary to bleeding from digging to control the itching. I went on multiple medications including prednisone, which caused problems with my diabetes. I took Ranitidine to knock them out. Then, approximately six weeks ago, within 30 miles from our home, we had tornado come through. Suddenly I am covered in hives. They are head to toe. The itching is most intense on my shoulders and trunk of body plus the ankles. I have been on Ranitidine for maintenance since then.

My hive outbreak started on my upper body. I began Benadryl for relief. I slept and awoke feeling better. Later, I broke out more severely. The hives range from small raised bumps to larger patches of welts. My family physician prescribed prednisone and to continue with the Benadryl. After a sleepless night, and my eyes swollen I went to the hospital. After several hours of IV medications, I finally had some relief and was sent home. Four hours later I was right back where I was in sheer agony. The itching has been unbearable and I have bruised myself trying to relieve it. The medications provide only temporary relief and the hives do not disappear at all. At present no one knows the cause. I am exhausted from lack of sleep and am embarrassed to be seen in public.

I have had the hives for seven years now with no relief after seeing an internist, dermatologist, and doctors and the Mayo Clinic. I am now on ranidine, Allegra, and Albutetrol. I am still having major breakouts at times where the drugs aren't controlling at all. I am miserable as the itching is unbearable. It is so frustrating. I am still trying to figure out on my own a process of eliminating things that could cause this. It seems if I catch a cold bug or something I get a severe reaction.

I started getting rashes or hives when I was on the Pegasys treatment for genotype 3 hepatitis C. The treatment didn't work but from 2009 to the present time I have been visited with hives on a regular basis since that treatment.

I have been breaking out in hives for five months now. Two to three times a month, I have a breakout on my face, tongue, lips, eyes, and cheeks. I have to carry an Epi-pen.

My experience with hives started five years ago, about a month after knee replacement surgery. My skin started to itch and the more I scratched the worse it got and eventually spread over my entire body, except my face. This all happened within 15 minutes and I called 911 when it became hard to breathe. They started treating me in ambulance for anaphylactic shock. The itching, hives were treated with prednisone for 10 days and within two days, the rash was gone. This has now happened 10 times since then. I am now armed with an Epi-Pen, Benadryl and Prednisone at all times.

I had my first case of hives at the age of 35 about 4 years ago and they lasted for about 8 months. It was the worst on my hands and feet, especially at night. I then broke out from head to toe and was diagnosed with idiopathic urticaria. They come and go, but this past year I developed pressure hives and now I cannot wear heeled shoes, tight shoes, or anything that puts pressure on my body. Within hours of wearing a pair of heels or doing physical work with my hands, my hands and feet will swell to twice the size and I cannot walk or bend my fingers for days. I hate this and I feel like I'm going nuts sometimes because I look like I am diseased at times and it's hard for people to understand.