Hives are a common allergic reaction that appears in the form of swollen, red bumps or patches on the skin. These usually appear suddenly and cause itchiness. In some cases, it may also sting or burn. Hives can affect any part of the body including the face, ears, tongue, lips and throat. Hives are usually small in size but may grow as large as the size of a dinner plate. In some cases, hives may also join together to form plaques.

Hives are caused as a result of the production of histamines in the body that make plasma leak out of blood vessels in the skin. These histamines are released as a result of an allergic reaction, exposure to chemicals, insect bites, sunlight or adverse reactions to certain medicines. There are four main types of hives:

Acute Urticaria: These hives usually last for less than 6 weeks. They are triggered by insect bites, allergic reactions to food, latex, medicines or by exposure to infections. The most common food items that trigger this type of hives are chocolates, nuts, fish, tomatoes, eggs, soy, wheat and milk. Aspirin and other medicines like ibuprofen, ACE inhibitors and codeine can also trigger these hives.

Chronic Urticaria: Hives that last for longer than 6 weeks fall into the category of chronic urticaria. IT is harder to find what triggers a case of chronic urticaria than it is for acute urticaria. Along with the triggers mentioned above, hormonal disorders, tumours, chronic infections and immune system disorders can also trigger these hives.

Physical Urticaria: Hives caused as a result of physically stimulating skin are called physical urticaria. This includes sudden exposure to heat or cold, sunlight, vibrations, pressure, exercise etc. These hives usually resolve themselves within an hour and only affect the part of the skin that has been stimulated.

Dermatographism: Hives caused by scratching or firmly stroking the skin fall under this fourth category.

Hives can also be genetic in nature. Some people suffer from hereditary angioedema which is a painful swelling under the skin.

Hives caused by an allergic reaction can recur and hence if you suffer from hives you should try and identify the allergen. This can be done by taking an allergen test in a hospital or by changing aspects of your diet and studying the results. Hives are usually treated with antihistamines but in some cases, steroids may also be needed. However, it is usually nothing to worry about.

What Are Hives? What Causes 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 , also known as urticaria, is the outbreak of pale red, swollen bumps on the body. It can occur on any part of the body including the face, back, arms or legs. It is a type of hypersensitivity reaction in which the cause for the reaction is idiopathic (unknown). Also, it can come in various shapes and sizes. Hives can be associated with redness, itching, and a burning and stinging sensation. These can last for more than a minute or even more than that; up to days.

What causes hives?
Most of the times, hives are idiopathic, i.e. the reason that causes this type of hypersensitivity reaction is unknown. The bumps are caused by the action of histamine that makes the plasma in the blood leak out of the small blood vessels. Histamine is a substance that is released from a specialized cell and is what causes allergic responses in general. There are three types of hives- namely, acute, chronic urticaria and physical urticaria. Acute urticaria is when the hives last for less than six weeks. Chronic urticaria occurs when the hives last for more than six weeks. 

Physical urticaria refers to the condition when the hives are triggered due to causes such as heat, cold, sun exposure, sweating, pressure and exercise. Although, this condition is mainly idiopathic, there are common causes that may trigger this condition such as:

Foods such as nuts, fish, chocolates, milk and milk products
Environmental triggers such as pollen grains, dust etc
Medications such as ibuprofen or paracetamol
Insect bites
Latex
Blood transfusion
Bacterial infections including strep throat and urinary tract infection
Pet dander
Plants such as poison oak or poison ivy
What are the symptoms of urticaria?
Hives are usually self-diagnosable. The various symptoms of urticaria are:

Swollen red bumps known as weals
The red bumps can occur suddenly and subside all of a sudden as well
 Blanching which is characterized by the whitening of the swollen red part.
They occur on any part of the body and can change shapes, and sizes. It can become larger or it can reduce in size; it can also move around in the body.

Hives - Most Common 9 Reasons Behind It!

Hives is a very common condition and about 20% of the world has got it at some point in their lives. There are many causes to it ranging from blood transfusions to certain allergic reactions to food. It starts off as an itchy patch of skin but slowly swells and turns into red welts. There are certain factors which makes the itching worse including stress, alcohol and scratching the area of skin which was itchy in the first place. 

Causes
Here are all the causes and symptoms of hives:
1. Food
Allergic reactions to foods such as nuts, eggs and shellfish are a common cause of hives.

2. Medications
Certain medications also have a side effect of causing hives. Penicillin and sulfa are two of the antibiotics, which can cause hives. Ibuprofen and Aspirin are also two other medications, which are commonly known to cause hives.

3. Infections
Both bacterial and viral infections can lead to hives. Strep throat, urinary tract infections, common cold and hepatitis are some of many bacterial and viral infections, which may cause hives.

4. Stimuli
Certain factors such as temperature, pressure, sun exposure and other physical stimuli may cause hives as well.

5. Plants and animals
Dander in animals are the flakes of skin in their fur. Moreover, coming into contact with certain poisonous plants may cause hives.

6. Insects
When insects sting or bite you, you may get hives.

7. Latex
Latex is a type of rubber used in many types of clothing. It has been said that wearing clothing made out of latex can cause hives.

8. Pollen
Pollen is a light powdery substance produced by plants such as oak trees. It travels through the air and may cause hives if it comes into contact with your skin.

Symptoms
1. Bumps
Itchy red bumps appear on the skin when you have hives. Sometimes, the bumps can be skin-colored as well.
2. Blanching
When the bumps turn white after you press them, it is known as blanching. Blanching is the only clear symptom of hives.

Hives: Causes and Symptoms

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

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.

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