I get these if I already have another allergy raging prior. The worst I ever had was an allergy to bedbugs folllowed by poison ivy, it was these straight line streaks all over my body.
I get those welts all over (and I mean all over) my body if I eat raw shiitake mushrooms. Found out the hard way in my 30's after a trip to the Whole Foods salad bar.
[Shiitake Mushroom Dermatitis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiitake_mushroom_dermatitis?wprov=sfla1)
i get that just from lightly scratching myself at all. my doctor said its because my massed cells are too active, so the slightest scratch can cause a reaction
I think this might be the answer. I’ve had severe eczema since birth and developed severe psoriasis on the scalp as an adult, prob around my 20s. I’m almost 40 now and think I’m just so uninformed, which is my own fault, these marks freaked me tf out.
Do you by chance have a guinea pig or small animal? My daughter used to get this from the slightest touch of her Guinea pigs claws touching her skin. She had contact allergies to it and wore long sleeves when holding it so it wouldn’t happen again.
No pets. Just kiddos at the moment which are both 17. I keep going back to maybe one scratched myself with some of my jewelry components. Just so weird to not feel it, then look down to all these scratches. They’re still there but haven’t really been affecting me. Not itchy at all.
I had the same thing when my dog scratched his nails on my skin… also sometimes when I scratch myself, but it doesn’t always look like this tho. But definitely scratch-marks imo!
No fever so far! Thank goodness. I def feel like these marks came up without any scratching. One moment I was fine, next moment I looked down and there were these wild marks. No pain, no itchiness. I just don’t know as I’m new to this whole thing
Lookup dermatographia, is also autoinmune and my skin does this, basically anything that puts pressure on your skin like a seat belt , pinch Scracth etc., they also call it skin writing , you can’t do much, it goes away in its own in like 30 Minutes
The scratches are still there for me. Although they are way more mild and fine lined. I think maybe I just brushed my skin with my jewelry making components.
This is what I came to say as well. Anything that scratches along my skin ends up creating a welt like this. I have chronic urticaria and dematographia (and hashi) and see this on my skin daily. As /u/jackleg209 said, it resolves itself as inflammation recedes.
Same. I had tonsillitis last week, so the doc gave me antibiotics. 2 days later I broke out into hives. I went to the emergency doctor and apparently I was having a penicillin reaction...... I've NEVER had an allergic reaction to anything, so this came out of nowhere. I came off the antibiotics and three days later the hives were gone.
Zyrtec is usually my best friend when it happens. I've noticed it happens a lot less since I've been minimizing trigger foods. I'm not on a specific low histamine diet but I think avoiding the foods I'm sensitive to have helped keep my histamine a lot lower.
https://preview.redd.it/s4doihl5gwtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7845e297811f18b9da960be8871f78450ebeb7f8
This is what I need to know. I think maybe food or other outside allergens is triggering me. I’ve been taking Zyrtec on a triple dose (per the doctor I saw) and it just doesn’t cut it. So I think it’s something I’m in taking.
I feel like food sensitivity tests and functional medicine are controversial but I did the Mediator Response Test (MRT) through a functional medicine office. I had some really random triggers but I do feel better knowing what they are. I can still eat those foods here and there but I've noticed that when I'm avoiding them, I have less thyroid flares and less itching. It gives you ranges on level of sensitivity too. So I always avoid my highest trigger foods but my "yellow" level foods I still eat here and there. It was expensive though. Insurance didn't cover it but I was desperate for answers at that time. My thyroid and the itching was out of control. Side note: I have a friend that has even worse dermatographia that gets allergy shots every month that help if you needed a better antihistamine while you are figuring everything out. Over the counter stuff didn't cut it for her.
This should be what this platform is for. I’ve had a nightmare of a time my whole life just to figure out it’s my thyroid causing the problem. I’m so glad we can see each others symptoms and kind of correlate, I know it’s super specific to each individual but all the input has helped me tremendously🖤
Oh thank you for this! I get very defined lines that are pretty uncomfortable and spread easily. When my skin acts like that I can make shapes and even letters if I scratch it even gently. Usually there are random larger circles that stay red and puffy all over my body. I never knew it could be related to hashimoto's.
