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Hives on legs/skin sensitivity
Two months ago I developed nasty hives anytime I waxed my legs or epilated them. I have done this myself at home for 10 years and never had an issue. Now I break out in painful hives. They only last an hour but it is so bad I decided to switch to shaving. Now I get razor rash/burn. I don’t have any issues waxing my armpits or other areas. The only thing I can think of is low oxygen (usually 90 is my average). My legs and feet are always purple or cherry red, whereas the rest of my body is usually ok. I talked with my doctor about it (my PCP) and he had no explanation and just told me to stop removing hair “because its winter anyways”. Any thoughts? Not on any meds besides Aspirin.
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10 Replies
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Libby,
I have this problem. Do you have orthostatic hypotension at all? Or do you get dizzy with standing or walking for longer periods of time? This is something that I have and had spots on my legs that almost made it look like my skin was mottled. For me, this was due to circulation issues to my extremeties. Doctors think that it has to do with the filling and refilling pressures of the heart just not being adequate enough with standing or moving around. Maybe this could be what is going on for you? To diagnose this they actually took blood pressure readings in my legs before activity and after activity and noticed quite a difference.
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Libby,
I was wondering if this reaction is being caused by one of your treatments but you mentioned that you are only on aspirin. So, my next thought is what Brittany shared.
When my son had PH his arms and legs would often get a weird purple or red tinge to them and his skin was super sensitive. He had a central line for Flolan and it took us a long time to find a dressing and biopatch that didn’t break down his skin the second the two made contact. I think circulation does play a big part in skin sensitivity.
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@colleensteele and @libby so true about the circulation! Libby, do you see a dermatologist at all? Mine is really good with knowing the connections between low oxygen or low blood flow and different skin conditions like this, especially when it comes to the extremeties. I always notice a large amount of dryness on my feet that was once thought to be athlete’s foot but it was the oxygen and blood flow just making my skin that way!
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Brittany, I am glad to hear I am not crazy, or that my theory is. My PCP is just an idiot (sorry that’s mean, but true) about my cardiovascular issues. I wasn’t pleased with his response. I have a cardiac appointment at the end of this month with a new doctor (I still love my main cardiologist at UW but want a second opinion) and plan to ask about this. I am hoping they will take me seriously because my circulation issues have definitely become worse in the last 6 months and my UW cardiologist has acknowledged it but says he expects nothing less due to the severity of my condition which I agree but also feel is dismissal of the issue?
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@libby I can totally relate to your frustration. I am lucky enough the my own PCP has been really good about all of my conditions because there is a long list of them. She helps me to manage them and that’s all I could ask of her! I know that she is not going to have the answers to the things that even the specialist have a hard time coming up with a treatment plan for, but as long as I’m managed that’s important to me and my quality of life. Please make sure that you bring up testing with the blood pressure cuff on the legs. It is pretty simple, it is a test that they do when they are checking someone for peripheral artery disease. So hopefully the specialist will know more about it! Keep me posted 🙂
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My legs are definitely super sensitive – and I think it’s because of poor circulation. I used to have very hairy legs – now, no hair. Years ago (at least 60) we were told in our physiology class that hairy toes mean good circulation and lack of hair, poorer circulation. Seems to still holds true.
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@normarg I definitely understand this and it makes perfect sense because those hair follices also need circulation in order to grow properly. My leg hair is very light thankfully and also grows back pretty slowly and it patchy in some areas. My skin also gets really dry and flaky toward the bottom of my legs. And I am one to moisturize and use products so that definitely isn’t from lack of moisture.
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No hives but likewise for sensitivity and no hair (don’t miss depilation in the least though) — agree about this being circulation related.
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@vanessavaile from my own experiences and from what my own dermatologist told me it is definitely related to blood flow and lack of oxygen in the extremeties. Believe me, I have tried creams, anti fungals and powerful oral medication and when that didn’t clear it we looked specifically at how well that area was getting oxygen and blood flow and sure enough found our answer!
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Vanessa, very true. I think circulation effects both skin and hair.
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