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Problems related to skin allergies?

Prof (Dr) DM Thappa
Associate Professor and Head,
Dermatology and STD Department, JIPMER,
Pondicherry

Q: I am a 24 year old married woman. I am having some allergic reaction on my skin (itching, reddening, small swelling) since last three years. I have consulted many dermatologists, but they recommended only antihistamines. Then I went to an allergic asthma clinic. They found out that I am allergic to milk, egg white, tomato, mosquito and moth. If I stopped the milk, egg white and tomato, allergy is still not subsiding due to other reasons. So I continued milk as well as antihistamine regularly (cetrizine twice a day since last one and half years). My doubt is that does taking antihistamine regularly create any problem in future. Does it interfere in pregnancy / conceiving? What is the permanent solution for me? I am having hypothyroidism problem also.

A:Intradermal tests are not reliable tools to diagnose cause of skin allergy like that of urticaria. History is very important. If stopping of those suspected items of food has not helped, then it may not be due to those things. Your urticaria may be related to hypothyroidism or the drugs used for it. Any drug during pregnancy is harmful. Once you are on drugs, it is better to avoid pregnancy. Complete haemogram, urine and stool examination are preliminary tests.