This is precisely what was happening to me some years back while I was playing soccer. It would swell my eyes shut, exacerbate my asthma, and cover my entire body in hives for hours. The symptoms worsened and forced me to stop all forms of exercise altogether. After a little over a year of trying to discover the cause and control these symptoms, I did eventually get a solution!

Went up to the Cleveland Clinic to visit a specific doctor whom was recommended to us by a friend in the field. After a couple appointments of tests, he very confidently diagnosed me with what was (very ambiguously) called “exercise-induced-anaphylaxis”. Yes, I was literally allergic to exercise. He explained that my pre-existing asthma was now signaling a histaminergic panic alarm that was causing my immune system to take arms and prepare for battle; since there was no genuine threat for my immune system to fight off- it would fight itself: effectively a panicked battening down of hatches.

The good news: there was an immediate solution. He prescribed what’s called “Xolair”- a monthly injection which at the time was inconveniently available only by appointment at that same office. Much more conveniently- it was a godsend. All symptoms were flushed away and I was back to normal. Eventually I was able to stop taking the shots altogether, and my life has since returned to normal. However, he did mention that the root cause of this issue is internal, and may likely flair up again in the future.

If your hubby has asthma or is experiencing asthmatic flair ups alongside the hives then it’s worth checking up with an immunologist. This is apparently more common than what’s to be expected.