When Emmeka, an Iowa-based social media manager and beauty content creator, first noticed itchy, red, welt-like bumps across her back, she worried she was experiencing an allergic reaction. For months, she tried to rule out what might be causing symptoms and considered everything from laundry detergent and beauty products to the food she was eating. “I was continuously trying to figure out what was happening to me and editing my lifestyle to avoid potential triggers; it was a burden,” Emmeka recalls. After a long journey of trying to get to the root cause of her persistent hives, she finally got a diagnosis of CSU.
