Should I visit a doctor if I strongly suspect i have Cold urticaria?

i have severe itching and redness when I get cold, and sometimes get hives and welts....it lasts for about 20 min after i removed from the cold. i recently read about Cold Urticaria and realize that its almost sure that i have it. i never had any life threatening symptoms....Is it neccessary to see a doctor?

I have the same thing. The only difference is that it's HEAT that gets my skin going. I went to dozens of different allergy specialists and dermatologists. None could find a cure or even a cause. It started suddenly when I was in my early thirties. My general practitioner seems to think that it could go away again just as suddenly. I'd like to think so! In the meantime, like you said, it's not life threatening. If you do choose to go to a doctor, don't fall for taking prednisone for the hives! The side effects of those nasty little pills are worse than the hives themselves!

Here's a general rule of thumb: If symptoms either worry you, or are "disruptive" to you, go get them checked out.

You described what sounds like an allergic reaction. The doctor might have some recommendations for you regarding that, but most will tell you.. When a patient comes in and tells the doctor what they THINK they have, it's usually incorrect.

My old doctor used to say he got folks in there all the time claiming they had everything under the sun. THey'd have some of the symptoms, and their mind would create the rest of them because they were stressed out thinking they had something fatal.

Some things aren't real easy to diagnose, and there may also be other illnesses you are unaware of that might display similar symptoms. PLUS, once you suspect something and go looking for it, your subconscious mind is quite capable of giving you the remaining symptoms.

This is why the doctors make the big bucks, and go through a TON of schooling. They're also warned of things like that.. for example when a patient comes-in complaining of a spider bite, the first question is.. "Did you actually see a spider?"
The answer is usually a "no" which is followed up by tests that check for Staph infections, etc.. that's because the symptoms are often confused by patients, and doctors are prepared for this. He said he's only had one instance of a spider bite actually BEING a spider bite, and once you know what to look for, you'd never make that mistake again.

Anyways.. that's an example, but who knows.. you might be right on the money. Or, you might just be allergic to a specific chemical in your fabric softener, whihc isn't evident until your pores contract in the cold and expand as you warm up.

Quit guessing, go to the doctor and find out what it is.. but of course you already knew that before you posted, you just don't want to, right?

Go get it over with.. it won't take up too much of your day, and it'll be one less thing to worry about when you're trying to get to sleep tonight.

Hope this helped, good luck! :)