Oh boy, Insight, I'm so sorry you feel like this...
...Immediately, of course, the reader flashes back to any time they may have felt or seen something similar.
My experience was, the first time, a reaction to oral penicillin.
My rash was tiny blisters on my palms and soles that itched unbearably.
Then it spread down the left side of my body. (Come to think of it, it may have been mostly on my side, and front.)
It didn't last long, but I had recurrences of the palms and soles itching, and of itchy outer thighs (both thighs), and maybe some elsewhere, up and down my sides...years later.
Now, about 'cause'...
...We took a few penicillin tablets because doctor had suggested we do this while our son was being treated for some kind of an ailment I don't remember.
Doctor suggested this as an afterthought that it 'wouldn't hurt' for us all to take some. We hadn't asked...I can only think that he might have wondered if the ailment was something that could be passed between us.
I believe I was the only one who had this 'hive' reaction.
Doctor promptly pronounced me 'allergic to penicillin' and commented that it was a good job I hadn't had a 'shot' of it, as I could have died.
I could only assume that he was just learning.
When I had recurrences, especially in the tiny blisters on my feet, I eventually realized that these outbreaks were 'caused' by tomatoes. I had to plunge my feet into water and ice for a while, to relieve the agony of itching.
A little later it happened to my hands, once, from eating an airline breakfast of scrambled eggs. The alarmed stewardess brought me a bag of ice and I plunged my swollen hands in and left them there until the ice was completely melted.
DO NOT put ice directly on the skin (!!!) unless it is an emergency such as mine...and maybe NOT even then! Ice is just plain not good on skin. Think of frostbite.
And, do not get insects on hives! Mine were sand flies and cat fleas. Not good at all. I got sick, and even threw up mucus from my lungs. Only getting on a plane and going home, helped.
So, what was the 'cause' of this multi-faced ailment?
I hadn't taken any herbals other than as flavoring.
Today, I can eat tomatoes once in a while, without reacting...though I stay away from any penicillin-like substances, and go quite lightly on molds and the like. A life-long cheese-eater, I even went without for months, but noticed no difference in my itchies.
Quite possibly I have beaten them, but I have no idea if my other 'symptoms' are simply extensions of the same 'problem'. I don't think I'll ever know, for sure.
Another question on 'cause'...
...Once the body has reacted in a particular way, does it retain a memory of it, in case that reaction is ever needed again, to protect the whole body?
I don't know.
And, what 'triggers' this or related reactions? ...Only the same 'cause'...or similar ones...or is the 'curing' mechanism now available for any ailment?
I have no idea.
I also have no idea how ailments may arrive, other than the obvious...I ate something that didn't agree with me.
If anyone is taking something that seems to 'cause' an undesirable reaction, I would suggest stopping that, or cutting back...until such time as one wants to begin again, slowly...if ever.
If the reaction stops, or abates, we then 'know' for sure that the substance was 'stirring something up'...'working', don't we?
Add to our dilemma the fact that the body seems to 'adjust' to whatever is being done, but often slowly.
We just don't know anything for sure...except that we sometimes can test that a reaction will happen again, repeatedly, with the same substance...I think.
Happily, we also have the 'placebo effect'. Scientists allow for it in every study.
On the other hand, we may have pre-existing conditions that only SEEM to appear when we take a substance or a food.
I do hope your symptoms have subsided well since your report, and that you are sleeping peacefully...catching up.
My best,
Fledgling