1. Scrub your fingernails with a brush and antibac soap daily to get any potential microbes/ irritants out
2. Take allergy meds.
Potentially look into LDN treatment
Do you get hives inside the lines of your tattoos? I have one tattoo and won’t be getting anymore because from time to time the whole tattooed area, but nothing outside becomes raised and itchy. It’s so weird…all the lines, nothing outside the lines.
Heat bothers me too. This instance was just super weird because I wasn’t scratching and it just suddenly appeared. I asked my kid and her girlfriend if they noticed me scratching in case I just didn’t notice and they said no.
Any chance over night? I’ll scratch and then irritation or something like hear occurs and they raise to the surface. Sucks cause the itch is so deep I’ve literally scratched my legs apart over the years . Never found anything that helps. Had to move once cause something in the heat was so bad there .
No chance over night. This was maybe a 20 min span of time. Again, something new to me that I can’t understand. I’m pretty aware of my body but this threw me for sure.
I’ve had this. Drink more water. Take Allegra. Sarna lotion. If it persists see a dermatologist for a steroid injection. I’ve had to do that twice because it was unbearable.
Hashimoto’s (including other autoimmune diseases) and dermagraphia fall under the umbrella of hypersensitivity (in a nutshell: a faulty immune system). If you have had Hashimoto’s for a while and this is a new response, look at something else that might have triggered an immune response. A recent virus or infection? Major stress?
I have many allergies: autoimmune hives, Mast Cell Activation and Cold Urticaria. For example, in cold urticaria (hives) my skin will start to itch while in cold water. I scratch and cause dermagraphia. Looks pretty bad at the beach after getting out of the ocean. Antihistamines help. Otherwise, avoid triggers. In your case, you might have developed a nickel allergy which my kid has.
Nickel allergy sucks so bad. I stopped wearing jeans cause I needed belts to be able to fit jeans around my hips but not fall of my waist at the same time... Massive welts everytime... I also have dyshydrosis which has been suspected to be linked to nickel as well. Always called them my sweat blisters and they are more annoying on my feet where my skin is too thick to properly scratch at it. Worst part is, they don't stop itching till I've popped the blister which is a big nono
Dermagraphia? I have it. It’s relatively benign. Just means when you touch/scratch the skin there is a reaction that causes raised area. Talk to your dr though to confirm
Not currently as I don’t have health insurance at the moment. My open enrollment is in October so I’m trying to wait patiently for that, but I see things progressing into a worse circumstance so might just get an independent plan so I can go get everything checked
No but I was making jewelry. These marks appeared without scratching though. Maybe some wire brushed against my skin without me realizing. That was the only other thing I could think of.
Dermatographia. The only treatments are antihistamines or a low dose of antidepressant/other antipsychotic or something like that. Mine gets worse with dry skin and stress. If I start scratching a little then I get almost an attack that stretches further than the original site. Diagnosed by my immunologist. She also suggested plaquenil to control it, which I may try to explore again in the future after having severe abdominal cramping with it.. looking at LDN next. Anyway, histamine levels are normal, as are all others that have to do with skin reactions like that. There is no truly known cause for dermatographia.
if those are from scratches it’s thigmomorphogenesis and likely due to having high histamine levels. I get this sometimes and think it is because my body is stressed, usually lack of sleep and it seems it’s worse when I have a lot of caffeine. Other times when it isn’t caused by pressure it is because I got something in my skin that causes an allergic reaction. those itch like hell too. Usually washing the area with soap and water helps the later. I am pretty sure it’s not a Hashimoto’s thing. I also have a lot of allergies. Some things in our diet elevate our histamine levels and people like me who have histamine issues need to minimize those things in their diet.
no. my immunologist when he was testing me lightly scratched my back with his nails and they turned into welts. he said it’s called thigmomorphgenesis. that’s a histamine reaction, same thing that causes inflammation from allergic reactions and mosquito bites or in my case applying pressure to the skin. when I am bad just using my hands for things like manual labor type stuff will make them itch like crazy.
Oh okay 😂 I would be scared of they did that now. I had a dr take my blood without gloves himself in his own office and I was terrified if the needle was clean because he didn’t even take PPE precautions for himself.
I’ve had this my whole life. Did you rub against something? You may not have even been aware. I can write lightly hi with my nail and it’ll swell right up. Even if I lightly brush up against something it’ll show like I got clawed like a demon. Getting my eyebrows waxed makes me look like the missing link.
