If you are one among the many sufferers of hives, then you must have a complete hives diagnosis before taking treatment to cure it. Hives are medically termed as urticaria. These are swollen, pink or red bumps appearing in the form of welts of wheals all across the body. Hives may be round, can form rings or even large patches and can occur on any part of your body.
Itching is one of the most common symptom in urticaria. Some people even report there is a burning or stinging sensation associated with hives. An allergic reason can be the major cause of hives, but in majority of hives outbreaks, the exact cause is not known.
How are hives caused?
The condition of hives occurs when a complex chemical known as histamine is released by certain specialized cells that are known as mast cells. Though the most common reason that explains the release of histamines are allergic conditions, certain other circumstances are also responsible for its release, thereby resulting in an outbreak of hives.
Histamine performs its function of causing blood vessels to leak fluid into nearby tissues. In a human skin, very small swelling areas do develop due to the result of capillary leakage.
Apart from allergic reactions to medications, hives are also caused by food items or other substances, or may have triggered by sudden temperature extremes, sun, water and physical exercise. Stress and nervousness also results into outbreak of hives.
Hives Diagnoses
Diagnosis of hives:
Many hives cases appear as “idiopathic” because there is no known cause for its appearance. Some of them may be triggered by a viral infection and can also be caused by taking medications for relatively the first time.
Medicines like aspirin, codeine and nonsteroidal anti-inflammation drugs cause the body to release histamine and thus the outbreak of hives through non-allergic reactions.
A direct physical stimulation of the skin is termed as physical urticaria and the most common form is the “dermographia” or skin writing. Often a red welt appears at the lining of the scratch. Even the clothing when rubbed against the skin causes the mast cells to leak histamine.
Certain other forms of physically induced urticaria is known as Cholinergic urticaria, which means production of hundred of small tiny bumps. These physical hives are triggered due to climatic conditions such as coldness, heat and sunlight.
Treatment of hives:
Urticaria can be treated better if the symptoms of this skin condition are relieved and allowed to go away on its own. One of the most commonly used treatment methods are the antihistamines that help oppose the effects of histamine release from mast cells. One main disadvantage of antihistamines is that it leads to drowsiness.
Hives are treated like any other skin condition. Some allergy tests are first conducted to determine the possible causes of the causation allergen of hives. A patient’s lifestyle is also scrutinized by the doctor to arrive at the correct allergen that triggers hives. He is then advised to keep away from such allergen.
In order to discover which kind of hives you have, it is important to conduct a hives diagnosis and do a little research on the immune basis of hives. This is a common skin disorder that may be irritating, but not allergic or serious.
