Can Botox Cause Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria?

Although neither I nor any colleagues of mine with whom I have discussed Botox, have ever known a cases of hives secondary to the Botox treatment.  You may, however, ask your allergist to do a skin prick test to the botox and your doctor can supply the allergist with the botox in a syringe diluted with the same liquid they used on you. It would be doubtfuly, but possibly a preservative in the liquid has caused the hives. It would be very rare that this reaction would occur weeks later and last a while, so I don't think it is the cause of your chronic urticaria.

Gina

I would advise caution in having BOTOX in the future.  Allergies to BOTOX and the agents in the BOTOX preparation are rare but can occur.  I think if you are interested in having BOTOX in the future, a skin test with a tiny amount of BOTOX on the forearm would be appropriate.  If you react, I cannot advise future treatment.  If you feel that you must have BOTOX treatment in the future, you might consider a consultation with an allergist.

Dear Gina,

Chronic idiopathic urticaria [CIU] is a common codition. The cause remains elusive in the majority of cases , even after an exhaustive work up. I have not seen a single case of urticaria related to botox in 16 years of using botox. By contrast , I see an average of 2-3 cases of CIU every week, in my practice.

I do not think Botox is what caused your CIU. However there is no conclusive test that can confirm, [or rule out] the causation. Skin tests are NOT helpful in cases of urticaria.

My advise is to carry on with your Botox treatments.