This is almost like a horror story to me.
Last week, I had one of the worst allergic reactions of my life—and it was to my own body.
To give you some context: I’ve always had allergies, but the ones I had during childhood were mild—pretty standard stuff.
When I turned 13, my allergies skyrocketed. The doctor explained that it was due to hormonal changes.
Here’s a fact hardly anyone mentions:
We women—both adolescents and adults—are more prone to allergies and autoimmune issues because of hormonal changes.
This happens because estrogen stimulates histamine production.
For most people, it’s something that can be managed quite well with antihistamines or similar treatments.
But then there are girls like me who become allergic to our own hormones.
To make a long story short... It’s not that I’m allergic to myself all the time, but mainly during my period.
And it’s not like I get hives or severe allergic reactions every single period—no. It’s usually linked to my mood and physical activity.
Last week, I wasn't doing well emotionally... Then my period started, and since I wanted to relieve some stress, I went for a run.
Anyway, I spent the whole morning with hives—the typical kind: itchy welts that don't go beyond that.
I’ve attached photos.
I was like that all day... I actually used Xolair, and it helped.
The next day, everything got worse... I woke up completely swollen.
My neck was bright red, I was congested, and my face was inflamed.
I felt nauseous, and things went downhill from there.
My blood pressure dropped, and I was struggling to breathe.
It had never happened to me before... but it was clearly an anaphylactic reaction.
We wondered if I’d eaten something... or if it was the stress... but everything pointed to my period. I usually get hives during it, but it never goes beyond welts or inflammation.
In short, my conclusion is that hives can get much worse during a hormonal spike; it is important to be emotionally healthy, as that also has a major impact... And we shouldn't exercise when we are stressed.