Urticaria - hives skin allergy

What is urticaria and how to recognize it?

Urticaria is a skin condition, which is easily recognizablebecause red or white welts that appear on the skin are its main characteristic.These welts can vary in size and they are very itchy. It is also known aschronic hives, which means that the symptoms have the tendency to appear and goaway, although there is no exact time range and it depends on case. This iswhy in some cases they disappear in a few weeks, while in other cases theyreally are a persistent and lasting problem. Those that are chronic in natureusually do not last longer than six weeks, or they frequently come back. As forother characteristics of this health issue, the fact is that very frequently, thesymptoms are triggered by heat, stress, physical exertion, reaction tomedication or food, or some other conditions. Besides, angioedema or swelling ofthe skin are usually accompanying signs of urticaria. It is not impossible thatcomplications such as problems with breathing or even anaphylactic shock appear, but luckily, these serious cases of hives are not that common.

How can it be cured?

No matter how unpleasant this condition might be, it is not seriousor life threatening. The cause is not really clear and it can be identifiedvery rarely, although there is a number of possible ones. Due to this, it isvery difficult to talk about the cure that will permanently remove thisproblem. Since factors that can be classified as triggers are identified, theperson who suffers from urticaria needs to do their best in order to eliminatethe exposure to these factors, or at least to minimize it. Symptoms, though quitedifficult to cope with, can be relieved with the help of oral antihistamines,which do not have the power to eliminate the cause of the problem. Not all ofthem require medical prescription, which means that they can be very easilyobtained, but it is important to pay attention to the instruction on how to usethem properly. Other medications that might also help include H2 antagonists,tricyclic antidepressants and oral corticosteroids, but in order to use them,the prescription from the doctor will be necessary. In case when someautoimmune disorder is identified as the cause, the chances of getting rid ofurticaria are much better, because curing the underlying condition or keeping it under control mightactually cure this skin condition as well.