It flared on doxycycline, then flared on the replacement too

Jane switched antibiotics and got exactly the same reaction, which is what convinced her the drug was involved rather than the vitamin C she was also taking.

Jane ·

Living with it
3–5 years
Main trigger
Possibly antibiotics — hers flared while taking them
What helped
Coming off the antibiotics, aloe vera drinks and vitamins C and B

Yes, it's so annoying. Mine flared badly while I was taking doxycycline, so I switched to another antibiotic and got exactly the same thing, and had to come off them.

I was also taking vitamin C at the time, so I couldn't make a definite connection at first. But I can take vitamin C with no problem otherwise, so it must have been the antibiotics.

After that I started drinking aloe vera drinks, which seemed to help, and I remember vitamin B helping too.

I'm not claiming that's the answer for everyone — I just know what my own skin did when those tablets went in and what it did when they stopped.

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It started after Covid, and it does not always need a trigger

Kelly itches in her ears, scalp, throat and mouth when her medication wears off. Her advice is to stay consistently medicated — and to take throat symptoms seriously.

What helped: Staying consistently medicated instead of letting doses wear off

Kelly

3–5 years

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Idiopathic, and four times the normal dose of cetirizine

Betzy's allergy panel came back clean on the day she was diagnosed. Here is why "allergic to nothing" and "prescribed high-dose antihistamines" are not a contradiction.

What helped: Getting an actual diagnosis, and learning that high-dose antihistamine plans are standard practice

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More than 10 years

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