Treatment of Hives Simple, But …

By Dave Tishendorf

One day your skin is like peaches and cream. The next day you wake up with a red and itchy rash all over your arms and face. 

Unfortunately, you may be having a case of hives. 

Non-technically speaking, hives are raised welts of various sizes that just seem to do a magic act on your skin – appearing and disappearing with almost no warning.

Fortunately, in most cases you need not rush to the emergency room to seek treatment of hives, as over-the-counter antihistamines often will do the trick. Plus, you need not worry about hives leaving lasting scars on your skin.

Yet, it pays to know about the causes, complications and cure for hives so that you know what to do in case you have them, when to visit your doctor and what steps to adopt in their prevention.

** Causes and Complications

Of course, hives are not magic things that appear and disappear without cause. Your doctor can often identify them for you, although it is also a good idea to take notes about what happened before and after your hives attack. This way, you can assist your doctor in the treatment of hives by providing detailed accounts of what may have triggered them. 

Also, it is important to identify the cause, as often the cure for hives will depend on it. For example, your hives may be triggered by allergens in your food, medicines and other substances in the environment. 

Such foods as shellfish, fish, eggs, nuts, eggs, milk and chocolate are known allergens to hyper-sensitive people. You also may be allergic to such food additives as salicylates and sulfites in packaged foods, so it pays to read product labels. 

You might also be allergic to such common medications as penicillin, aspirin and ibuprofen as well as blood pressure medicines. You can often cure your hives by stopping these medications, although you may have a harder time avoiding environmental allergens such as pollen, latex, animal dander and insect stings. 

To make matters worse, you can even be allergic to cold or heat, sunlight or water, skin pressure, emotional stress and even exercise!

If not for the right treatment of hives, you might be unable to live a normal life. However, "normal" life in all cases may not be the issue – life itself may be the issue. In some cases you have to seek a cure for hives because you want to avoid life-threatening complications. Difficulty in breathing and loss of consciousness are serious signals. You also can go into anaphylactic shock, which will occur rapidly and can lead to death. Obviously, developments such as these require immediate medical attention. So now is the time to rush to the hospital!

** Medical Treatments and Home Remedies

Your doctor will recommend either non-prescription or prescription medications or both for the treatment of hives. You have to follow dosage instructions as well as other directions related to the use of antihistamines. 

Keep in mind that these medications can cause drowsiness, so driving a car for long distances, much less operating heavy machinery, are out of the question when you are on an antihistamine cure for hives regimen. 

Diphenhydramine chlorpheniramine, loratadine and cetirizine are non-prescription medicines. Although these scientific names are almost impossible to pronounce, it pays to know at least one or two of them in case you need them in an emergency. You also may be prescribed an oral corticosteroid drug such as prednisone for severe cases of the hives. 

Although these medications work from inside your body to kill the allergens, so to speak, they also can stress your system. So you should adopt other, lifestyle remedies as treatment for hives. Keep in mind, however, that the following external remedies are not the ultimate cure for hives, only methods to lessen the severity of the attack. 

** Wear loose clothing with smooth textures such as cotton and silk.

** Take cornstarch baths by mixing about 4 ounces each of cornstarch and baking soda in lukewarm water. 

** Apply calamine lotion at least three times a day on the affected areas.

** Avoid the food and other environmental allergens that triggered your attacks in the first place. Otherwise, the best cure for hives will be useless.

You can have relief from your painfully itchy skin condition. Just choose one of the treatments, and do avoid the triggers of your hives.