If you are looking for relief from hives with the best possible treatment, here is the layman’s guide to hives. Hives, medically termed as urticaria are often red welts that appear on the skin surface as small or large size patches. When the skin is exposed to substances or chemicals that trigger allergic reactions, the skin allergy called hives occur on the skin. These can occur on any part of the skin.
The main characteristics of hives are itching. When you have the urge for scratching, you get a feel of discomfort and uneasiness and often results in swelling of the skin. People who have allergic reactions including angioedema and hay fever often experience hives. The welts appearing on the skin surface often indicate the onset of hives.
Features of Urticaria:
Urticaria can be allergic or non allergic and either acute or chronic. The patient may experience sudden acute skin eruptions coupled with redness, swelling, acute itching, burning and anxiety. Hives may be irregularly shaped across the body, either round or just vertical lines. They could be either single or multiple, and occasional or appearing and disappearing in random order.
The most annoying feature of urticaria is that the patient experiences intense itching and when it is uncontrolled makes him impatient and restless. It could also lead to sleeplessness and disturbance at work.
Another manifestation of urticaria is the Angioneurotic edema which means a large urticaria with a severe swelling or edema of the skin at the cellular level. When the respiratory organs such as larynx are involved, it could lead to suffocation and thus to a medical emergency. In this kind of urticaria, the lips may be unusually swollen.
Diagnosis of Urticaria:
Clinical diagnosis of the skin is done by observing the skin very closely for skin eruptions. Once these are observed, the patients are able to recognize urticaria.
Diagnosis of urticaria is done in terms of its causation by a careful and systematic case history by the consulting physician. Full co-operation of the patient is also sought for providing proper information and eliminating certain food items once they are suspected. Thyroid profile and hormonal study may also be indicated if the clinical diagnosis so suggests.
For accurate diagnosis, a detailed clinical history running through various causes and considering the individual as a person is more important than anything else.
Treatment of Urticaria:
The primary goal of treating urticaria is to relieve all the symptoms while the condition fades away on its own. The most commonly used oral treatments are the administration of antihistamines. They suppress the effects of a chemical known as histamine that are leaked by mast cells.
Use of antihistamines comes with a single drawback of drowsiness. Because of this factor, these medicines are taken only at bedtime. Those taking them should be fully alert before activities like driving that require mental concentration. Some antihistamines come with a decongestant medication that do not purport to treating urticaria.
A layman’s guide to hives will definitely help those seeking knowledge on the subject of urticaria. Consulting physicians do individualize treatment plans that suit specific patients and thereafter modify them based on the clinical results.
