New Dermatographia: What is helping you?

Hello to everyone who has posted on this thread. I have the same exact problem like so many on here that have posted regarding COVID vaccination. I'm glad to have researched and found this forum. Here's a lengthy, descriptive post about my experience so far up to this point.

I'm a healthy 31-year old male with no history of serious skin conditions, no allergies, and no known case of having COVID. I recently received the updated COVID-19 Moderna booster on Sept 22, 2022 with no immediate side effects; only a sore arm as like the other COVID shots I got (this was my 4th shot). I felt great and normal as usual. But exactly at the 2 week mark (Oct 6), I started to have this skin issue. The night before (Oct 5), I had an itchy back which is considered normal itch activity for me. I had a good back scratch which resulted in nothing unusual. I also had my back scratched over the previous weekend and nothing was unusual then. As you can tell, I really do enjoy getting back scratched, lol.

Anyway, on Oct. 6, while dressing for work my privates started to itch; I figured it was my underwear. The itch disappeared quickly after I noticed; it didn't seem like anything out the norm. But later in the day around 4:30PM, my right armpit started to itch bad.. Like really bad. So I starting scratching my armpit to try and get rid of the itch. Before getting home from work, I was now scratching both of my armpits on and off. When I got home from work, entire body started to itch almost everywhere.

As like any other human-being, I was scratching where is was itching; assuming it was dry skin as the itch would not stop. I hopped into the shower and was still very itchy, especially around my hips. After the shower, my body was red and irritated. I noticed there were hives.. weals.. welts.. whatever the correct term is on my hips. I put anti-itch cream, lotion, and took some Benadryl. My itching finally stopped and the redness slowly went away. I have never experienced that kind of itchiness in my life; possibly when I had chickenpox but can't remember that far back.

The following day, things seem to be okay. While getting ready for work, I noticed my armpits burned when deodorant was applied. I thought that's weird and thought my armpits were sensitive today because of how hard they were scratched the day before. The day went normally as there was no itchiness anywhere on my body. Around 10PM that night while driving home from work, my right shoulder had a slight itch. I rubbed my hand on the area over my clothing (2 shirts and a hoodie) for about 5-10 seconds. Got home, undressed, and noticed welts in the area where I rubbed.

While resting on my couch for a few minutes, my left jaw line started to itch and inside my ear, so I rubbed them. As I precede to get into the shower, I decide to pop a zit on my nose and some on my chin. Immediately, my nose and areas on my chin started to swell and turn red. My left jawline was also started to turn red and my right ear was slightly inflamed and closed. I also noticed that my left elbow was red and irritated where it was placed on the couch. By this time, I figured something was up. Quickly took Benadryl, hopped into the shower, and put lotion on again before bed. I had no body itchiness anywhere after that.

When I finally woke up late on Saturday morning (Oct 8), I started to do some research online types of different skin conditions. None of the conditions didn't seem to fit the symptoms I was experiencing until I came across dermatographia. Looked at the description and photos of it and seemed to be a fit. I believe this condition or any other skin condition doesn't turn on like a light switch; something has to lead to it. I had no changes in my lifestyle with eating habits, washing habits, no changes in my environmental surroundings; nothing has changed. This led to me think would my recent vaccination be a part of why this is happening.

Behold, upon researching dermatographia with COVID vaccination, results popped up. A few scientific papers showed some cases where dermatographia happened with the Moderna booster between 1-2 weeks after the shot was administered. Then I found some Reddit forums discussing dermatographia with the same time frame after vaccination and then stumbled upon this forum.

Not to self-diagnose myself, but after reading all the posts under this thread, determining what could lead to this issue, and compiling information, evidence, and the timeline, I fully believe the Moderna booster has caused my dermatographia. I have documented my symptoms by taking photos of my body when a rash and welts are present. I do plan on seeing my dermatologist to get their professional input ASAP.

The next issue is will they take this into consideration with has happen to me and agree. I have all this information that will be presented to whoever medical professional I come across. I hope to get some sort of treatment and hope that this does go away at some point. I've seen all the posts on here with people still having issues and makes me filled with worry that this will never go away. I've managed so far by not scratching when an itch is occurring, taking Benadryl when necessary, and putting lotion on.

I hope everyone that has this condition is doing well. Has anyone noticed if they are free of dermatographia or if their symptoms have lessen over time? I appreciate everyone who has posted on this thread in order to help people try and seek some answers.

I have the same thing I was prescribed allergy medication It helps with the itching but I still get the red lining. It is very clear that it was caused by the vaccine because i never had allergies before. My symptoms came after the 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine. I am not taking no booster thats not helping people is damaging people.

What was it in the vaccine your allergic to?The reason I ask I have Dermatographia and I have t had the vaccine. I want to know so maybe it would help mine go away.

Hey there,
I’m so sorry for your experience and it’s oh so familiar. Almost exactly what I went through last December when I got my Moderna booster. I posted my experience in depth earlier in the thread, but long story short I became itchier than I have ever been in my life at the 10 day mark post booster, and the itchiness subsequently turned into hives and “skin writing.” And the esophagus tightening was agony. But I wanted to let you know (and anyone else reading this) that it DOES get better! I am at the 10 month mark and I’ve gone from 3 antihistamines a day to 1 maybe every 4 days now. Not completely cured (yet) but it’s like night and day from what it’s been. I was speaking to a doctor at my local urgent care about this (I went for an unrelated issue) and he got myocarditis from his vaccine, which finally cleared up after about a year and a half. He told me that this vaccine (Moderna in particular) is living in the tissue much longer than any typical SARS vaccine. He says they thought it would last 3-4 months but it’s been lasting well over a year. The one pro is maybe it’s a heavy protectant from Covid. But it’s scary. Just know you’re not alone and give it time to work itself out of your body. For anyone wondering, I will NOT be getting anymore boosters, nor will I get the flu shot this year. I’m traumatized. I’ll continue to wear a mask and isolate as much as I can to keep myself and others safe.

