If stressed, consuming certain food and medications can trigger skin rashes. This kind of rash is called hives. It is also known as urticaria. Anyone can be affected by hives, at least 20% of people are affected by hives at some time or the other in their lives. The itching could be severe or mild. It starts as a patch of scaly white skin that develops into red welts over time. To make sure the itching does not worsen, scratching, emotional stress, alcoholic drinks and exercise should be avoided.

Symptoms
1. Itchy bumps that are raised and are either red or flesh coloured
2. If the hive is pressed in the middle, the skin whitens this symptom is called blanching.
3. The hive formation can appear anywhere, disappear and then reappear somewhere else.

Common Triggers
1. Certain food like shellfish, eggs, peanuts and other nuts
2. Certain medicines like antibiotics, ibuprofen and aspirin
3. Insect bites or stings
4. Physical causes like pressure, sun exposure, cold, exercise and heat
5. Latex
6. Blood transfusions
7. Bacterial infections
8. Pet allergens
9. Viral infections like the common cold, hepatitis and infectious mononucleosis
10. Certain plants like poison ivy and poison oak
11. Pollen

Treatment
There is no distinct cure for hives. But you can control its symptoms in the following ways:
1. Antihistamines help in blocking histamines, which cause the allergy symptoms. Non sedating or low sedating Antihistamines will be mostly recommended by your doctor.
2. If episodes of hives are several, it may require limited treatment with prednisone. Prednisone will be able to lessen the symptoms.
3. If the symptoms get severe enough so much so that it swells up your tongue and you have problem breathing, then the doctor might prescribe an epinephrine. However, these symptoms can mean another thing, an anaphylaxis shock. Epinephrine is the only treatment for an anaphylaxis shock.

Prevention
If what caused hives to break out is figured out, then measures should be taken to avoid or eliminate the triggers.
1. Avoid eating food items that triggered the symptoms in the first place
2. If harsh soaps, frequent bathing cause hives, they should be avoided
3. Tight clothing should be avoided
4. If cold triggers hives, then wear warm clothing, wrap a scarf and do not swim in cold water.
5. Avoid sun exposure and wear sunblock
6. If a specific medication is causing the hives, inform your doctor.

All About Hives

Hives, also called urticaria are swollen welts or bumps that appear on your skin suddenly.

They itch, burn and sting and can happen anywhere on your body. You can get them on your face, lips, tongue, ears or chest. And in size, they can be as small as an eraser to as large as a plate. They also form plaques and can last for hours or up to several days.

Types

Acute urticaria - These type of hives last less than six weeks. The most common causes are allergies due to certain foods and medications, or infections. These hives can also happen due to diseases or insect bites.
Chronic urticaria - Hives lasting more than six weeks come under this category. What causes them is usually more difficult to identify than what causes acute urticaria. In some cases, chronic hives are caused due to thyroid disease, hepatitis or even cancer. This type can affect your internal organs like lungs, muscles, and the gut. Thus, symptoms include muscle soreness, shortness of breath, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
Physical urticaria - These types are caused due to direct physical stimulation of the skin due to cold, heat, sun exposure, vibration, pressure, sweating, and exercise.
What causes hives?

Hives happen mostly due to allergies. Some of the common hive triggers are-

Certain foods, especially peanuts, eggs, nuts and shellfish- Fresh foods are more likely to cause hives as compared to cooked foods. Certain food additives and preservatives can also play culprits. Medicines like penicillin and sulfa- based antibiotics, aspirin and ibuprofen which are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, high blood pressure drugs like ACE inhibitors, and painkillers such as codeine can also trigger hives. Other things that may cause it are:

Insect bites
Latex
Transfusion of blood
Bacterial infections, including urinary tract infections and infected throat
Viral infections- common cold and hepatitis
Pollen grains
Plants like poison oak and poison ivy
Sunlight
Cold weather
Pet dander 
If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dermatologist.

What Are Hives? What Causes Them?

Hives or urticaria is an outbreak of reddish swollen bumps around the skin surface, formed mainly due to the body s response to particular allergens. Generally, the infectious bumps are of varied shapes and sizes and last for about 5-6 weeks. Although not a serious medical condition, hives can cause tremendous discomfort to the concerned person and affect his/her daily activities. Hives can be cured with a prescribed dosage of antihistamines or oral corticosteroids.

