Hives are a sign of an allergic skin reaction that usually last only a few days to weeks, then clear up on their own. Hives can have a variety of causes, including drugs allergies, insect bites, food sensitivities, pressure, temperature changes, insect sting and contact with irritating or allergens. Swelling or raised skin is usually harmless if they are the only symptom that can be seen. Itching is usually the second symptom and is a concerning thing. The intensity of itching can be varied. This is soon followed by the appearance of patches of red or pink, raised pustules that are temporary and can grow, disappear, and reappear elsewhere, sometimes moving in the center to form large ring like areas.
Hives can be seen alone or are in groups and can vary in size, with some being smaller than pencil tip and other's larger than a half-dollar size. Also, hives can often merge to form even larger hives that cover large areas of the body covering several diameters, for instance it can cover half of the abdomen. Hives come and go over after several hours. Although, they don't go away completely though. Instead, old hives go away in one part of the body, while new ones continue to appear somewhere else. Apart from itching and swelling, hives can sting or burn, can be painful, and can leave bruises on the skin as well. Children with hives may show additional symptoms depending on the triggering factor of hives. For instance, if hives is caused due to viral infection, then there are chances of having a sore throat, runny nose, and cough apart from fever. Hives is not a critical condition and symptoms are not that severe but rarely, hives can be life threatening if they occur to be in throat, nose or mouth. Hives tend to block airways leading to anaphylaxis, difficulty in breathing or swallowing. This situation needs immediate medical attention. Any individual hive should not last more than 24 hours. However if it does, then it is not simple hives but a kind of another skin rash, such as erythema multiforme. As there are several reasons of hives, it is important to figure out the reason of hives by keeping a diary of all medications and everything that has been recently eaten or drunk. Allergy testing is sometimes necessary to figure out the reason of hives, especially if hives are not going away or getting hives over and over. A complete medical history and physical examination can be more valuable than laboratory tests for identifying the cause The first thing one thinks when there is occurrence of hives is what the one recently has eaten that could be causing the allergic reaction.
As hives are caused by the chemical histamine released in body, an antihistamine medication like Benadryl, Atarax, Allegra, Claritin, Clarinex, and Zyrtec and Periactin can prove to be helpful. Other treatments include doxepin (Sinequan), montelukast (Singulair), ranitidine (Zantac) or cimetidine (Tagamet). Hives can be frustrating and hence require proper diagnosis and treatment.
