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Periods of itching that causes bumps/raised lines on skin?

Hi, so basically, I’ve experienced this 3 separate times over the 3.5 years. When I look it up it is described as dermatographia but I don’t believe that is what it is because I only experience it for a period of 1-2 weeks and then it goes away for literal years. It starts off with some mild itchiness all over my body and it slowly gets more severe and when I scratch it, even if it’s a light scratch it creates raised lines and small bumps wherever I scratch it. I have a hard time sleeping during this period of time because I am so itchy and nothing helps. I am also embarrassed by how red and swollen my skin gets from even the smallest itch. I experienced this the first time during the beginning of summer of 2018 and figured that it was some sort of allergy to something outside (I have only had fall allergies in the past) so I tried taking Zyrtec and when that didn’t work, Benadryl, neither did anything for itching relief but it went away eventually so I didn’t think much of it.

The next time I experienced it was January of 2020 and it came on the same way and nothing helped it just like the previous time. I tried Benadryl, Claritin, Zyrtec, and nothing worked and it went away after about 2 weeks. I was not and still do not take any prescription medicines or over-the-counter medicines regularly. Yesterday the itching started again and today it got more severe and the bumps/lines have started again. I swore I would try to get into a dermatologist as soon as this started happening if it did happen again but I’m currently under quarantine because someone I live with has covid and I might possibly have it. This made me think that this might be some sort of side effect of immune response? I don’t remember being sick either of the times that I experienced this before but I know my immune system could have been fighting something without my knowledge. Do you have any insight on this or what could possibly help? I’m attaching a picture of what it looks like.

Female | 22 years old

1 Answer

Hi, and sorry about the delay in getting back. Yes, COVID can trigger hives although in your case the skin condition first began before this virus was identified. Many cases of hives are due to something we eat, such as strawberries. In this case, identifying and avoiding the cause is somewhat easy to accomplish. In your case, an exact cause may never be found. If antihistamines are not providing relief, yes by all means visit a local dermatologist.
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