About Allergies: Find Out The Best Way To Treat Hives

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Allergies Allergies Symptoms / Diagnosis Treatment Coping From Daniel More, MD, your Guide to Allergies  Hives are often misunderstood by patients and by the physicians treating them. Find out about the most common reasons why hives occur, and the best ways to treat hives. How to Treat Hives Hives, also known as urticaria, is a common skin rash that can affect 1 in 5 people. Hives are typically raised, red and itchy, and can be of various shapes and sizes. The rash will tend to come and go within a few hours, moving from one place on the body to another. Hives don’t normally leave any bruising, scars or skin dryness or peeling. The itching is usually mild, although can be severe, but people with hives don’t normally scratch the skin to the point of bleeding. Any of these characteristics may mean that the rash doesn’t represent hives. Search Related Topics:  urticaria  antihistamines  hives What are the Common Causes of Hives? Almost every patient with hives that I see in my clinic is concerned that an allergy is triggering their symptoms. Most think that a certain food is the cause of their hives; others think that a change in a soap or detergent is the culprit. Before they see me, these people have tried to avoid these suspected triggers, yet the hives usually persist. What are the common causes of hives? You might be surprised to hear that while allergies may be the problem, other causes are more common. And in a majority of cases, what triggers hives that last for less than 6 weeks (acute) is different than what causes hives that last longer (chronic). Search Related Topics:  urticaria and angioedema  antihistamines  allergy testing Can Stress Cause Hives? Hives can certainly be caused or worsened by significant stress in a person’s life. In fact, stress is one of the most common causes of acute hives (symptoms lasting less than 6 weeks), along with infectious causes and allergies. Stress has also been known to worsen chronic hives (symptoms lasting more than 6 weeks), even when the chronic hives are primarily due to another cause. Search Related Topics:  asthma  asthma medications  asthma inhalers Related Searches Allergies Treatment Allergies Symptoms Severe Allergies Treat Hives Allergies & Asthma Featured Articles Anaphylaxis Allergy Shots and Drops (Immunotherapy) Alternative Therapies in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergies Glossary of Terms Information on the Most Common Allergy Medications Blog   More from About.com Sign-up for Shareables! An every-morning rundown of the day in history, headlines and trends produced by your pals at About.com. Please sign up it's free (of course), we think you will like it! Want More From About.com Check out our social page tailored to your interest! This newsletter is written by: Daniel More, MD Allergies Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Allergies newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. If you would like to unsubscribe from all newsletters sent from About.com, please send an email to optout@about.com with "Unsubscribe" as the subject line. About.com respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 © 2014 About.com   Must Reads What are Allergies? Symptoms of Allergies Diagnosis of Allergies Treatment of Allergies Preventing Allergies Advertisement