Causes of hives

Although the exact reason behind their formation is still unknown, researchers suggest that this disorder occurs as a response to involuntary histamine release by the skin blood vessels (that in turn, causes a leakage of blood plasma). Some other factors that can be responsible are:

Hives can occur due to insect or parasite bites.
Hives can also result as a side effect of painkillers such as codeine and other anti- inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or ACE inhibitors.
Excessive exposure to sunlight or high levels of stress (leading to high cortisol levels in the body) can also result in hives.
Intense scratching around the same spot can also result to hive formation.
Excessive alcohol intake can render you even more vulnerable to this disease.
Excessive intake of foods such as eggs, fish, nuts, chocolate and berries might also cause hives. Additionally, excessive consumption of certain food preservatives can also trigger the release of histamine.
Suffering from serious underlying medical conditions such as cancer, hepatitis or thyroid disorders can make you prone to chronic cases of hives (which might last for more than 6 weeks).
Symptoms of hives 
The symptoms of hives include, but are not limited to:

Appearances of several reddish welts around the face or arms which might cause a severe itchy sensation.
Painful and abnormal swelling around the mouth
You might also feel tightness in your chest along with recurring bouts of dizziness.
If not treated promptly after diagnosis, hives might result in life-threatening allergic reactions, such as Anaphylaxis (narrowing down of the bronchial tubes, thus causing significant breathing trouble) and auto-immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.

7 Things that Can Cause Hives

Urticaria or hives are red, raised lesions that occur anywhere on the body, usually around the trunk, hands and legs. They appear as small round rings or large patches that changes shape, may itch and be surrounded by a red flare. They can be acute or chronic, with acute almost always being an allergic reaction. It is often due to unknown causes, ranging from chronic irritation to parasitic infection to temperatures to water types.

Homeopathy treats diseases as a whole, and similarly, when treating urticaria tries to identify associated symptoms and thereby treat the cause also. After a detailed discussion about predisposition and associated symptoms, a customized remedy will be prescribed, which may include one of the following common homeopathic remedies.

Apis Mell: The hives consist of isolated patches that are painful, tender, itch at night, feel like bee stings, become purple. There is burning pain, slight fever, and warmth of the surrounding skin. It is worsened by changing weather and exercise, causing severe itching and burning. The patient may already have asthma.
Arsenic Album: The urticaria is caused by eating shellfish and causes burning and restlessness. The condition gets worse being at the seaside and by getting into sea water. Arsenic is also useful to treat urticarial symptoms during the recession of the lesions. The person also could be down emotionally with depression, despair, indifference and irritability. If the lesions are more severe, the restlessness is also severe. It is worse after midnight, from 1 to 2 a.m.
Rhus toxicodendron: Prepared from the leaves and bark of the plant poison ivy, Rhus works on multiple body systems including skin, joints, eyes, extremities, and overall vitality. In addition to urticaria, it is also used in cellulitis, arthritis, fevers, etc. It is effective if the urticaria has a burning sensation, inflamed reddened rash that is worsened by cold and improved by warmth.
Urtica urens: Made from a plant called stinging nettle, which itself has a tendency to produce urticaria, it is used when there is urticaria from bee stings or after eating shellfish. The lesions are red with severe burning and itching, recurring every year, could be associated with weather changes.
Natrum Muriaticum: The common salt sodium chloride is potentized, and its inner healing power activated. It is used for chronic urticaria, where the lesions develop after severe irritation.
Dulcamara: The lesions develop followed a general prickly sensation setting in and at night when it is cold and damp. The hives are irregular white patches surrounded by a red area that itch badly. The hives are associated with violent cough, swelling of the lymph nodes, fever, restlessness, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting, bitter taste, and intense aching in pit of stomach.

Urticaria - 6 Homeopathic Remedies For Hives Disease

Hives, or  Urticaria  in medical parlance, is a skin condition characterized by the appearance of itchy swellings on the skin surface. Hives may break out on any part of your body and can be of different sizes. It is not a prolonged condition and generally lasts for a few hours. Urticaria or hives usually occur due to the secretion of certain chemical substances such as  histamine  from underneath the skin surface.

