Suggest remedy for allergic rashes & hives
Patient: Hello.  I am a 26 year old female (5'2, 125 lbs).  I have a severe bee allergy (honeybee, yellow jacket, and white-faced hornets).  I am also allergic to cephalexin.  Two days ago I broke out in an allergic reaction (rash and hives) from the waist up around 4:00 PM.  I was treated at the ER, and my rash went away over night.  Yesterday, the same reaction happened aroud the same time.  I thought it could have been from mold in the library of the school where I work (where I was on the days of both reactions), but today the reaction happened again, and I was not in the school building.  The reactions are happening at the same time each day.  I have not eaten anything new, and I am not using any new products of any kind.  What could be causing a reaction at the same time everyday? Doctor: Hello,Thank you for asking at HCM.I went through your history and would like to know more about you as follows: a. In past, have you ever had such hives? b. How your allergies to insects and cephalexin were diagnosed? c. Do you have any other complaints along with hives, like respiratory complaints, nose complaints, stomach complaints, etc? d. Do you have any repeated digestive complaints? e. Do you have any other medical conditions? f. Do you need to take any other medications frequently/repeatedly? Above information would help me to understand your complaints better and therefore to make suggestions more specifically. However, at present, I would like to make suggestions for you as follows:1. I usually suggest my such patients taking regular antihistamines like cetirizine/levocetirizine in morning and hydroxyzine in evening for 1-2 weeks depending upon response.2. I would also suggest you to apply calamine lotion over the itchy areas/rash.3. Please do not scratch the itchy areas as it would aggravate itching.4. To identify/suspect the cause, in addition to above asked details, some investigations such as complete blood counts, ESR, stool examination, urine examination, etc would also help.Hope above suggestions will be helpful to you.Should you have any further query, please feel free to ask at HCM.Wish you a very good recovery and the best of the health ahead.Thank you & Regards.