ABOUT URTICARIA

Urticaria (hives): not a permanent allergy!

Hives (urticaria), also known as welts, is a common skin condition with an itchy rash of pink to red bumps that appear and disappear anywhere on the body. An individual lesion of hives typically lasts a few hours before fading away, and new hives can appear as older areas disappear. Hives can be rounded or flat-topped but are always elevated above the surrounding skin. Wheals (welts), red lesions with a red "flare" at the borders, are another manifestation of hives.

Types of urticaria:

  • Acute urticaria: Urticaria lasting up to 6 weeks is termed as acute urticaria.
  • Chronic urticaria: When the hives continue for more than six weeks, the condition is known as chronic urticaria.

What causes hives?

Urticaria is caused largely due to an altered immune process in the body, which is often genetically determined. Hence urticaria is an expression (at the skin level) of a deeper abnormality (at the immune level). Here, the immune system is in a continuous state of alertness.
Hives are produced by histamine and other compounds released from cells called mast cells, which are a normal part of skin. Histamine causes fluid to leak from the local blood vessels, leading to swelling in the skin.

Triggering Factors:

Hives can be triggered by many things, including:

  • Medications especially aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, narcotic painkillers, or antibiotics.
  • Infections with viruses, bacteria, or fungi.
  • Environmental allergies such as insect bites, pollen, mold, or animal dander.
  • Physical exposures such as heat, cold, water, sunlight, or pressure.
  • Food allergies such as from strawberries, eggs, nuts, or shellfish.
  • Emotional Stress

In up to 90% of outbreaks of hives, a trigger is never found despite extensive testing; these cases are referred to as idiopathic urticaria. In most of idiopathic urticaria outbreaks, hives are most likely caused by a reaction from the person's own immune system.

Who's At Risk

Hives appear in people of all ages, of all races, and of both sexes. Acute hives are most common in children and young adults, and chronic hives are more often seen in females, especially middle-aged women. Hives are very common; it is estimated that up to 20% of the population may develop them at some point in their lives.

Signs and Symptoms

The most common locations for hives include:

  • Trunk
  • Upper arms or upper legs

    • However, hives can affect any skin surface.

    An individual lesion of hives appears as a well-defined, pink-to-red swelling, ranging in size from 2 mm to over 30 cm. Hives usually appear in groups or batches.

    Individual lesions of hives disappear within 24 hours, though a single episode may last much longer.

    Dermographism is a type of hives that appears within a few minutes of scratching the skin. The rash is usually seen in a straight line (linear) pattern.

    Swelling of the eyes, mouth, hands, feet, or genitals can sometimes occur with hives. This swelling, called angioedema, usually goes away within 24 hours.

    Usually itchy, hives can also burn or sting.

    Self-Care Guidelines

    If you are experiencing mild hives, you might:

    • Take cool showers.
    • Apply cool compresses.
    • Wear loose-fitting clothes.
    • Avoid strenuous activity.

    Urticaria is caused due to an altered immune process in the body, which is often genetically determined. Treatment with locally acting antihistamines or steroids is only a temporary and superficial measure. To cure the disease in totality, the treatment has to be targeted towards the root cause of the illness. Homeopathy works at the immune level and helps in restoring the deviated immunity back to normalcy.

    True Health Clinic offers a promising and permanent cure for urticaria. The medicines selected at THC build immunity to an optimum level so that the tendency to have hypersensitive responses is reduced. It alleviates your symptoms by treating the underlying imbalances in your immune system that are responsible for causing the outbreak. The treatment not only relieves symptoms of urticaria, but also balance emotional, mental, physiological and immune responses of the individual to ensure long-lasting and permanent relief.