Is your boyfriend on any medication right now?
The symptoms you have stated may be some serious side effects of any drug. Do let me know the name of the drug, if any he's taking at present and then i'll be in a position to answer you in a better way.

Well, I know that he started using an antihistamine for it but before that, he got a typhoid shot and a hepatitis a shot (he's going to china and wanted to be cautious). But he has gotten it twice before. Once about the same time this year and the second about a couple weeks ago.
I thought that it was something he had eaten, like fish, but he got it again without eating any fish. I'm wondering if it's something in the air because he goes running in the morning around the park where there are a lot of different plants and pollen...
Also, after the itching, the area gets really dry and starts to peel...
Do you know what this could be?
Thanks for responding!