New Dermatographia: What is helping you?

I got my Moderna booster on November 15 and on Thanksgiving day (10 days later) my hands were very red and itchy. At first I thought it was due to hand washing too many dishes and I put on some lotion. Then I thought that I grabbed the handles of the rowing machine too hard. But, when I put on my pajamas, I noticed the marks in multiple areas of my body, where the fabric touched the skin. The issue persisted the following day and I went to urgent care. The doctor's notes read "Treating for coverage of hives. Concern you may have dermatographia". She prescribed famotidine (Pepcid 20 mg 1 tablet 2 times a day for 14 days) and predniSONE 20 mg 2 tablets every day for 5 days. Three days later I started feeling my throat closing and that scared me. I went to bed and woke up at 2:30 AM feeling it was getting worst. I tried to stay calm but at 5:00 AM I woke up my husband and told him I may need to go to the emergency room. I called my doctor and asked how I should proceed. The doctor did not want me to go to the ER, he told me since I was able to swallow water, to wait until they open the office and I could be seen. Had a throat coat tea and a few hours later my throat open up completely. My doctor told me to continue taking the medication I was prescribed and if the symptoms continue after 3 days to call her. The dermatographia continue and she got me an appointment with a dermatologist for the next day. I had tried to get an appointment but for a new patient I had to wait until 2/14/2022! The dermatologist diagnosed me with acute urticaria. Put me on 2 tabs Allegra 180 mg in the morning, 2 in the afternoon. Since I have been sleeping poorly, he also prescribed Hydroxyzine 25 mg 1-2 tabs at bedtime. A month later, I continue with the skin symptoms and have an appointment to see the dermatologist again in late January. I bought some gloves to use my rowing machine and have to use clothing that doesn't rub against my skin. I filed a report with the CDC regarding adverse reaction at vaers.hhs.gov. While this is not ideal, I am not trying to discourage anyone from taking the vaccine. I rather deal with this than being connected to a ventilator.

I am also dealing with this post- Moderna Covid booster. Hives began 10 days after the booster. Dr. prescribed 12 days of prednisone, which got rid of the hives but I now have dermatographia. Photos attached of initial hives and dermatographia. Just completed the prednisone and dermatogrphia seems to be improving slowly. I am now taking one Zytec per day. Fingers crossed the hives don't return.

I am relieved to find all of these posts. I have been experiencing the exact same things and have wondered if it was the Moderna booster. I had my booster on Fri Dec 3rd. Around 10 days later my scalp started to itch and then itching spread throughout my whole body. Each day seemed to be a new spot. My ears were inflamed, I had hives wherever I was itching. I even woke up one morning with hives on my face. After 3 days of trying benadryl and claritin I went to urgent care. I was prescribed Prednisone for 6 days. The doctor at urgent care said i was the 3rd person to come in with similar symptoms after the moderna booster. I have been off of Prednisone for over a week....the crazy itching stopped but I have dermatographism and I am just wondering when this will ever go away. If I itch anywhere on my skin it is bright red. Has anyone on here had their skin fully resolve yet???? and how long did it take?? I have an appt with an allergist but if it really was the booster I'm not sure if it's even worth it. I had no skin reactions with the first two moderna shots last April. I had the usual side effects like headache, fever, chills but no crazy reaction.

I had a similar reaction. 10 days after the Moderna booster I started with itchiness around my neck and scalp. Then hives all over my body (very itchy ). That night I felt tightness in my throat and even had reflux symptoms. Esophagus tightness and some coughing that would come and go but very intense at times. Got tested for Covid , it came negative. Drs sent me prednisone for a week and an antihistamine. The prednisone helped with the esophagus and reflux issue but the hives kep coming and going. got tested for allergies and no allergies were found. It has been amore than a month and I can not pass 2 days without taking the antihistamine because I start getting hives all over. I never had any hives before and I am starting to read that many people have been getting them after the moderna shots.

Thank you everyone for sharing all of your experiences. I am so sorry to hear that there are so many people that are have the same symptoms as myself. What I think we all want to know is WHEN will this all dissipate. I know that I will be checking here daily for updates and will share if my dermatographia/hives clears up. Would all of you mind continuing to give updates, especially if you notice things getting better or going away? I am definitely freaked out by all of this and just looking for a little hope of others that have returned to normal.

Hi there, I found this thread after googling this problem. My dermatographia started 5 days after my booster shot (Pfizer). Immediately after the booster, I had arm swelling and lymph node swelling in my left armpit that lasted for 3 days. Then I noticed how itchy I felt all the time, and realized it was from my own scratching.

I saw my doctor who put me on an antihistamine but it doesn't make it go away fully. I will likely see an allergist in a few weeks if it doesn't subside.

My biggest concern is what about the NEXT booster shot -- how will my body react? I am concerned it could be a severe allergic reaction that time.

Yes, this is exactly what is happening to me. I wrote my doctor's name on my arm to show her, while in the exam room with her. Sigh.

Welcome @tejanajoy, I'm not sure if the post by @solco on the first page of this discussion where she shared the following link to an article that I think you might find helpful.

@babsstruck, @solco14, @mallorymiller and others may have some suggestions or information to share with you from their experience. Here's an article I found on the topic that may be helpful.
-- Dermatographia: Causes and treatment of skin writing: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319258

Have you considered calling your doctor to let them know the antihistamine is not helping as much as you thought it should?

The antihistamines work for me.

Exact same thing happened to me. 1 week after my Moderna booster on December 10th I broke out into full body hives, severe swelling of my face, throat and ears. Went to urgent care got steroids and Benadryl. The swelling and most of the itching went away after about a week but I still have the skin writing rash.
My skin will feel really hot and all of the sudden the rash appears and disappears after a while.
I googled the symptoms tonight and found Dermatographism then stumbled upon this site.
I’m waiting for my allergist referral to make an appt with me. Has anyone got any answers about this yet?