jbug, are you pretty sure it is hives and not a rash? Sometimes you never find out the cause of the hives. I had them really bad for about 10 days a few years back and had to have cortisone shots to get them under control. I never found out what caused them. My daughter has got them a couple of times from going into Bath and Body Works. She is allergic to that store! I have another daughter who got them due to a drug allergy.

I think it is really good that you have the home nurse coming and she can check them out and give advice on how to get them under control. I hope they are not too itchy for you. Do you think you might be having a reaction to a medication you are taking?

Sometimes certain viral infections can cause a rash on just one side of the body, but it is often in a strip on one side (dermatome pattern) rather than a whole side or area of a body. Contact dermatitis would be localized to wherever the contact had been on the body.

Hope you feel better soon, jbug.