Hives is the common name for urticaria, a skin condition marked by a rash of red or white welts, ranging in size up to several inches in diameter. Individual welts can develop and fade suddenly, with the overall rash typically lasting about 24 hours, though sometimes considerably more. Hives, in fact, can persist more than six weeks, at which point it is considered chronic hives. The most uncomfortable aspect of hives is the itch, which in some cases can be severe.
Prevention of Hives
The most important factor in preventing hives is knowing what can give rise to the condition in order to avoid any such trigger.
Hives are a skin irritation produced when cells in your body release histamine and other chemicals. The most common cause of this release of histamine is an allergy. If you are allergic to eggs, a certain kind of cosmetics, dog hair, etc., your body may react to these substances by releasing histamine and causing you to break out in hives.
If you don’t already know to what you are allergic, there are different ways to try to find out.
One is to keep written records of each outbreak of hives-when it started, when it stopped, how it changed, when it was most severe, etc. Along with this you’ll want to then note exposures to possible allergens.
So you should write down if you handled an animal at a friend’s house, ate shellfish, took any medications, etc. What was different about the times you suffered from hives? Is there a correlation with when you were taking a certain vitamin supplement or herb perhaps? Did an outbreak occur when you switched laundry products?
Hives can also be brought on when your skin is flush from exercise, being in the sun, alcohol consumption, and so on. Wearing certain kinds of clothing that can irritate the skin could also be the culprit, including clothes that are very tight, or of rough or itchy fabrics such as wool. Take note of these factors as well. Are your hives correlated with any of these?
Another way to attempt to isolate the cause of your hives is to have your doctor perform an allergy skin test. Your doctor will lightly puncture, scratch or prick your skin and apply a very small amount of purified allergen extracts, and then examine the results to see if there is a reaction. Less often, your doctor will inject a tiny amount of the allergen deeper under your skin.
In some cases it turns out not to be possible to identify what is causing hives. But if you are able to isolate a cause, clearly this knowledge can be very important in preventing hives in the future. Insofar as you can avoid the trigger-and that’s easier in some cases than others; you can refrain from eating peanuts a lot easier than you can remove the pollen from the air-you should be able to avoid hives.
Treatment of Hives
The most important aspect of the treatment of hives is the same as for its prevention. If you are able to identify what is causing your hives, then removing that cause is likely to relieve the hives. If you came down with a severe case of hives shortly after bringing home a new kitten, the best way to treat the hives is to remove the kitten.
If you have not identified a clear cause of your hives, it is a good idea to avoid some of the common causes, just in case. So avoid the kinds of clothing that can cause hives. Lessen the heat on your skin with cool, wet compresses or by taking a cool bath. Some people find that adding baking soda or uncooked oatmeal to the bath can soothe the skin and reduce the itching. (Colloidal oatmeal is a finely ground oatmeal used as an ingredient in some bath products.)
Certainly you will want to avoid scratching the affected area.
There are many antihistamines available that can help with the swelling and itching of hives. The older antihistamines that can cause drowsiness include non-prescription drugs such as Benadryll and Chlor-Trimeton, and prescription drugs such as Vistaril. If you need to drive or anything for which drowsiness would be a problem, there are newer antihistamines that are less likely to cause drowsiness or reduce reaction time. These include non-prescription drugs such as Alavert, Claritin, and Zyrtec, and prescription drugs such as Allegra, Clarinex, and Xyzal.
Sources:
“Allergies and Hives (Urticaria and Angioedema).” WebMD.
Hives and Angioedema.” Mayo Clinic.
“Understanding The Hives.” Allergy Escape.
