All You Need to Know About Hives - The Facts Laid Bare About Hives

Posted on March 11, 2010
Filed Under skin care |

Urticaria or what is commonly known as hives are generalized or localized areas of red, itchy, elevated wheals that varies in diameter. They may occur in any part of the body and causes great discomfort because of the pruritus. It is estimated that at least 20 percent of the general population will experience an attack at least once in their lifetime.

It generally can last for less than 6 weeks. This type is called acute. The most common trigger of this type is food allergy. The second and more difficult to treat kind is the chronic urticaria that can last for more than 6 weeks. Most of the time, this variety has unknown cause and getting rid of it is quite cumbersome.

Pathophysiology

It is basically a symptom of an underlying medical problem. The most common disease is allergy. Another not so common cause is an immunologic problem. It is due to leakage of plasma through the small gaps lining the small capillaries in the skin. In this process, a chemical mediator called histamine is released from the skin cells called mast cells. These mast cells lie along the blood vessels.

The lesions found in the skin of people with this condition are due to an inflammatory reaction. The process can be because of allergic or non allergic reactions.

Types of Urticaria

  1. Acute - this type of Urticaria develop a few minutes after the exposure with the triggering factor and this usually lasts for a few hours to several weeks. The most common cause of this type is food allergy. People who develop rashes after an exposure to any viral or bacterial infection often have an acute type of urticaria.
  2. Chronic - this pertains to urticaria that lasts for more than 6 weeks. When it comes to visuals, acute and chronic urticaria does not have any difference. This type is more often than not caused by non allergic reactions and quite difficult to control.
  3. Drug induced- this one type that can be very fatal. This is known to cause cardiopulmonary arrest especially when not attended to as soon as possible. Most common drugs that causes urticaria are the anti diabetic medicine sulphonylurea, glimeripide, the antibiotic penicillin and some anticonvulsants. Even common pain relievers and antipyretic like NSAIDS can cause fatal urticarial symptoms.
  4. Physical- can be caused by an inflammatory reaction to extreme cold or hot temperature. It can also be caused by the reaction to excessive body heat like when a person exercises.

Prevention and Treatment

First line drugs that are used to treat acute symptoms are the antihistamines such as loratadine, citirizine and diphenhydramine. A lot of new generation drugs these days are formulated to prevent drowsiness and all are relatively safe when taken orally. Chronic cases of hives are much more difficult to treat. It is a challenge for every medical practitioner. Steroids are always part of the management and a lot of patients have been responding positively to them.

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure so prevention of urticaria should be the first priority. If you know the trigger of your attack, avoidance should be exercised. It is very important to avoid highly allergenic food like peanuts, chicken, eggplant and some crustaceans. A person prone to allergy should also be extra careful about the kind of cosmetics, soaps and detergents that they use.

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