How I Cured My Chronic Hives After 15 Years

Let me just start off by saying hives are the worst.

But after 15 long, itchy years, I am finally free of my chronic hives.

Free at last, free at last. Indeed.

I don’t remember when I experienced hives for the first time, but I distinctly remember going to an allergist when I was about 10 to figure out what was causing them (a time in my life when a lot of health issues started to come to light).

Surprise surprise, I never really got a clear answer as to what the root cause of the hives actually was. Instead, I was just told to take a daily loratadine tablet (aka Claritin) and was sent on my itchy little way.

So that’s what I did.

For 15 years.

I could not go a *single* day without getting hives unless I took allergy medicine every. single. day.

It’s not like having to take a small allergy pill every day was a big deal, but when I ran out, or accidentally skipped a dose, I’d notice it instantly. My lower back, butt, and upper thighs would get SO dang itchy that it would wake me up at night and I just got tired of it. Literally.

Not to mention I probably spent over $1000 over the years on allergy medicine alone. Which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that much, but it still felt like a lot when I didn’t have much money to spare.

I eventually got so fed up with it all that I decided to try and figure out what was behind my chronic hives and let me tell ya, I learned a lot.

What are Hives?

Unfortunately, we are not talking about the Bey-hive here. <– this is so dumb lol

If you’re reading this, chances are you already know what hives are. In fact, you or someone you love probably has a very close and personal relationship with them.

In case I haven’t already mentioned it, hives are the worst.

Hives, also known as urticaria, are a skin reaction that causes itchy, raised welts. They’re our body’s way of telling us we’re sensitive to a substance we’ve come in contact with. Basically, it’s a reaction to an allergen.

Many things can trigger hives, such as:

• Certain foods (peanuts, eggs, nuts, shellfish)
• Medications, such as antibiotics (i.e. penicillin), aspirin, and ibuprofen
• Insect bites or stings
• Physical stimuli, like cold, heat, pressure, exercise, or sun exposure
• Latex
• Blood transfusions
• Infections (bacterial and viral)
• Pet dander
• Pollen
• Plants
• …

Sometimes the reaction is short, like minutes. Other times it’s more chronic, meaning it lasts for months or even years. This is what I’m talking about here.

I actually discovered I break out in hives when I take penicillin, but because I’ve only had penicillin maybe twice in my life, it is not the source of my chronic hives. Just temporary hives.

I also eventually discovered there are other things not on the above list (mind you, that I got from the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology website) that were the true cause of my chronic hives.

What I Did to Cure My Chronic Hives

In my early 20s, I started taking a closer look at my health issues and came to the conclusion that just because they’re common doesn’t mean they’re normal, and there HAS to be an explanation to it all.

The source of my chronic hives being one of them.

Truthfully, I don’t even remember what led me to these specific things because I went down so many rabbit holes. If we had to pay per Google search we conducted, my bank account would never recover. That’s how many different things I Googled.

But thankfully, we don’t have to pay to use Google (halle-freaking-lujah!) and I was able to come to this very life-changing conclusion as to what was causing the chronic hives I had been suffering from for over 15 years.

Ya ready? Here we go!

(spoiler alert: it was so simple this whole time.)

I Cut Out Fragrance

Yes, fragrance. That pesky little ingredient that’s in *everything*.

Your favorite shampoo, conditioner, body wash, skincare products, perfume, deodorant, lotion, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, hand soap, dish soap, cleaning products, air fresheners, candles, baby wipes, the list goes onnnnnnnnnnn.

The reason you have chronic hives is because you are CONSTANTLY exposed to an allergen.

So take another look at that list of products that contain fragrance and let it sink in just how much you’re exposed to it.

Fragrance is a known allergen, although it’s not commonly known to the masses to be one. And we are constantly exposing ourselves to it, multiple times a day, every single day without a clue.

It’s not only just on our skin or hair; we’re also breathing it in to our lungs, and the particles are small enough to cross the lining of our blood vessels and make their way into our bloodstream.

The thing that makes fragrance so bad is that, well 1) companies do not have to disclose what ingredients are in their “proprietary fragrance,” and 2) those ingredients do not have to be tested for their safety, meaning they can be almost anything.

Fragrance is not safe whether you have chronic hives or not. End of story.

I wrote a whole other post on fragrance and how harmful it is to our health, so I won’t get into that here.

But you’re probably wondering, “If fragrance is in everything, then what do I use??”

I have spent the last 5 years answering that very question, my friend, and I’ve found fantastic products that work well ~AND STILL SMELL GOOD~ without all the irritants.

I’m including some related posts I’ve written about fragrance-free, non-toxic products I use every day and recommend wholeheartedly. (but keep reading this post, because there’s more to the hives than this!)

And let me tell ya, once you stop using fragrance, you won’t miss it. In fact, you’ll be revolted every time you walk down the laundry detergent aisle because you’ll actually be able to smell the fragrance emanating from all the bottles. And it doesn’t smell so good once you’ve finally lived your life without it.

And btw, there is absolutely no judgement here.

This is coming from the girl who used to douse herself in Victoria’s Secret Noir Tease perfume every day, use every Bath & Body Works product under the sun, and would refuse to buy anything without fragrance in it. Legit.

