Gah! Hives! Why??

[Stephanie Starkey]

I am on Day 4 and overall am not doing as poorly as I had feared. However the skin on my face is peeling and I have been breaking out in hives all over my arms and legs ever since yesterday. I am not a sudden convert from the SAD. None of the foods I have been eating on the Whole 30 are unfamiliar, nor am I eating any of it in greater quantities than I am used to. I am mostly doing the plan to support my husband so the only major changes for me are the quitting of Cheat Day, frequent snacks, Splenda, and constant gum chewing. I am lactose intolerant and prone to carb comas, but I have no history of food allergies. Is this some kind of stress reaction? Has this happened to anyone else? And how long should I let it go before becoming concerned (I am not experiencing any eye swelling or breathing problems)?

Any advice would be immensely appreciated!

[Tom Denham]

Hives are not common. How are your stress levels?

I went through a period when I broke out in hives. It started on a day when I confronted a colleague at work and told him how much I disliked him (emotional stress). I also went out to eat at a new barbeque restaurant where I ate a lot of salty food (physical stress). The ER doctor I saw that night thought my blood pressure may have gone up from too much salt and facilitated the hives in connection with the emotional stress. I had the hives a few more times over a month or two and never had them again. Now this was in 1982, so the diagnostic sophistication was lower than it is today.

[Stephanie Starkey]

Admittedly, I would rate my stress levels as generally high, but I can't say that they have suddenly gone up.

I did go through a period in my late teens early twenties where I was constantly in hives, all over every day. No new foods, skin products or detergents, and no stress. No cause was ever determined, and I depended on a daily antihistamine for a few years until they stopped as abruptly and mysteriously as they started.

More recently, spring 2010 was my first season living in Springfield MO, and after that first season, I have not suffered any seasonal allergies. I have almost never been ill at all in all that time. I have been easing into the primal lifestyle since last holiday season (didn't gain an ounce from Xmas!), though I have stagnated my progress by not reigning in the weekly Cheat Day as much as I should have which is what I most hope to change by doing Whole 30. However, my husband, our son and I recently took a two week vacation and indulged in some egregiously non paleo foods. I was careful to stay hydrated, continue eating healthy foods, and stick to relatively small amounts of forbidden foods, so I don't think that the volume and caloric intake got excessive. But it was definitely far more carbs, sugar, and cheese than my body has taken in in a long time. We arrived home last Thursday and rested before starting Whole 30 (and returning to work) this past Monday.

I had anticipated that my body would react negatively to Whole 30 in the beginning, but since it isn't a significant lifestyle change for me, it just seems odd for these hives to have suddenly returned full force (they actually kept me awake last night!) Did I poison myself on that vacation? It seems a little late to be reacting to those foods, but doing that then was a much bigger change to my typical lifestyle than starting Whole 30.

[Terresa]

Most food reactions occur within 2 hours of eating the allergen, and hives are often accompanied by some other symptom, as I understand it. So, I'm guessing that your hives are probably not food related. Perhaps environmental or cumulative stress?