After suffering with this for most of my adult life I've reduced the itchiness and now get a minor outbreak only every couple months or so (a significant improvement--before I always had the rash somewhere on my body, i.e., back of arms, calves, sides, chest, stomach). I've made two significant changes to my diet that are most likely responsible for reducing the rash:

1. I completely eliminated gluten and soy. Even trace amounts will trigger the itch and rash. I've had to basically stop going to restaurants (I will still eat at steak houses, on occasion). I believe in your husband's case that it could be any number of allergenic foods, including nuts or eggs (or something else?). He'll need to do a serious elimination diet.
2. I cut out all starches. I'll occasionally have some onion or garlic in a stew. But no more rice, no more gluten-free flour concoctions. This has given me back my digestive tract and, while I can't correlate directly to the improvement of my skin, I suspect they're related.

Let me ask you this: do really hot showers and baths produce temporary relief? Are there any digestive issues in addition to the skin? I, too, went through an antistamine (and cortisone cream) phase. Now I manage through strict control of the allergens and starch elimination.

Note that I've eliminated eggs and dairy and have re-introduced them without a problem.

I have had experience with this too. I have tried everything to get to the bottom of lifelong asthma and excema problems. During my wifes pregnancy i hit rock bottom with the rashes covering 80% of my body. Naturopaths and doctors alike could not find the answer, so a journey of elimination began.

Paleo works best. But remember the deadly nightshades. The best results came when I eliminated all tomato, potato etc... This resulted in way clearer skin, less itchiness and less stress.

The skin in chinese medicine is also related to the lungs so look at asthma, or any triggers that will affect breathing. And look at stress too as this is a big contributor to breathing problems.

Not the whole solution but hopefully part of the answer.

Good luck.

this could also be a deficiency of some kind. i'd check for vitamin D deficiency first (i got rid of my neurodermatitis with D3). then i'd experiment with sublingual B12, magnesium-orotate, zinc, GLA (like evening primrose oil), bromelain+quercetin, 1-2g vitamin C, and maybe ALC. OR it could be caused by a supplement he's already taking..

I used to suffer from a similar condition.. usually triggered by rapid body temp changes, but definitely diet related. The doctor considered it a form of 'Cholinergic Urticaria'.

I was on a SAD diet at the time, but found the symptoms were directly related to my intake of high histamine foods.. particularly fruits like pineapple, raspberries, and strawberries. Here's a list of high histamine foods: http://www.urticaria.thunderworksinc.com/pages/lowhistamine.htm

Diet is definitely to be suspected, and I think an elimination approach is probably the right way to go.

Also, since going full paleo I am able to consume moderate amounts of the fruits listed above with no problems :)

I get itchy reaction to eating too many nuts sometimes - reminds me to back off. Includes itchiness and red spots on my arms and legs and sometimes stomach area. (I'm totally primal - no dairy, no grains, no potatoes, no caffeine, etc etc.). Also, when I used to chew gum with aspartame (a while back), I had the same reaction. I eat eggs a couple of times a week, without problem.

I'm totally primal and have celiacs so no gluten for me but lately the itching is out of control! Only thing is that I've been eating out more lately so I must be getting cross-contamination. Curious to see what info comes from this post.

Corn makes me itch uncontrollably.Combined with the DH rash from the first visible signs of celiac,I think I spent most of late 2007 trying to take my skin off..

I'd first try eliminating all dairy, potatoes and rice for five days. On day six, reintroduce rice and give twenty-four hours for a reaction. Then, if well, try potatoes on day seven and dairy on day eight. If he does not react to those, try the elimination diet for other foods, perhaps starting with the nightshade family, especially tomatoes. When you do the elimination diet, the reaction can be stronger than it was before, so have some Benadryl handy.

I have been experiencing itching for over 10 years now when I eat peanut butter, peanuts, almonds and any other type of nuts. I have to take an antihistamine every 24 hours just to make sure I don't get this extreme itch on the bottom of my feet and the palm of my hands. If anyone have an idea as what cause this problem, please let me know through these posts. Ten years ago, I visited two Dermatologists to no avail.

This sounds like it was me! I am gfdf, grain free too. I thought eggs were the culprit but for me it is nuts...all nuts...the larger a serving the longer the itchiness. I used to make my legs bleed. Now I know to avoid the nuts.