A Juggling Act: Living With Chronic Hives and Other Conditions

Many of those living with a chronic illness such as chronic hives may also be juggling other conditions. Managing different symptoms, avoiding different triggers, at times prioritizing one condition over another - it can feel like a juggling act. We wanted to hear how our patient leaders manage this juggling act in their own lives.

So we asked our patient leaders: Do you have other conditions/complications related to your chronic hives? How do you juggle those, if any?

Response from Lynn

In addition to chronic hives, I also have regular eczema and Numular eczema. Although they sometimes flare up together, each requires different topical treatments. The best ways I've learned to prevent eczema is to keep my body and its largest organ, the skin, well hydrated: drink lots of water daily; moisturize my entire body daily; make sunscreen and topical prescription medication part of my daily routine.

Response from Christy

I have a plethora of chronic health conditions. Some are related to chronic hives and some are not. Eczema is one of the conditions I have that most closely relates to chronic hives. Since they both affect the skin, having a good skin care routine is very important. With that comes a struggle to find products that are not irritating, either to my respiratory system or my skin. My skin is very sensitive to certain ingredients and unnecessary additives can cause flares. It’s a lot easier to manage now that I have found the products that work best for me.

Response from Andressa

In the beginning I was constantly sleepy and anxious. Tired/sleepy because of the meds. And anxious because I was so scared that I was doing something wrong that triggered the hives, but I couldn't find the answers. At a certain point I accepted it. Because I couldn't be the best mom that I wanted to be. So I needed to make that decision very quickly. Or I am going to be miserable for the rest of my life, or I am going to be the best version of myself. And I made that conscious choice to be the best version of myself.

Response from CJ

I was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2019 and correctly diagnosed with Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, a slow-progressing form of type 1 diabetes. I did not realize that chronic hives and type 1 diabetes might be related until I read about rare diabetes symptoms and learned that chronic hives are more common in patients with type 1 diabetes. That's when I decided to seek a second opinion.

My chronic hives have gone into remission since I started managing my diabetes and lowered my blood glucose levels. As of now, I am taking oral medication and eating a moderately low carbohydrate diet. During the time I was diagnosed with chronic hives, I was also diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. For that, I also take oral medicine.

Response from Ambre

I actually struggle with keeping a dressing on my port. The chronic hives, and the subsequent itching can make it incredibly difficult to stay accessed for my TPN. There’s times when my hives will flare, and I'll have to go a few days or weeks without being accessed, so I don’t further aggravate my skin. This isn’t the best thing, as being on TPN is a necessity due to my GI condition. I also miss being able to use certain soaps, lotions and even laundry detergent. Not so much a complication as it is frustrating or annoying. I miss Gain laundry detergent so very much.

Do you juggle multiple conditions along with chronic hives? How do you manage? Share your experience with us below.