What sort of things can make someone break out in hives? How long would an outbreak or episode usually last? I'm looking for more stressful reasons than medical for story purposes. What do you think about a woman having sex with someone and waking up next to him, instantly knowing she regretted it? Then she starts itching everywhere. It's hives. Would this go on until she fled the scene? I kind of think it would be better for the story if she's a little stuck in the situation. But I really want this scene to work so if you've got some insider info, please help a writer out. Have any of you ever gotten hives because of a stressful situation? How bad was the itching? And how widespread was it? How long did it last? Was it reoccurring for anyone who stayed in the situation? Or was something like this a one-time episode for you? Anything else you can think of to help me know what it felt like and what you did about would really help and is much appreciated. Thanks.
Yep! I was working at a restaurant and we got a new manager who was a former drill instructor for the marines. I imagine it's what working for @Homer Potvin would be like ( ). This guy stressed everybody out hardcore. We all feared for our jobs, and nothing we did was ever good enough. People started dropping like flies, just not coming back to work or quitting in the middle of a shift. Often amid a flurry of shouted profanities. I held out longer than many, but then one day I got a severe 'pinch' feeling on my hip, right along the hip-bone line on one side (forget which side). It sort of felt like a wasp sting, but not as intense. It was right where my belt sat on my hips, partway around the back actually, and at first I thought that was what caused it. My belt I mean. Turned out to be the precursor to the hives. I'll just list all the stuff I remember. This was a couple of decades ago. I woke up one morning and my legs were in terrible pain. This was a day or two after the pinch feeling. Everything from the waist down really hurt. And I do mean everything. The sheets against my skin hurt really bad, and so did trying to bend my knees or hip joints. Any pressure was intensely painful, and there was no way to avoid pressure—you have to sit down at times, or lay down, and even your clothes cause pressure. You just have to live with constant pain. Probably the worst thing was getting in and out of the car, because it involved so many different kinds of pressure all at the same time. You have to bend down to get in, which hurts everything. Then sitting on the seat hurts like hell. You just grit your teeth, maybe groan long and loud. I think that was uncontrollable. Then getting out you have to bend and then straighten all your leg joints again, which takes a long time and involves more groaning. I needed help from my friend who had driven me to get in and out of the car. I had to go in to work to show them a doctor's slip about the hives. I believe that was on the way home from the hospital, I don't remember. I should add that, once you're settled into a seat or a bed or couch, after a while the pain subsides and you almost don't feel it anymore, until you move. Even the slightest movement brings it back, though a slight movement doesn't hurt all that bad relatively speaking. It's the movement you dread. It's one of those "Well, I need to get this out of the way, might as well take a deep breath and just do it" things. Ideally you want to get in one poisition and just hold it for as long as possible. Though of course if you have it on the lower body you can move your arms around without any pain. They gave me some kind of medication. I think it was pills, but again I don't remember. He said if I keep taking it the pain and all the rest will go away in a few days. He was right. I don't remember how many days, but they were some of the longest days of my life. Seems like it was a good week or two. I learned it's caused by the chicken pox virus. If you had it as a kid, you're vulnerable to the hives. It apparently lives (or is dormant or something) in your system the rest of your life and can become hives under enough stress. I also learned people commonly get it either on the top or bottom half of the body, breaking at the waist line. Well, the belt line I should say, right where a belt sits. The stinging or pinching feeling on a hip is the precursor, and then a day or two later I woke with my whole lower body covered in little sores and all the skin of it incredibly sensitive. I could barely move my legs, bending them even slightly was extremely painful. Putting on or taking off pants was almost unbearable. it took a really long time, I think I had to keep stopping and waiting for the pain to subside before pulling them on a little more and just keep doing that. It took forever to do the simplest things. There might have also been some kind of lotion that I had to put on my lower body every day. Or was that the medication itself? Honestly I don't remember if the medication was pills or the lotion. If you have it on the lower body you'll spend most of your time at home without jeans on. Maybe shorts or just underwear if possible. Light slacks or pajama pants would be far less painful to pull on and off than jeans. Since then there have been a few times I've felt what seemed to be that initial pinch again, in the same spot, but fortunately it never became hives again. I was fearful it would. I don't think I was necessarily even in a high-stress situation every time, but possibly I just don't remember. Or maybe it can happen under lower-stress situations too? But if you get it once it means you're always susceptible the rest of your life.
Yep. Sorry @deadrats . When it first happened I assumed it was hives, then when I went to the hospital I learned it was shingles, so I sometimes think of it as hives. Damn memory tricks!
Well, thanks for the unnecessary trip down nightmare alley! Seriously, I had always heard how bad shingles could be but those details, yikes. I'm glad it's behind you. The idea that it's sleeping in many of us just waiting to make our lives hell is the kind of thing you put in the mental file.
That's called psychogenic itch - where psychological factors trigger or aggravate itch. Here's some reading about it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5830411/#:~:text=Psychogenic%20itch%20can%20be%20defined,and%20dermatologists%20and%20this%20review
Damn, boy. I had shingles once but it was a mild case. After reading your description of a severe case, I am going to get my shingles shot tomorrow after work. I used to get hives, usually on the inside of my wrists or on my upper chest. Itchy, blotchy, ugly. Stress made it worse, but I think it was an allergic reaction. It lasted less than a day, if I recall correctly, which I may very well not. Benadryl helped.
I got jock itch once in high school. At least thats what i called it. And no it wasn't from my manager at work before you ask!
There is a thing called idiopathic urticaria, which essentially translates to "gets hives for no good reason." It's often, although not always, part of an immune deficiency. Outbreaks are often random but can be stress induced. If you work it in that your MC has this disorder early on, she can break out in hives whenever you want her to.
I get hives from stress and heat. I walk at night when it's cooler (86° with 78% humidity) and I get hot. The hives start where my clothes touch (the hottest parts of my body). They look like mosquito bites and grow bigger as the night progresses if I don't do something about them. Other nights I have had bad days at work, too many meetings, a lot of impending deadlines, and I am STRESSED. No walking or getting hot. I have hives from that. It's the contrant pressure that gets to me. I take a benadryl and apply anti-itch cream. I know, gross.
Once you have an outbreak, they typically last a couple of hours. It can happen on just a single part of your body. And stress can certainly trigger them. Hives are really common in the U.S. I couldn't tell you how common intermittent cases are, but I don't think they are so uncommon that most people would question a character suffering from them. Chronic hives can probably be pretty bad, but intermittent breakouts brought on by stress are more uncomfortable than truly painful although I guess that depends on the person. It's certainly not as bad as shingles.
