Dermatographia is a condition where a scratch becomes quite red and turns into a 'raised wheal'. They may not last longer than 30 minutes. I have a pretty mild case of dermatographia, however I can get really bad hives as I'm allergic to literally anything and everything these days!
During my first year of university, back in 2017, I broke into hives all around my body, mainly legs and arms. Everytime I scratched myself, I would be bruised. The hives were awful as they were all swollen and bumpy and lasted for a weeks. I was confused as I wasn't sure what was causing them until I saw my GP, who realised I’m allergic to the sun.
Since then, my allergies have gotten a lot worse. I am still trying to figure out what exactly I am allergic to because, sometimes, I’ll wake up and suddenly break out into hives?? During lockdown, I also noticed when I scratched, there were bumpy lines everywhere! As usual, I went straight onto google and figured out it was dermatographia. I tested this by attempting to write 'hi' or just scratch a pattern on my arm very lightly, and called the GP who confirmed it is dermatographia.
I think this is exciting, even though it's not a great thing to be allergic to the world, but being able to write/draw on my skin is fascinating to me! Although there isn't any definitive causes of dermatographia, I have noticed it can get bad with heat, stress, certain medicines and food, showering, and exercise.
I am also suspected to have Mast Cell Activation, which all of my specialists believe I do have, but do to COVID, my testing has been delayed :( .Fingers crossed, this is done quickly as it is very annoying being allergic to the world.
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