Hives

[Tink]

I don't have medical insurance right now and I've got horrible hives on my legs.
They are large, itchy, painful, tingle, and hot to the touch.
I suppose I could go to an ER if I have to and just have them send me the bill. Is hives an emergency though?
I started a new med prescribed by my psychiatrist the other day. I figured this might be why so I stopped that med. It's been 24 hours now without that new med and is still getting worse. Also, could it be spider bites?? There are two locations. One takes up almost the whole back of my thigh. That one is the most miserable. The other one is maybe the size of the palm of my hand but seems to be spreading.
I've also been sleeping a lot...probably b/c I'm taking Benadryl to try to treat it as an allergy..but Benadryl seems to help me sleep, not to stop the hives.
The ER has to treat me if I go in right? I don't want to but my furkids need me to be well to take care of them.
I am miserable.

[PoshPuss]

Poor you, I think you need those looked at by a doc, Tink as scratching them could cause them to become septic and poisoning ain't no fun! So yes, go to the ER, or do you have a minor injuries unit nearby? The only experience I have of the US medical system is when my mum was ill, my sis took her to an out of hours service first before we were seen in the ER. I don't know how it works if you don't have insurance I can't imagine they will refuse to treat you!

There's a lot wrong with our NHS here but my goodness, we don't have these worries with emergencies. Good luck love.

[fancyabrew]

as much as the NHS is pretty poor and needs a MASSIVE overhaul, I'm glad we have it

[angieh]

I would suspect insect bites rather than a reaction to your new med, although I could be wrong.

I would use an antihistamine cream or calamine lotion to cool the site. Benadryl is probably good, but you may be able to get a non-drowsy antihistamine tablet from your drug store.

I know it's miserable - I've had bad reactions to bites in the past. The other thing that I find good for relief is to apply a hot water compress - it hurts but takes the itch out completely if only for a short while.

[HappyKatz]

I had hives once - that was not fun at all! I can see why you are miserable. Mine eventually went away after about a week. They spread over the entire body even on my face. I just toughed it out though even though I was in pain. Unfortunately hives will get worse before they get better... Usually an ER has to treat you even without insurance. Just keep an eye on your hives. If it does get bad enough, you'll have to go the ER.
Hopefully you are going to get better very soon *crossing fingers & paws*

[dandysmom]

I only had hives once, never knew what caused them; the itching was horrible but they only lasted a day. I treated them with calamine lotion. I'd go to the ER, Tink, those sound awful and are persisting; you don't want an infection to set in. They have to treat you. Do you have Medicare/Medicaid?

[Kazz]

Ouch....sounds horrible. Be careful calamine sounds good but they sound bad.

Why not just go to the A&E dept, and get them to bill you. I would also phone who ever prescribed the new medication (prescribed for areason I imagine) and see if the two are related and f not start taking it again if you need it. No point being ill from not taking prescribed medication if no need to.

I agree reagrding the NHS if I feel bad I go to the Doc's or if serious like the overian cyst emergency to the A&E dept.....Tink I would take out whatevever insurance you have to for future things like this. Is there a basic insurance thing/package, for emergencies I mean what happens if you have a major emergency and no insurance?

[Tink]

I think they are a little bit better today.
They hurt a lot but the pinkness and raising of skin I think is improving.
When I walk around and am active they get a lot worse. It seems the best thing to do is be really still and not have anything touching them (clothes, blankets, etc.)
I was so miserable I drank alcohol (I am NOT a drinker lol) and took benadryl and ibuprofen and rubbed aveeno lotion and just prayed for sleep. Then I had a bunch of weird scary dreams/nightmares.
The huge welt I see two puncture wounds in the center of it now. They are so far apart it looks like a snake bit me, not a bug!
I seem to be okay as long as I don't move much. I might just try to sleep this whole thing off and continue with the Benadryl.
They are painful this morning though. Feels like pins and needles.
Last night I slept in the ferret room as it is cooler in there which seemed to help. Lainey kept biting me. K thinks she did some special ferret acupuncture because of the improvement, lol. No really though she seemed aggravated and was pacing around my legs. Maybe she was trying to tell me something.
The thing here is with walk in clinics you have to pay cash upfront. $150 just to get your name on the waiting list.
At the ER I think they have to legally see you whether you have cash or not and maybe just send you an outrageous bill in the mail. At least that's what's happened before when I've had emergencies.
I could write a whole other thread about insurance and why it is not that simple for me to simply get some but to sum it all up briefly I should become eligible within several months for something and I've been crossing my fingers hoping no emergencies happened till then. I'll explain all that when I'm a little more with it.
Thanks for the thoughts.

[Shelley123]

Oh my goodness Tink, what sort of Snakes do you get where you live.
If it is a snake bite i'm sure you should get treatment, as you say animals can sometimes sense when there is a problem.
I too am glad we have the NHS but i know that's not much use to you. Keep us posted.

[dandysmom]

Shelley, I think Tink meant the spacing between the punctures was large enough to resemble a snake bite! I've noticed that in mosquito bites sometimes ... two side by side.