Urticaria is a skin condition that affects 1 in 5 people at certain period of their life. It causes intensely itchy, raised patches on the skin known as weals (or hives) that can be round or ring shaped and may join together.
They often appear after scratching and may affect the skin on every part of the body.
It is caused when histamine and other chemical mediators are released into the bloodstream by certain body cells known as mast cells. The welts are the result of fluid leaking from the skin’s capillaries.
While the hives usually disappear within 24 hours, the condition itself may take longer to treat.
Urticaria is often accompanied with swelling under the skin known as angio-oedema. This usually affects the soft parts of the body like the lips, eyelids, or inside the mouth.
Unlike hives, these swellings take longer to disappear and are more painful than itchy.
If angio-oedema appears without weals, it could be a hereditary condition called hereditary angio-oedema. In cases like this, it is not connected to urticaria and requires different treatment and blood tests for diagnosis.
Depending on how long it lasts, urticaria can be categorized into:
Acute Urticaria — which is the most typical type whose reason of outbreaks is usually known. This type lasts for around six weeks.
Chronic Urticaria — when breakouts last longer than six weeks and whose reason of outbreaks is typically unknown.
Physical Urticaria — caused by scratching, exposure to cold, constant pressure on the skin, sunlight exposure, or rise in body temperature.
Common causes are: allergic reactions, infections — both bacterial and viral, and emotional stress.
While most hives rashes don’t require treatment because they fade away within 24 hours, if the condition persists, your doctor can prescribe you antihistamines, steroid tablets, or menthol cream to relieve itchiness.
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