Raised red and white patches appear on the skin. They are accompanied by burning,intense itching, and stinging. Rubbing and scratching usually aggravate the condition. The outbreak of urticaria is sudden and the disease may affect any part or the entire body. The eruptions may be as small as pin heads or as large as a rupee. The eruption may fade in a few minutes or an hour in one place, but may appear in another.
Urticaria pigmentosa is most often seen in children, but it can occur in adults as well. Rubbing of a lesion produces a rapid wheal (a hive-like bump). Younger children may develop a fluid-filled blister over a lesion if it is scratched.
Lastly, some forms of urticaria and angioedema are related to other diseases, such as other auto-immune diseases (such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis), certain cancers, chronic infections such as viral hepatitis, and some hereditary forms.
Hives usually subside in one to seven days. If you know the cause and can avoid it, that is best. If the cause is not obvious and you are taking medication, any medication that your physician has told you is not essential should be stopped until the condition has disappeared. We know that allergies to foods and drugs can cause hives, but almost always hives caused by foods or drugs stop by themselves within a few days or weeks.
A large histamine release from these extra mast cells may cause flushing, headache, diarrhea, a rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), and even fainting. This is uncommon with urticaria pigmentosa but may be seen in other forms of mastocytosis.
Types
There are two main forms of hives, differentiated by how long the rash persists.
Acute urticaria is most likely caused by an allergy that is relatively a short-term thing, although it can still take some weeks to resolve in some circumstances.
Chronic urticaria is more long-term, and remissions and relapses often occur.
Treatment of Urticaria
Oral antihistamines control wealing and itching for the majority of patients with urticaria. Avoid aspirin and codeine. It is usually safe to take paracetamol and the newer Cox-II inhibitor anti-inflammatories and avoid alcohol. Non-sedating antihistamines (loratidine, fexofenadine, terfenadine, cetirazine, and astemizole) are less likely to cause drowsiness than the less expensive conventional antihistamines. They may be unsuitable in pregnancy. Terfenadine and astemizole may increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.They should be avoided if you have heart disease or you are also taking erythromycin, ketoconazole and some other medications.
Antihistamines may relieve some of the histamine-induced symptoms such as itching and flushing. Discuss the choice of antihistamine with your child's health care provider. With more severe and unusual forms of urticaria pigmentosa, systemic symptoms should be controlled with other medications.
Urticaria, if not responsive to oral antihistamines, may have to be treated with injections of adrenaline or steroids especially for patients 'complaining of a choking sensation in the throat which occurs due to swelling in the respiratory passage. Suppressive treatment of urticaria is carried out by administering antihistaminic drugs like Chloropheneramine (Avil) triprolidine hydrochloride, Actidil and Cyproheptadine hydrochloride (Periactin). The dose and the frequency should be adjusted to give adequate coverage for 24 hours. Cool the affected area with a fan or an ice pack.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Incubation period for hives to appear from Ibuprofen or asprin
By: Frank | 14-07-2008
If I get Urticaria from ibuprofen, how many day does it take for it to appear?
Thanks,
FEH
HenM777@aol.com
Epipens
By: judy2girls | 10-07-2008
my daughter will be attending a high school with 6,000 students. Will she be allowed to carry her epipen wih her? She has exercised induced anaphylactic uticaria.
Hives and stress
By: JerseyGirl | 17-06-2008
can stress cause hives? Why would it always be in the same area.?
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