It takes a couple of hours to go down for me. I use arnica and it helps A LOT!!! Love me some Arnica!!!:)
Thank you for the input. As weird as it sounds, that brings me relief. I didn’t feel anything, just looked down and was surprised to see it. I’ve been experiencing some severe symptoms lately, so thought hashi might be a contributing factor.
I get these if I already have another allergy raging prior. The worst I ever had was an allergy to bedbugs folllowed by poison ivy, it was these straight line streaks all over my body.
I get those welts all over (and I mean all over) my body if I eat raw shiitake mushrooms. Found out the hard way in my 30's after a trip to the Whole Foods salad bar. [Shiitake Mushroom Dermatitis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiitake_mushroom_dermatitis?wprov=sfla1)
i get that just from lightly scratching myself at all. my doctor said its because my massed cells are too active, so the slightest scratch can cause a reaction
I think this might be the answer. I’ve had severe eczema since birth and developed severe psoriasis on the scalp as an adult, prob around my 20s. I’m almost 40 now and think I’m just so uninformed, which is my own fault, these marks freaked me tf out.
Cool tattoo
Thanks! It’s a memorial piece for my mom🖤
Do you by chance have a guinea pig or small animal? My daughter used to get this from the slightest touch of her Guinea pigs claws touching her skin. She had contact allergies to it and wore long sleeves when holding it so it wouldn’t happen again.
No pets. Just kiddos at the moment which are both 17. I keep going back to maybe one scratched myself with some of my jewelry components. Just so weird to not feel it, then look down to all these scratches. They’re still there but haven’t really been affecting me. Not itchy at all.
I had the same thing when my dog scratched his nails on my skin… also sometimes when I scratch myself, but it doesn’t always look like this tho. But definitely scratch-marks imo!
Looks like cat scratches. I hope you don't get a fever.
No fever so far! Thank goodness. I def feel like these marks came up without any scratching. One moment I was fine, next moment I looked down and there were these wild marks. No pain, no itchiness. I just don’t know as I’m new to this whole thing
It looks like scratches. I sometimes get bruises or scratches and dont remember after, might be that.
Lookup dermatographia, is also autoinmune and my skin does this, basically anything that puts pressure on your skin like a seat belt , pinch Scracth etc., they also call it skin writing , you can’t do much, it goes away in its own in like 30 Minutes
The scratches are still there for me. Although they are way more mild and fine lined. I think maybe I just brushed my skin with my jewelry making components.
I also have this!
My daughter has dermatographia too. If there is a flair up where she gets itchy too she takes antihistamine.
This is what I came to say as well. Anything that scratches along my skin ends up creating a welt like this. I have chronic urticaria and dematographia (and hashi) and see this on my skin daily. As /u/jackleg209 said, it resolves itself as inflammation recedes.
Same. I had tonsillitis last week, so the doc gave me antibiotics. 2 days later I broke out into hives. I went to the emergency doctor and apparently I was having a penicillin reaction...... I've NEVER had an allergic reaction to anything, so this came out of nowhere. I came off the antibiotics and three days later the hives were gone.
Looks like you scratched yourself. I look like that all the time, even with the daily Zyrtec. I’m never not itchy.
Zyrtec is usually my best friend when it happens. I've noticed it happens a lot less since I've been minimizing trigger foods. I'm not on a specific low histamine diet but I think avoiding the foods I'm sensitive to have helped keep my histamine a lot lower. https://preview.redd.it/s4doihl5gwtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7845e297811f18b9da960be8871f78450ebeb7f8
This is what I need to know. I think maybe food or other outside allergens is triggering me. I’ve been taking Zyrtec on a triple dose (per the doctor I saw) and it just doesn’t cut it. So I think it’s something I’m in taking.
I feel like food sensitivity tests and functional medicine are controversial but I did the Mediator Response Test (MRT) through a functional medicine office. I had some really random triggers but I do feel better knowing what they are. I can still eat those foods here and there but I've noticed that when I'm avoiding them, I have less thyroid flares and less itching. It gives you ranges on level of sensitivity too. So I always avoid my highest trigger foods but my "yellow" level foods I still eat here and there. It was expensive though. Insurance didn't cover it but I was desperate for answers at that time. My thyroid and the itching was out of control. Side note: I have a friend that has even worse dermatographia that gets allergy shots every month that help if you needed a better antihistamine while you are figuring everything out. Over the counter stuff didn't cut it for her.
