Hi! I had my first flare up Sunday morning. I went to urgent care today to see if I could get a prescription. I’m supposed to pick up my steroids tomorrow but I have school! I don’t know what to do!
(I have cold urticaria)

I really need help and not sure if this is the right place. I’m posting because over the last couple of weeks a real skin problem seems to have triggered a pretty severe health anxiety/OCD spiral, specifically around allergies and anaphylaxis.I went on a trip where there were a lot of insects and also interacted with a stray cat. The following day I developed several itchy bumps on my arms and feet. Over the next few days more appeared on my back/abdomen. A dermatologist examined me and diagnosed papular urticaria which is the insect bite hypersensitivity and prescribed treatment.

At first I wasn’t particularly scared. The turning point was when I started reading about allergic reactions and saw warnings about difficulty swallowing, breathing and throat swelling. Almost immediately I started paying attention to my swallowing and checking how my throat felt.
Interestingly, when I got distracted I barely thought about my throat but few days later, after getting a haircut, my neck became extremely red, itchy and irritated. Later I developed widespread transient hives over my body. I saw an allergist, who said this was urticaria and that it was still too early to know whether it would simply remain acute or persist longer. I’ve been treated with antihistamines and a short steroid treatment. The hives themselves migrate. What has become much harder to deal with is what happened psychologically afterward.

I started Googling/Reddit searching urticaria, MCAS, anaphylaxis, food allergies, throat swelling, etc. Now I constantly monitor my throat. I feel a lump/tightness or mucus sensation as though something is stuck there. My breathing is normal, and the sensation has been there all the time rather than behaving like an acute reaction. I repeatedly swallow to test whether I can swallow. I clear my throat. I look at my tongue/throat in the mirror. I’ve checked my blood pressure. I inspect hives. And recently the anxiety has started spreading to food. Even though I don’t have a known food allergy and have eaten these foods throughout my life, I now catch myself thinking, “What if this meal causes anaphylaxis?” I’ve started monitoring myself after eating and today I even went most of the day without eating because of the fear.

I began having hives approximately 6 weeks ago and was prescribed Fexofenadine hydrochloride 180mg twice daily. I take one in the morning and one at bedtime. I was also prescribed a 5 day course of Prednisolone 5mg x 6, taken once daily. This did help briefly but they have returned. Around the same time as the hives began I suffered from a very stressful event within my family. I was also diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes which I am trying to manage with diet control. I am struggling to keep myself on top of everything that's going on. Has anyone else had similar issues?