New Dermatographia: What is helping you?

Like everyone else I am so grateful to have found this post. I had my Moderna booster on 1/10/22. This was about a month after having a pretty bad bout with COVID. 2-3 weeks later I broke out in a full body itch fest to be followed up with dermatographia. As I was falling asleep last night something told me check when the dermatographia started in relation to when I got my booster. Not sure why this popped into my head, but I am glad it did because I found all of you. I have also since found that Facebook group. I really hope this goes away and I am not stuck taking antihistamines for the rest of my life. I am tired of looking like I have been mauled by a cat after every shower. I am not against vaccines, but I will not be getting anymore booster that's for sure.

So glad I discovered this thread. Just wanted to add my report. Exactly one week after I got the Moderna booster, I woke up with severe itching all over my body and the worst esophagus pain (felt like severe heartburn and a knot in my upper esophagus). The hives appeared immediately wherever I scratched my skin, and sometimes just from contact with surfaces, and disappeared fairly quickly after they arose. It now migrates to different parts of my body and affects my face, chest, arms, legs, and hands. I’m now almost three months out, and even though it’s not as bad as it was the first couple of weeks, it’s still a daily occurrence. It’s definitely taken a toll on my skin and general sense of well-being. My pictures look exactly like the ones I’ve seen from other posters. I’ve had a couple of steroid injections, and my doctor advised me to take a daily antihistamine. I’ve never had heartburn in my life and now I’m experiencing it on a weekly basis - it seems like it’s unrelated to specific foods and just comes on when it wants to. This condition is absolutely tied to the booster shot, and doesn’t seem like it will go away any time soon. I’m a 38-year-old female.

Oh, gosh, @maxwinters, of all the side effects to get, this seems to be common. Have the itching and hives interfered in a big way with your daily routines? Did your doctor say she would report your reactions to the vaccine or that you should do it. https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html
I’m going to ask @shanbsen , @lebone, @leen36 and @mimi7 if they will return to the discussion and tell you what works and what doesn’t.
Has your doctor been concerned about your heartburn or given you anything to moderate it?

The only thing that has really worked for me is staying on Zyrtec every 3-4 days. I am trying to only take it when I need it. I have another appointment with my doctor on Thursday to potentially start a study. This is absolutely awful!!! I am also 3-4 months into this thing. I am hoping there is light at the end of the tunnel. I just found out my brother also is now battling the same thing. I hope if enough people report this to vaers that it will hopefully bring awareness to others. I am just grateful I found this group and the Facebook group because before I did I thought I was going crazy!!!

I am interested in the comment about your skin. I feel that mine has aged in a hurry, very much dried out with that crepe look in odd places, like under my forearms. I am now into the beginning of month seven, with ongoing dermatographia.

@reggiegirl Good morning! I’m glad i saw this comment was also in the Skin Health group because they will best be able to answer you question.
You’ve had dermatographia for 7 months, how are you dealing with it. Do you use antihistamines?

Classic case of post-vaccine dermatographia, first hives on day 10 after shot in early November 2021. I took antihistamines for two months than stopped. My symptoms have diminished about 50% over past 6 months, but I still have ongoing contact hives and some spontaneous outbreaks. I try not to scratch.

I did report it to VAERS after advice from this thread! My doc did prescribe hydroxyine and something for heartburn, but I’ve found that taking Claritin and Pepcid every morning keeps it at bay. If I stop taking that for a couple of days, it comes back in full force.

It is pretty disruptive only because I hate taking pills and I feel as though I’m reliant on them now. The heartburn is the most painful part though, but it only occurs very sporadically now. The worst part is I feel like it’s really damaging my skin. The first few weeks were horrible but now I’ve learned to keep it under control.

I hope everyone else here is starting to feel better. From what I’ve gathered, it can last a very long time. Thank you for your reply!

I agree with you completely. The skin damage is becoming apparent, especially on my forehead and face - between my cheeks and my nose. I stopped my face routine because I felt like it was making it worse, and now I’m trying to use gentle Cetaphil face wash to keep it at bay. I would highly recommend trying Cetaphil for body and face if you tolerate it. It’s very mild. I’m trying to stay away from perfumes lotions and things like Clinique. I was hoping to not accelerate the decline of my skin before I turned 40, but it looks like that’s what’s going to happen.

I hope that you can find a solution that works for you!

Hi everyone,

I’ve been checking this thread periodically for the last few months and finally decided to post. I too received my Moderna booster beginning of Dec and 10 days later began itching in the middle of the night. The itchiness was the most severe I have ever experienced. In the morning I began breaking out in hives all over and my skin turned red. I went to the dermatology clinic as an emergency and she said it was a classic case of dermatographic urticaria. Interestingly enough my partner (who got his booster 30 seconds after me) also became incredibly itchy at the same time and broke out into hives…but without the dermatographia. His thankfully cleared up in a couple of weeks but I’m still struggling with the dermographism. I went from 3 antihistamines a day to one. Sometimes I get lucky and skip a day. It’s definitely worse at night. I’ve seen three dermatologists and an allergist about this. All agree it’s probably vaccine related. Allergist recommended Xolair but I’m very weary of the side effects. I’m otherwise healthy but this has definitely effected my quality of life and has caused me to feel very anxious and depressed. I would love to be able to have a quick scratch or run up against something without looking like I was mauled by a mountain lion. The only new thing I added before this started was the vitamin Nutrafol for healthy hair…which does have an immunity boost in it. But all doctors agree it probably wasn’t that. I have a positive ANA but it’s very low and I’ve had it for over 10 years and have gotten numerous vaccines with no issue. I’m sorry everyone is going through this but it does help to know I’m not alone. I wake up everyday hoping today is the day it disappears but it hasn’t happened yet. Hoping for us all that once the booster antibodies go down this will go away too. My biggest fear is that it will never go away…but that’s my own anxiety talking.