“Food allergy hives?”
I ate dried salmon jerky for the first time and I got a reaction from it. It’s been 15 hours since I’ve had them and I’ve never had hives before or a reaction from food, everywhere I scratch there are more and more hives, they go away when I put something on them but then they come back after minutes or so I was told my mother to take Benadryl pills because they have both Diphenhydramine and antihistamine to help with the hives and itching. Exactly how long after taking a Benadryl could my hives go away? A day or two or how many hours after taking the Benadryl could the hives go away?
Female | 24 years old
Complaint duration: 15 hours
Conditions: Food Allergy Hives
3 Answers
Benadryl does have diphenhydramine which is a rapidly acting antihistamine. It usually will start working in less than an hour but you may need to take several doses for the full effect. You can also try Claritin or other non-sedating antihistamines. Most people don’t know but Pepcid is also an antihistamine that you can try. It may take several days for the hives to disappear.
The answer to this is going to vary depending on how much exposure you had to what triggered your system and the reaction of your system. Everyone is different. Benadryl can control hives, but wears off after 4-6 hrs. Typically allergic reactions will also be treated with steroids and/or even famotidine in addition to benadryl to calm the reaction. The treatment will typically be prescribed for at least 5 days.
You can certainly rely on Benadryl every 4-6 hrs as needed but if the hives are persistent then I would advise seeing a physician to determine other treatment options. Food allergic reactions do not last that long so there is likely something else going on. If you do not have a primary care doctor then go to Urgent Care.
