Overcoming Urticaria
As an international student, I started experiencing symptoms of urticaria about two weeks after arriving in the UK. At first, I thought I was simply being too sensitive to my body because I felt itching all over. I assumed it would go away after some time, but it never did.
After about two months, I started visiting my GP. Unfortunately, I did not feel that much progress was being made. The symptoms continued for several months, and although I was prescribed antihistamines, they did not seem to help.
Things became much worse during the summer when the weather was particularly hot. I remember one day when I went out and could barely cope. Everywhere felt extremely hot, and I could not stay outside comfortably. I could not even return home immediately because the heat was overwhelming. When I eventually got home, I decided to exercise. Before then, I had learned that sweating might help reduce the symptoms, but exercising was difficult because sweating itself was very painful and uncomfortable.
That day, however, I felt so distressed and embarrassed by my condition that I forced myself to continue exercising until I started sweating. Surprisingly, once I had sweated, the pain and discomfort eased significantly. The following day, I did the same thing. I exercised and sweated again. Over time, as I continued doing this occasionally, the symptoms reduced dramatically.
Before I started getting better, the condition affected every aspect of my life. I lost my job because I was unable to work for several months. Looking back, those were some of the most difficult periods of my life. The constant itching, discomfort, and frustration took a significant toll on me physically, mentally, and financially.
Fortunately, things have improved a lot since then. I would say I am now about 80% better. The symptoms have not disappeared completely, but they are far more manageable than before. I can now carry out my daily activities, attend university, work, and generally live a normal life. From time to time, I still exercise specifically to make myself sweat because I have found that it helps relieve the symptoms considerably. In fact, I did so today. I still occasionally feel some discomfort, but it is no longer severe enough to stop me from doing the things I need to do.
Even today, I still do not know the exact cause of the condition. However, one thing is clear to me. I lived in Nigeria my entire life and never experienced anything like this. I played football regularly and was very active, yet I never had any symptoms. The problem only started after I arrived in the UK, which makes me believe that something in the environment may be contributing to it.
I also met someone from Kenya who experienced the same condition after moving to the UK. He told me that he suffered from it for several years before eventually improving. Hearing his experience made me think that environmental factors could be involved.
One possibility I have considered is the difference in water quality. From my research, water in many parts of Africa is generally softer, whereas the water in London is known to be hard. When I first arrived in the UK, I regularly drank tap water and only stopped later. I'm not sure whether the condition is related to the environment, climate, water, vitamin deficiencies, or something else. However, I find it difficult to ignore the fact that the symptoms only began after moving to the UK.