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Jeff (Atlanta, GA) on 08/05/2008
5 out of 5 stars

For the past two years I suffered from a severe case of chronic urticaria and angiodaema that manifested itself on my palms and soles as well as my legs and face. My particular condition would not respond to the traditional prescription medications of H1 and H2 inhibitors (anitihistamines) even though I was taking twice the daily recommended dosage. I was even put on low dose cyclosporine therapy by my allergist/immunologist in a vain attempt to control this condition. The only alternative that succeeded in temporarily relieving the urticaria was prednisone (which is too dangerous to be considered a long term solution). My condition was so severe that I was unable to leave the house because of the embarrassment of the visible wheals on my arms and face. The hives and swelling kept me from going in to work on more than one occassion, and kept me from being about to go out and socialize as well. It also was exacerbated by exercise as well as hot or cold weather. Needless to say I had exhausted what I thought was all the possible causes and possible means to cure my ailment to no avail. That was until my mother called me after reading a book about the benefits of apple cider vinegar. My further research led me to this site (and for that I thank God!), and my condition has ceased completely! I contine to use raw ACV along with baking soda and don't plan on ever stopping. I am no longer on any medications whatsoever...which I think is Truly Amazing. Thank you Ted and the good folks at earthclinic for the website and the willingness to help people. It really is amazing that something so simple accomplished what literally thousands of dollars of prescription medicine could not.
EC: Read more here: https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/acv_baking_soda_cures.html
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Replied By Sherry (Gastonia, NC) on 11/19/2008

To Jeff in Atlanta, GA. I have suffered from the same condition on and off for the past 6 years. I am in the middle of a terrible time of hives right now. I stumbled across this web site yesterday and I bought my ACV today. Can you tell me how much and how many times you took this per day? Thank You.
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Replied By Lulu (Lafayette, LA) on 05/27/2009

A friend sent me a link to this site, and I decided to try ACV and Baking Soda for my hives. I mixed 2 teaspoons of ACV, 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda and 1 cup filtered water. We'll see if they are any better later in the week. I started spraying a mixture of 1/2 ACV and 1/2 Filtered water on my hives 6 days ago. They have "gone down", but seem to come back within a few hours. This stuff smells awful! But the scent does go away after a while and is worth it to me! I have suffered from the hives for over a year now. They cover my back, my torso, and my arms and shoulders. They itch horribly at times. I have been to doctors, who just give me an antihistamine, a shot of cortisone and a cream, but they come back within 2 weeks! I have also gained nearly 30 pounds, and feel it has been from the cortisone. I have tried Neem Soap, Cream, Sulfer, Valerian, and anything else that I have found could possibly heal them naturally. So hopefully it is just a Ph thing and ACV will heal me! That would be awesome! Does anyone know how long it can take to get rid of the hives with ACV?
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Replied By Meez (Jamaica Plains, Ma) on 09/13/2012

Please read... BAKING SODA MAKES HIVES WORSE BY INCREASING CARBON DIOXIDE... pH NOT A FACTOR...
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/100402/files/pdf

What they found was that adding baking soda to the wheal (hive) slices actually made the wheals worse by increasing carbon dioxide, even though baking soda shifted the pH to alkaline. They increased and decreased the pH using an acid (similar to vinegar) or base (similar to baking soda) but the hives still flared because of carbon dioxide, CO2.

I've had hives for 13 years. Tried every medicine out there and even experimental ones. The only one that works for me now is Methylprednisolone.

I found this forum when searching for things to treat a minor hive flare up I had recently. I was browsing here and read about ACV and Baking Soda being helpful because it changed pH toward alkaline. I decided to try Baking Soda because it was the only thing I had around late at night. I took 2 tbsp's. An hour later I ended up having one of the worst attacks of hives i've ever had. Racing heartbeat, dizzyness, headache, trouble breathing, itching like mad, weakness. It lasted for 2 days straight. I only slept one day for 4 hours.

When I couldn't sleep, or barely move, I started looking up how Baking Soda could mess up my hives. I read that one of its normal function in the body is to release CO2. Then I found the study above.

My hospital, Mass General, now has an online system where I can check all my records back to 1993 when the hives started. This includes blood tests, xrays, reports, etc...

I started looking through my blood tests and the weird thing is that I found in ALL my blood tests i've always had PERFECT pH. BUT , I've also had high CO2 levels since 1993. Which is strange because high CO2 should make blood pH acidic especially over the course 13 years. The baking soda should have helped becaue I have high CO2.

So.. I browsed around and read that any Vinegar, even ACV and Baking Soda cancel each other out when mixed. That's why they fizz. That's means they can't both have an effect. That must mean that there is something in ACV only that is helping people, even if they take both ACV and BS.

I started looking around and found that there are 3 very powerful Anti-Inflammatories in ACV... Caffeic Acid, Ferrulic Acid and Ursolic Acid. Ironically I have already tried all of those supplements two years ago. I didn't know they were in ACV at the time. I found them when I read in different Allergy and Immunology journals that they help reduce Inflammation and are in trials for different diseases.

Caffeic Acid is in Coffee, but didn't know that until recently. Coffee always helps my hives. I thought it was the caffeine at first, but then tried caffeine alone as a pill and it made my hives worse. Last night I found an article that says Caffeine increases sensetivity to CO2. Amazing.

I bought the Ferrulic and Ursolic Acid as isolated supplements not in any food or herb. They are actually popular in Bodybuilding. They all helped me some, but I needed enourmous amounts which I couldn't afford to keep buying. In the large doses I had some terrible side effects anyways. In the end I just went back on Methylprednisolone.

I haven't read every reply so I probably missed it, but to me it seems like ACV isn't changing pH at all but it is just the delivery medium for the anti-inflammatories Caffeic, Ferrulic and Ursolic Acids. At first I read that people take ACV and BS to make the pH alkaline. Then I got confused because i've read most patients with allergic disorders have high copper levels. Which means ACV souldn't be needed. Then I read that ACV helps digestion but if in order to help digestion it needs to be acidic to break down food. Then I read that it kills bacteria, but if we had bacteria the immune system wouldn't attack us and cause hives, it would be focused on the bacteria. This actually happens to me if I stay out all night and party. I get run down, get a cold and the hives clear up. :)

Do people take ACV because of the anti-inflammatories in it? Or to try to lower or raise pH? Or is it something I missed? Confussed.. :(

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Replied By Sara (Oregon) on 05/22/2014

How exactly are you supposed to use the ACV and baking soda? Do you mix it and apply it topically? I'm breaking out in hives for the first time in my life, and my last outbreak was massive and all over my body. I'm not a fan of medication so I'm trying to find a natural cure.
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Replied By Gg (Denver) on 11/18/2014

Aloe rubbed on hives helps calm the itch and a friend brought me sublingual Hives (from Hyland) which seemed to help. My mother used baking soda and water paste on mosquito bites; have heard a cool bath withh baking soda eases the itch too, so perhaps. Years ago had a bad case after eating shellfish, the hives were as big as my palm. ER doc injected me with prednizone, antihistimines and steroids. Calmed the hives but the pills caused me to act irrational and crazy. There were even a couple moments of thinking more serious thoughts (that I never had before or after that incidence). Thank goodness a neighbor who was an ER doc recognized the signs; came over to look at the prescription bottles. I was given dosages for 180# person while I'm 106#. She had me stop the prescriptions immediately. As miserable as hives are, I'd try everything natural before using drugs again. Just not worth it.
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