Commenting because I'm apparently a bit of an outlier.

I had does 1 & 2 of Pfizer in Jan/Feb 2021. Nothing besides sore arm and fatigue for a day or two.

Fast-forward to... June? July? I don't even remember a specific day because all covid work-from-home days are a blur. Anyway, itchy palms out of now where. But I wrote it off as getting irritated by something on the rug when being inspired to do pushups.

In the couple of weeks that followed that, in summer 2021, I began noticing hive-like welts where I'd been scratched or had other sharp pressure on my skin. Lo and behold, Google led me to dermatographia. Which is understood to often be idiopathic (no specific cause) and generally goes away on its own within a year. Thankfully, other than a slight tingle of an itch sometimes, it's not overly uncomfortable. Just an annoyance. And it gets wacky looks from people.

I didn't think much of it at first, but as it lasted for months, I began to wonder if it was A) some sort of delayed covid vaccine reaction - recall, for me, it happened *before* boosters were on anyone's radar, and also not until ~4.5-5 months after initial dose 2 of Pfizer, or B) some sort of odd single-symptom long covid after what would have had to have been an asymptomatic covid case (I have still never had covid symptoms, and never tested positive. Though there was obviously a long period before prolific home tests that I wasn't getting tested because of no symptoms).

And that's how it's stayed. No improvement, no worsening. Now on month 15. I got a Moderna booster in 11/21 without hesitation, and same with the new bivalent Moderna booster last month. Nothing but sore arms, no skin changes (except dermatographic welts when I pulled the band-aid off!) Flu shots mixed in there in fall '20, '21, and '22 (last week) with no issue/change there either.

Because idiopathic dermatographia is 'supposed' to resolve on it's own in under a year, I did go see a dermatologist at right about a year after onset. Her nurse practitioner prescribed a topical steroid cream which did absolutely nothing. Saw the actual doctor of dermatology this week and she gave me a steroid (prednisone or cortisone - I'm blanking on which) injection. She also wrote a prescription for an oral antihistamine, which I have yet to pick up - I want to see how the injection plays out on its own before adding antihistamine. She also referred me to an allergist for a few months down the line, after we see how the meds take (or don't).

So, long story short, I'm a weirdo here - my dermatographia started at a random time, months post-vax, and months before boosters became a thing. Not so uncomfortable, just a mild annoyance. It's still here 15 months later, though I've done nothing to treat it aside from a useless attempt at topical steroids a couple months ago. Just this week tried a steroid injection. TBD.

It can be different for everyone. Good luck to all who have it worse than me. I hope you have it *shorter* than me, at least.

Hi all.....I am so happy to find all your experiences with the Moderna vaccine. I am on immune compromising meds for RA (methotrexate). I had to have 3 full Moderna vaccines. With all three I had the usual side effects. Two weeks later my entire body erupted with dermographia urticaria. My dermatologist prescribed Zyrtec every day.
It's been over a year and I am petrified to get the booster and also of getting covid!
I am 65 years old and walk 4 miles every day
I can't find any allergist that tests for ingredients to these vaccines in my area. My dermatologist recommends getting the booster in a urgent care facility. Autoimmune doctor says try the Pfizer and my GP said as long as you are taking the Zrytec it's a good idea to get the booster.

I was diagnosed with Dermatographia about 7 years ago. It was under control after taking Loratadine daily. I had even stopped taking it and it seemed to be fine. About 4 months ago it started back up and came back with a vengeance. At first I didn’t think it was the dermotographia because it was a little different. After my morning shower my body had redness on my feet, legs, stomach, chest and back. I had an appointment with a dermatologist for a yearly checkup and was seen by the nurse practitioner. I told her what I was experiencing and also mentioned the dermatographia. She recommended taking Allegra in. The morning and Benadryl at night. I’ve been on the regimen and it’s been better but definitely has not relieved the itching . Just recently I began thinking if my dermatographia had returned due to the Covid vaccine. I had 3 Moderna vaccines and my last booster was Pfizer. After reading all these posts, I realize the vaccines are to blame. I will continue with the Allegra and Benadryl but will also talk to my doctor about this and see what she has to say. Will also check out the list of foods that are high in histamine. Unfortunately today my scalp is itching like crazy and I’ve had issues with the redness and lesions on my arm.

I got the Moderna booster on December 19th and on December 28 I started to get linear hives.. after looking at pictures on Google and searching for possible causes I was a little shocked to see multiple people had searched for the connection between the Moderna booster and Dermographism. I am almost certain this is the issue I am experiencing and plan on seeing my APRN to verify it tomorrow. My symptoms definitely flare up at night time and in the morning. Thanks for posting about it, hopefully they can find a trend and make this information more widely available. This was my 4th Moderna booster since I am a nurse and suffer from a condition that puts me in the “at risk” population with COVID..

I'm so sorry you are doing through this. Just by chance I had labs before first Pfizer fax , after it and before the second. All my labs were skewed. Wbc went up 10,000. TSH went up 5x. I have leukemia and past thyroid cancer. I also have a congenital hole in my heart. 8 days after the first vaccine my BP went to 220/110. No more vaccines for me. I have never been boosted and never will. And docs still "don't" believe it. I think they're only now beginning to find out what they have done to the population.

I have to take 2 Zytec a day to keep mine away.