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.
Kelly ·
- Living with it
- 3–5 years
- Main trigger
- Clothing, sitting, and anything pressing on her hands or arms
- What helped
- Staying consistently medicated instead of letting doses wear off
When my meds wear off, I begin itching anywhere. Sometimes it's clothing touching my skin, sometimes it's skin folds when I'm sitting, or a chair putting pressure on my legs — and sometimes there's no trigger at all. The inside of my ears will start to itch, and my scalp, my throat, my mouth.
Scratching makes the reaction worse, and obviously I can't scratch my throat. Carrying anything that puts pressure on my hands or arms gives me very red skin and then hives and welts.
Mine all started about a month after being very ill with Covid. I've also had three episodes of unexplained anaphylaxis, and the hives never went away unless I was medicated afterwards. My son had anaphylaxis after having Covid last year too, and had never had it before. Very strange.
The practical lesson for me has been staying consistently medicated rather than letting it wear off and then chasing it. And if you're having anaphylaxis episodes, that's an emergency-care conversation, not a skin-care one — please get seen.