A trip to the beautiful spots in Cheshire was supposed to be the perfect summer outing.
However, shortly after going out for a moderately challenging walk around Alderley Edge with her husband, Lauren Layfield felt her feet starting to “itch like crazy.”
Within minutes, the sensation was so unbearable that the Capital radio host, 34, stopped where she was, ripping her jeans in a field and pulling helplessly tingling limbs. I had to scratch.
The problem wasn’t the usual rural hazards like nettle bites or bug bites.
A little-known condition known as exercise-induced urticaria (or cholinergic urticaria), the cause is surprisingly common. I’m here. Anyone can get it, but you’re more likely if you have eczema, asthma, or other allergies.
Even light exercise can cause raised bumps and blemishes, redness, and severe itching. Symptoms usually subside within 15 to 30 minutes of stopping exercise.
“It was terrible. I felt like my legs were on fire and I had to take them off,” said BBC1’s The One Show reporter and comedy writer husband Luke Beddows, 34. Lauren, who lives in London, recalls.
Lauren Layfield felt her feet starting to ‘itch like crazy’ right after she went on a moderately challenging walk around Alderley Edge with her husband. The sensation was so excruciating that the Capital radio host, 34, had to stop where she was, tear her jeans in the field, and scratch her helplessly tingling limbs. did.
“I was scratching like crazy. I had to sit there until the itch subsided and then run back to the car at a snail’s pace to keep it from happening again.”
This wasn’t Lauren’s first attack, but it was the most serious.
She began experiencing symptoms in her late teens. “When she goes camping or goes for a walk with her friends, the tops of her feet become itchy and her skin becomes red and blotchy,” she says.
“It didn’t matter what I wore, it just happened. At the time, I was studying drama at Lincoln University. It started leading to itchy and flushed skin.
As with other allergic reactions, her trigger, exercise, causes the release of histamine and other chemical messengers.
These cause blood vessels to dilate (make the skin red or pink) and leak (swell and itch).
Dr Sophie Farooque, allergy consultant at Imperial College Health Care NHS Trust and author of Understanding Allergy, explains:
Other factors such as heat, the sun’s UV rays, and sweat can also play a role. In some cases, a combination of exercise and certain foods triggers a reaction. This is the so-called food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis.
“Some people who have certain food allergies only experience reactions when they’re exercising,” explains Dr. Farouk. It can be very mild, such as, and people can react up to four hours after eating, sometimes longer.”
Foods often associated with food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis are wheat and shellfish.
She began experiencing symptoms in her late teens. “When she goes camping or goes for a walk with her friends, the tops of her feet become itchy and her skin becomes red and blotchy,” she says.File photo is used above
However, the reaction can occur hours after exercise or eating, so it can be difficult to determine which food is the culprit.
Doctors believe that when we exercise, this condition occurs because the cardiovascular system redistributes blood to working muscles, leaving other areas such as the intestines with less blood supply.
“This slows down digestion and allows food to stay in the gut longer, allowing it to absorb more of the food that the person is allergic to, which triggers a reaction,” says Dr Farouk.
Over time, Lauren’s condition worsened, causing itching to spread to her stomach, chest, and neck during exercise.
At 26 and unable to even get on the bus to get to work (BBC’s Media City in Manchester) for fear of being attacked, Lauren decided to see a doctor.
“The itch was really infuriating,” she says. “My skin was red and blotchy, but what drove me completely crazy was the need to scratch.
“This was happening on a daily basis. It really started to affect my life.
“And I stopped wearing certain clothes, such as skinny jeans, because it made it worse. I was. ‘
Her family doctor was baffled and referred Lauren to an allergy specialist who diagnosed her on the spot.
“I laughed when they said that,” she recalls. “I knew my skin responded to physical activity, but I had no idea it was real.
‘That sounded silly. But I was relieved that it wasn’t just an imagination.”
To confirm the diagnosis, Lauren underwent a blood test and was lapped around the hospital parking lot, going up and down stairs to see what happened to her skin.
Ten minutes later, not only was her body covered in blotches, but her pupils were dilated — an early sign of anaphylaxis, the immune system flooded with chemicals that can cause blood pressure to plummet and block. Some severe allergic reactions narrow the airways and make breathing difficult.
People with cholinergic urticaria who continue to be physically active without taking antihistamines are at risk of this potentially fatal complication. It was the first time I realized it was possible,” says Lauren. “It was terrifying.”
Controlling cholinergic urticaria includes taking an antihistamine regularly or at least an hour before exercise to prevent reactions. Exercising during the cooler parts of the day is enough to reduce or stop symptoms.
Lauren is now on a strong antihistamine and carries an EpiPen in case of a severe allergic reaction.
This regimen allows Lauren to manage her condition, but avoids running, sports, and brisk walking for fear of attack.
“I am often asked to run in the London Marathon and other charity races, and I am happy to say so, but I cannot risk it,” she says.
“I am just grateful that I have found a way to keep the itching so bad and understand what I need to do to stay safe.”
mini muscle might
A small muscle that plays a big role.This week: suprahyoid muscle
The suprahyoid muscles are a group of four muscles under the tongue that pull the apple forward during swallowing — they close the airway and prevent food and drink from entering the airway — muscles at the top of the esophagus Allow food and drink to open into the stomach.
Muscles weaken with age (called dysphagia), which can lead to swallowing problems and put older people at risk for pneumonia. To keep them in tune, speech therapist Elizabeth Borden recommends the “Jaw Tuck Against Resistance” exercise. Repeat pushing down and releasing the chin.
Elizabeth Borden has created a series of Dysphagia courses on myAko.online.
You can also ask your GP about a referral to a speech therapist.
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