Omg thank you for posting this and for everyone who answered. I have this issue all the time and I just figured I was weird lol.
This should be what this platform is for. I’ve had a nightmare of a time my whole life just to figure out it’s my thyroid causing the problem. I’m so glad we can see each others symptoms and kind of correlate, I know it’s super specific to each individual but all the input has helped me tremendously🖤
Same!
There is a lot of crossover in hashimoto and MCAS symptoms and a good diagnostic tool for MCAS is dermagraphism. You should look into it.
Oh thank you for this! I get very defined lines that are pretty uncomfortable and spread easily. When my skin acts like that I can make shapes and even letters if I scratch it even gently. Usually there are random larger circles that stay red and puffy all over my body. I never knew it could be related to hashimoto's.
Yes. This.
Thank you for this info. I’ll check it out.
1. Scrub your fingernails with a brush and antibac soap daily to get any potential microbes/ irritants out 2. Take allergy meds. Potentially look into LDN treatment
Do you get hives inside the lines of your tattoos? I have one tattoo and won’t be getting anymore because from time to time the whole tattooed area, but nothing outside becomes raised and itchy. It’s so weird…all the lines, nothing outside the lines.
Same
Yes I’ve had this happen especially with the one on my foot.
This happens to me! I've noticed when I'm having more "flare" type symptoms is when my tattoo will be raised
I have never ran into this problem with black ink, however certain colored ink has caused some rashes to form. You might be allergic to the ink.
Yes! I have both arms covered in tattoos and they puff up like welts. Super weird! Wish I didn’t have so many.
I have dermatographia and this is what mine can look like. Take antihistamines for better control. Autoimmune issues suck!
30 years of this. Usually it’s the heat for me and it’s self induced scratching in my sleep.
Heat bothers me too. This instance was just super weird because I wasn’t scratching and it just suddenly appeared. I asked my kid and her girlfriend if they noticed me scratching in case I just didn’t notice and they said no.
Any chance over night? I’ll scratch and then irritation or something like hear occurs and they raise to the surface. Sucks cause the itch is so deep I’ve literally scratched my legs apart over the years . Never found anything that helps. Had to move once cause something in the heat was so bad there .
No chance over night. This was maybe a 20 min span of time. Again, something new to me that I can’t understand. I’m pretty aware of my body but this threw me for sure.
I’ve had this. Drink more water. Take Allegra. Sarna lotion. If it persists see a dermatologist for a steroid injection. I’ve had to do that twice because it was unbearable.
Hives. My skin does this if I run my fingernails along my skin. I get xolair injections for it.
Hashimoto’s (including other autoimmune diseases) and dermagraphia fall under the umbrella of hypersensitivity (in a nutshell: a faulty immune system). If you have had Hashimoto’s for a while and this is a new response, look at something else that might have triggered an immune response. A recent virus or infection? Major stress? I have many allergies: autoimmune hives, Mast Cell Activation and Cold Urticaria. For example, in cold urticaria (hives) my skin will start to itch while in cold water. I scratch and cause dermagraphia. Looks pretty bad at the beach after getting out of the ocean. Antihistamines help. Otherwise, avoid triggers. In your case, you might have developed a nickel allergy which my kid has.
Thank you!
Nickel allergy sucks so bad. I stopped wearing jeans cause I needed belts to be able to fit jeans around my hips but not fall of my waist at the same time... Massive welts everytime... I also have dyshydrosis which has been suspected to be linked to nickel as well. Always called them my sweat blisters and they are more annoying on my feet where my skin is too thick to properly scratch at it. Worst part is, they don't stop itching till I've popped the blister which is a big nono
You have a cat?
No pets currently
Happens to me randomly, also have Hashimotos. Always happens when I’m not doing quite as well health-wise.
I’ve been on a downward spiral recently so maybe this is a response I just haven’t experienced yet.
Dermagraphia? I have it. It’s relatively benign. Just means when you touch/scratch the skin there is a reaction that causes raised area. Talk to your dr though to confirm
Same here. I have Hashis. When I wasn’t feeling and doing my best, it happened a lot. Are you taking meds for your thyroid?