Some of the possible causes of hives are mentioned below:

Overexposure to sunlight
As a side effect of medicines such as aspirin, painkillers or antibiotics.
Insect bites
Any food related allergy may also trigger hives
People allergic to certain chemicals or latex can also develop hives
Sensitivity to temperature or water can cause hives
Infections such as Hepatitis or chronic diseases such as thyroid may result in the occurrence of hives.
Alcohol or caffeine intake can cause chronic urticaria
The most common symptoms of Hives include:

Skin becomes swollen
Frequent itching sensation
Skin inflammation is also common
You may feel a burning sensation
Within a short span of time, it may disappear and then again reappear on different parts of the body
Red and white patches appear all over the skin surface known as  wheals 
Hives generally go untreated as the condition subsides within a few hours. But sometimes, hives can be chronic or acute in nature. If so, it would require treatment as it can give rise to further complications. Some of the treatment methods are given below:

Corticosteroids may be prescribed by the doctor to control the formation of hives and give relief from inflammation.
Antihistamines (drugs which hinder the impacts of histamines; mainly used for curing allergies) are advised to patients with chronic urticaria. It controls the effects caused due to the discharge of histamines.
Knowing and avoiding the trigger conditions may prove to be helpful.
Applying menthol creams can give comfort due to its cooling properties.

Hives - Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Schnitzler s syndrome is a very rare condition described by a reddish rash that looks like hives (urticaria) and lifted levels of a particular protein in the blood (monoclonal IgM gammopathy). Symptoms connected with the Schnitzler disorder may include increased levels of fever, joint inflammation, joint pain (arthralgia), bone agony, and different discoveries, for example, swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy). It also causes weight reduction, discomfort, exhaustion, and broadened spleen and liver. This condition should be treated in terms of taking care of the symptoms so that they do not become debilitating.

Some of the other symptoms include the following:

Urticaria (hives) depicts red raised patches of the skin. These are once in a while irritated. They may last for about 12 hours to 3 days. This may become severely painful if not treated in time.
80% of such patients suffer from painful or swollen. A few patients experience bone pain as well.
High fever might be there accompanied by chills and night sweating. This can give rise to further uneasiness and is usually caused when the immune system is attacked by the ailment.
One of the main symptoms of the Schnitzler disorder is monoclonal gammopathy. This mostly means a raised level of immunoglobulin M (IgM)
Reasons behind it

The main cause behind the Schnitzler syndrome is unknown. Specialists believe that particular parts of the immune system may not work appropriately in the end because of the Schnitzler syndrome. Individuals with the Schnitzler disorder additionally have monoclonal IgM gammopathy, in which abnormal production of immunoglobins result in elevated levels of immunoglobulin M (IgM) in the body. Immunoglobulins are proteins delivered by the white blood cells. A few analysts believe that IgM antibodies accumulate in the skin (epidermis), setting off a reaction that causes the rash. At the time of diagnosis, IgM levels may just be somewhat raised and may stay stable for quite a long time.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of the Schnitzler disorder is based upon an intensive clinical assessment, patient history, rejection of different other disorders and proof of fever, joint pain or aggravation, bone pain, discernible lymph nodes, amplification of the liver or spleen, lifted quantities of white platelets (leukocytosis), raised red platelet (erythrocyte) or anomalies, which can uncover expanded bone thickness (osteosclerosis).

Treatment: 
Anakinra is a successful treatment for Schnitzler syndrome. It is also very commonly used to treat rheumatoid joint inflammation. The following medicines and therapies have been proven to be successful for treating the Schnitzler disorder over a period of time. These are as follows:

Antihistamines
Nonsteroidal calming specialists
Systemic steroids (prednisone)
Hydroxychloroquine
Colchicine
Dapsone
Pamidronate
Thalidomide
Pefloxacin
Phototherapy
Immunosuppressive specialists (ciclosporin, methotrexate, cycloposphamide)
Biologic specialists (tocilizumab, rituximab)
The Schnitzler disorder is a long-term infection, so stopping a promising treatment can tend to cause a relapse and may cause the disease to reappear. Also, the medicines mentioned above should not be taken without consulting a doctor as they can have sever side effects, if not administered under the guidance of a physician.

Schnitzler Syndrome - Things You Must Know About It!

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