But now, I avoid ANYTHING with the word “fragrance” in it like the plague (too soon?).

I noticed an immediate difference in the frequency of my hives when I stopped using products with fragrance in them. I did still get hives once I cut out fragrance, but less frequently, because I hadn’t removed ALL of the irritants that were causing them in the first place, but this step made a huge difference.

I Switched to Only Clean, Non-Toxic Products

Not to sound like that person, but fragrance is just one ingredient in the slew of harmful ingredients that are allowed in our personal care and cleaning products.

So not only did I remove fragrance from my life, I also removed other common harmful ingredients, like:

• Parabens
• Sulfates
• Phthalates
• Formaldehyde (yes, that formaldehyde)
• Methylene glycol, a type of formaldehyde
• Toluene
• Triclosan
• Petroleum

The list goes on.

These are ingredients that have been shown to cause a myriad of health concerns, yet are still allowed to be used and sold to consumers.

And they may be partly responsible for your chronic hives, like they were for me.

I did a complete overhaul of every single product I was inhaling, putting on my body, cleaning my laundry and house with, and even cooking my food on.

I didn’t do this all overnight, though.

I focused on the products I was using most frequently, like my shampoo, body wash, skincare products, and laundry soap. Some of these things I just immediately threw out and replaced because I was honestly a little scared of them, while others I waited to switch over until I ran out of what I already had (like dish soap).

But again, it was totally worth the effort and the cost to find new products that I felt safe using on my body and in my home. Especially when I saw the impact the old ones were having on my health when I stopped using them.

I no longer got headaches every day (unexpected but very welcome), and I no longer had hives every single day. The hives started to become less frequent, maybe every few days, which was a noticeable improvement from before when I couldn’t go a day without breaking out in hives without taking allergy medication.

A tool I find extremely helpful for figuring out which products are considered “safe” is the EWG Skin Deep Database. You can scan the product barcode or type the name in the search bar and it will show you on a scale of 1 to 10 where that product stands safety-wise, and will show the stats on each ingredient in the product. I personally aim for anything 4 or lower.

I Stopped Eating or Using Anything with Citric Acid In It

How the *heck* did I figure this one out?!? I don’t know, but this was the last irritant responsible for my chronic hives.

I came across this article looking at the link between manufactured citric acid (MCA) and significant inflammatory reactions. One of the first things it mentions is that ~99% of the world’s production of MCA comes from the fungus Aspergillus niger, aka black mold. A known allergen.

And guess one of the main sources this fungus is derived from?

Corn.

Not from real citrus. Corn. Actually, black mold from corn.

What’s my issue with corn? Well, it’s one of the foods I was most reactive to during an allergy test. And it’s one of the most heavily contaminated foods from pesticides.

Corn might not be an issue for you, but the black mold part might be.

And just like fragrance, citric acid is in nearly everything.

Food. Beverages. Beauty products. Everything, my dudes.

So knowing that I:

• Had chronic hives
• Consumed citric acid on a daily basis
• Learned the citric acid I was consuming was derived from black mold from corn

I really saw no downside to removing citric acid from my life. So I cut it out for at least 6 months, or maybe it was closer to a year because time is an enigma and I have no idea what day it is anymore.

And guess. freaking. what.

This was the final piece to my chronic hives puzzle I’d been trying to solve for 15 years of my life.

Since citric acid is in everything, it was a little tricky at first to cut it out. And it was a bit more expensive because I’d have to buy a name brand can of crushed tomatoes without citric acid instead of the store brand can with it. But when you factored in no longer having to buy allergy medicine, it kind of equaled out.

Here’s the good news though.

After completely removing citric acid for several months to a year, in addition to no longer using fragrance and switching to non-toxic products, I was actually able to reintroduce citric acid back into my life.

I don’t consume citric acid frequently these days, but I’m no longer concerned about it when eating out or at get togethers because my body can actually tolerate it now that it’s no longer built up in my system.

However, on occasion when I’ve eaten a lot of foods that contain citric acid, or I’m exposed to strong fragrance for an extended period of time, I do still get hives. So when I feel them coming on, I slather myself in this essential oil anti-itch roller to calm the area while I wait for my allergy pill to kick in. And I’m completely fine the following day and every day after (unless I’m exposed to these things again).

And for me, I’m honestly okay with that, because they’re NOT CHRONIC ANYMORE!! I know what’s causing them!! And I can easily avoid my triggers!!

Sayonara, Chronic Hives

So there ya have it. The secret to curing chronic hives that no doctor has ever been able to give you is to:

• Remove fragrance from your life
• Switch to cleaner, non-toxic products
• Stop using products with citric acid

I do just feel a need to say this, though.

Because our bodies are all different, what helped me might not help you. Which makes me SO sad, because hives really are the worst.

But the beautiful thing about what helped me is, none of these things will hurt to try. At all. And the even better thing is, these are good for your overall health regardless of the effect they have on your hives.

With that being said, I am channeling all the positive energy your way that this also helps cure your chronic hives.

And if not, I have heard of a few other things linked to hives you can look into:

• Food sensitivities/intolerances (aside from citric acid)
• Chronic inflammation
• Mast Cell Activation Syndrome
• Histamine intolerance

Good luck, my friend.

Do not stay itchy.