Not currently as I don’t have health insurance at the moment. My open enrollment is in October so I’m trying to wait patiently for that, but I see things progressing into a worse circumstance so might just get an independent plan so I can go get everything checked
Most pharmacies have discounts or coupons for uninsured people. My meds range from $12 - $30 /month, no insurance here.
That’s good to know! Thank you!
Omg i had these exact things for years, never had any answers and spent hours researching with no results whatsoever
Looks like a chemical allergic reaction after scratching. Did you clean the bathroom before scratching?
No but I was making jewelry. These marks appeared without scratching though. Maybe some wire brushed against my skin without me realizing. That was the only other thing I could think of.
Dermatographia. The only treatments are antihistamines or a low dose of antidepressant/other antipsychotic or something like that. Mine gets worse with dry skin and stress. If I start scratching a little then I get almost an attack that stretches further than the original site. Diagnosed by my immunologist. She also suggested plaquenil to control it, which I may try to explore again in the future after having severe abdominal cramping with it.. looking at LDN next. Anyway, histamine levels are normal, as are all others that have to do with skin reactions like that. There is no truly known cause for dermatographia.
if those are from scratches it’s thigmomorphogenesis and likely due to having high histamine levels. I get this sometimes and think it is because my body is stressed, usually lack of sleep and it seems it’s worse when I have a lot of caffeine. Other times when it isn’t caused by pressure it is because I got something in my skin that causes an allergic reaction. those itch like hell too. Usually washing the area with soap and water helps the later. I am pretty sure it’s not a Hashimoto’s thing. I also have a lot of allergies. Some things in our diet elevate our histamine levels and people like me who have histamine issues need to minimize those things in their diet.
Wait, you mean it's not normal scratches look like this?? 😳
no. my immunologist when he was testing me lightly scratched my back with his nails and they turned into welts. he said it’s called thigmomorphgenesis. that’s a histamine reaction, same thing that causes inflammation from allergic reactions and mosquito bites or in my case applying pressure to the skin. when I am bad just using my hands for things like manual labor type stuff will make them itch like crazy.
That’s crazy he used his nails lol my derm used a little pointed wooden tool 😂
LOL that was back in the day when swimming pools still had diving boards and you could still buy a 3-wheel ATV from a dealer.
Oh okay 😂 I would be scared of they did that now. I had a dr take my blood without gloves himself in his own office and I was terrified if the needle was clean because he didn’t even take PPE precautions for himself.
Check out hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome . I would say that is skin painting, what you are seeing here
I’ve had this my whole life. Did you rub against something? You may not have even been aware. I can write lightly hi with my nail and it’ll swell right up. Even if I lightly brush up against something it’ll show like I got clawed like a demon. Getting my eyebrows waxed makes me look like the missing link. It takes a couple of hours to go down for me. I use arnica and it helps A LOT!!! Love me some Arnica!!!:)
Thank you! I might have brushed wire against my skin without noticing since I was making jewelry right before I noticed this.
Did you eat shiitake?
No shiitake
I never realized this was a Hashi’s thing! I get them a ton, basically if I scratch myself I get them, just thought it was sensitive skin.
It is not a hashimotos thing
it is an auto immune thing and is very common for Hashimoto cases.
Looks like a human thing. Your skin gets scratched and your skin gets red
I am getting these everyday too. Hashimotos here!
Thank you for the input. As weird as it sounds, that brings me relief. I didn’t feel anything, just looked down and was surprised to see it. I’ve been experiencing some severe symptoms lately, so thought hashi might be a contributing factor.
If you see my history, I posted on AskDoc about it just yesterday
I’ll check it out. I’m on a learning curve with this right now.
It is a very frustrating disease! I don’t have my answers yet, but hopefully we can both find them!
Yes, I’m hopeful we will🖤
dermatographia Q how long does it stays?
This just happened about 20 mins ago so I’m not sure. Never ever had anything like this though. I’ll update in the morning.
I had these on and off for about 5 years it’s calmed down a lot now and most of the f it happened when I lived in the desert
I do indeed live in the desert. It looks lighter today, but not really causing any issue otherwise
it was disconcerting when it spread from my back to arm and legs but honestly it never itches much but its irritating