You may have been infected with Hives or might have seen it in other people.
But what is Hives and how can it affect our skin, how can it be prevented and how can it be cured? As you may know hives or Urticaria is actually an outbreak of the pale red pimples or plaques on skin that in most cases appear suddenly and may be caused by the body's adverse reaction to certain allergens or sometimes for no reason.
You may fell burn or sting, but normally itching is the most significant sign of Hives.
The infected areas are so diverse but mostly in the areas of face, lips, tongue, throat or even ears.
The Hives pimples are different in size from a pencil end to a dinner plate and sometimes they join together and form a larger spot that is known as plaque.
They normally don't last long and disappear in less than a day.
Sometimes the swelling occurs beneath the skin rather than the surface and is called Angioedema.
Angioedema is diagnosed by deep swelling around the eyes and lips and sometimes of the genitals, hands, and feet.
It lasts a little bit longer than Hives but swelling disappears in less than 24 hours.
Sometimes Angioedema Becomes life threatening when it happens in the areas around throat, neck, tongue or lungs.
It may block the airways.
But it's very rare.
What are the causes of Hives and Angioedema? Hives and angioedema form when, in response to histamine, blood plasma leaks out of small blood vessels in the skin.
Histamine is a chemical released from specialized cells along the skin's blood vessels.
Though there are some other reasons for Hives like allergic reactions, sunlight exposure, insect stings, chemicals in certain foods or using some medications that release histamine.
But finding out the real reason that why hives happens is very hard in most of the cases.
Types of Hives Let's take a look at the different types of hives.
First type is Acute Urticaria that is a special type of hives that lasts longer than six weeks.
The normal cause of this type of hives is consuming certain foods, medications or sometimes infections.
Insect bites and internal disease may also be responsible.
You can find different types of food causing Acute Urticaria.
Some of the most common ones are tomatoes, fresh berries, chocolate, fish, nuts and even milk.
Cooked foods are better than fresh foods and cause less infections.
Certain food additives and preservatives may also be to blame.
There are some types of drugs that can cause Acute Urticaria and angioedema including Aspirin and Non-steroidal inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen, high blood pressure drugs (ACE inhibitors), or painkillers such as codeine.
Second type is Physical urticaria.
This type of Hives is caused by direct physical stimulation of the skin like cold, heat, sun exposure, vibration, pressure, sweating, and exercise.
This type of hives usually occurs exactly where the skin was stimulated and rarely can be seen on the other parts of skin.
The good thing to now is that this type of hives appears within one hour after exposure.
Third type is chronic urticaria and angioedema.
It's when Hives lasts more than six weeks.
The cause of this type of hives is usually very hard to identify than those causing acute urticaria.
For most people with chronic urticaria, the cause is impossible to determine.
This type of hives is little dangerous and must be treated very fast because it can affect other internal organs such as the lungs, muscles, and gastrointestinal tract.
There are some symptoms to identify it that are muscle soreness, shortness of breath, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
The last type is Dermatographism.
This is a common form of physical urticaria where hives form after firmly stroking or scratching the skin.
These hives can also occur along with other forms of urticaria.
Now it's time to see How the Hives and Angioedema can be treated.
First important thing is that identifying and removing the cause and trigger of hives is the best treatment.
Using antihistamines prescribed by your doctor can be a good relief from symptoms.
Using antihistamines on a regular basis work best to prevent hives from forming in the first place.
How Can Hives Be Managed? While you're waiting for hives and swelling to disappear, here are some tips: 1.
Apply cool compresses or wet cloths to the affected areas.
2.
Try to work and sleep in a cool room.
3.
Wear loose-fitting lightweight clothes.