Contents:
- Medical Video: CJW Doc Minute: Why does my skin get itchy after a shower?
- Cholinergic urticaria, skin rash due to body sweat
- Apart from skin rashes, what are the symptoms of cholinergic urticaria?
- How to detect this disease?
- What are the triggers for cholinergic urticaria?
- Can you prevent this condition?
Medical Video: CJW Doc Minute: Why does my skin get itchy after a shower?
Skin rashes usually appear when allergies recur. However, maybe you have tried to stay away from various allergic triggers but still a rash on the skin appears. Well, if this happens, it could be the cause of your body's sweat. Yes, body sweat can actually trigger rashes on the skin. This condition is called cholinergic urticaria.
Cholinergic urticaria, skin rash due to body sweat
If you often have itchy and reddened skin after exercising, you may experience cholinergic urticaria. Cholinergic urticaria is an allergic reaction that arises when the body temperature rises and starts sweating.
This condition will usually disappear by itself and most of it is not dangerous. However, allergic reactions due to changes in body temperature can be serious if the response appears excessive.
Apart from skin rashes, what are the symptoms of cholinergic urticaria?
This allergic reaction can appear on the surface of the skin and other body parts. On the surface of the cholinergic urticaria skin can cause:
- A small rash on several parts of the body
- Redness of the skin on the rash
- Itching
Symptoms on the skin will appear when the body starts to feel hot or about the first 5-6 minutes when starting to exercise. Symptoms can get worse for 12-25 minutes.
Skin rashes and itching generally appear anywhere, but the neck that will be the first area affected. Then, followed by the skin surface of the arms and hands.
Itching on the skin surface can also be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms:
- Nausea
- Throws up
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhea
- Increased amount of saliva production
In serious cases cholinergic urticaria can also trigger a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), including:
- Difficulty breathing
- Abnormal breathing (wheezing)
- Abdominal pain
- Headache
These conditions are quite serious and need treatment as soon as possible. For first aid, allergy relievers such as EpiPen can relieve the symptoms of anaphylaxis.
How to detect this disease?
Quoted from a case report, a warm water test is needed to test whether a person is experiencing an allergic reaction due to cholinergic urticaria or not. Because the main trigger of an allergic reaction is an increase in body temperature, this test can detect the body's response to changes in temperature.
What are the triggers for cholinergic urticaria?
For someone who has a history of cholinergic urticaria allergies, here are some things that can trigger the appearance of allergies:
- Doing heavy physical activity
- Having anxiety
- Feeling angry or disappointed emotions
- Eat spicy food
- Have a fever
- Take a bath using warm water
- Being in a hot room
Actually, when body temperature rises, histamine compounds will automatically be released. Well, the emergence of histamine is what makes you experience symptoms of skin rashes and itching.
Not everyone has a cholinergic urticaria skin rash, most people who have it also have hypersensitive skin.
Can you prevent this condition?
The simplest way to prevent cholinergic urticaria is to avoid triggering these allergic reactions. Avoid sports or physical activities that can increase body temperature very quickly or other triggers such as avoiding exposure to direct sunlight when going out during the day.
Cholinergic urticaria treatment can vary depending on how severe an allergic reaction appears. If allergies aren't too serious, they can usually be treated with changes in patterns and lifestyle.
However, if the symptoms that appear are severe enough and interfere with your daily activities, then you need medication to relieve them.
The type of drug given is an antihistamine drug. Some examples of antihistamine drugs that can be used are hydroxyzine (Vistaril), terfenadine (Seldane), cimetidine (Tagamet), or ranitidine (Zantac). If you experience frequent allergic reactions, using EpiPen may also be recommended by a doctor.
