If you are experiencing hives, neck pain along with it could be signaling you that something more serious is going on. Almost 20 percent of the population will, at least one time, experience a bout of hives. Neck pain accompanying this hives may just be coincidental or it could be the sign of something more serious going on.

Many allergic reactions result in the appearance of rash or hives. Neck pain could also be part of this allergic reaction but that is not common. It is important to look at any other symptoms your body is demonstrating to be sure you don’t have an infection or virus.

Find Out Why You Are Having The Neck Pain

Sometimes neck pain is nothing more than a stiff neck. But not all stiff necks are created equal. Most of the time, neck pain is the result of ergonomics, sleeping in a strange position, or a muscle strain. But with the presence of hives, neck pain may have a more significant cause. Some of the viruses that cause hives and can also cause neck pain are:

• Mononucleosis
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C

In most cases, the hives will show up as the body tries to get rid of the infection. If you have hives, neck pain, and it is accompanied with fever, swelling in the mouth or tongue, or difficulty in breathing, you should seek medical attention without delay.

Medication Could Be An Issue

If you have had a sore neck as a symptom of something else you are taking medication for, an allergic reaction to the medication could be causing the hives. Neck pain already present when the hives appear could be just coincidental and if you change the medication you are using for treatment, the hives may disappear. If this is the case, you can be pretty confident that your condition is not a serious one. It can all get kind of confusing and is best to let your doctor help you figure it out.

Be Sure To Rule Out Angioedema

Angioedema is a condition that closely resembles hives. Neck pain can accompany it because the swelling often occurs around the ears, which in turn can cause pain in the neck. As a rule, angioedema is more painful than hives and lasts longer. This is a condition that requires medical attention and should be either ruled out or treated.

The amount of people that look up urticaria pronunciation every month would suggest that they have not heard the word before. Not nearly as many look up hives pronunciation. A conclusion could be drawn that many people are not aware that hives and urticaria both describe the same condition.

Urticaria Pronunciation

If you look up urticaria pronunciation, you will find the typical dictionary type phonetic description that looks like this:

ûr’tĭ-kâr’ē-ə

Since those accent marks showing the long and short vowel marks, and which syllable gets the emphasis are not that helpful to many people, an easier way to master urticaria pronunciation is to on to the internet to one of the many sites that will actually let you play a sound clip of a voice actually pronouncing the word. For those that are good with descriptions as shown above but not sure about which syllable gets the emphasis, it is the third syllable that is pronounced a little stronger than the rest.

Hives Pronunciation

Hives pronunciation is a lot easier than urticaria pronunciation. But the same dictionary would show an example of hives pronunciation as follows:

hīvz

Not only is hives pronunciation a little easier, there is only one syllable and most people have already heard the word. The vowel (I) is pronounced with the long sound.

They Both Mean the Same Thing

Hive pronunciation is certainly easier than urticaria pronunciation which is why most people will refer to the condition as hives. It is a skin condition that is characterized by welts that are very itchy and a result of the body releasing histamines as an immune response to some internal or external agent that is perceived to be foreign and unwelcome.

Most people recognize this condition as hives when they see it, primarily because it appears so suddenly. This is the most common way hives is recognized as opposed to other rashes. It can come and go on different parts of the body very quickly, without an apparent reason. When they go to research it further for the first time is when most people discover that the condition is known medically as urticaria. The unfamiliarity of the word is probably why people search by the hundreds monthly for urticaria pronunciation as opposed to only dozens for hives pronunciation.

Whatever you call it, if it comes and goes quickly, there is no reason for alarm, but if it persists or comes and goes for longer than six week, the condition is chronic and a remedy should be sought. You should stay away from prescription remedies if at all possible, as you may become dependent on them or have other unwanted side effects.

Many patients don’t know why they have hives. Vertigo symptoms often go unexplained as well. Food allergies should be at least suspected when hives, vertigo, or other type of dizziness is experienced without knowing the cause. There are some foods or food groups that are more likely to cause the combination of symptoms than others so they should be explored first.

Citric Acid And Citrus Fruits Should Be Ruled Out First

Citrus foods often cause allergic reactions but are often one of the last types of foods people think of when looking for a cause of hives. Vertigo is also commonly experienced as a symptom of allergies to citrus. But not just citrus as in oranges, grapefruit, lemons and limes. You also need to closely inspect the ingredient labels on the prepared foods you are eating. You will be surprised to find out how many of the prepared foods you purchase contain citric acid. And while it is known that allergic reactions are often the cause of hives, vertigo presence can often quickly help you narrow down that allergy to citrus fruits or citric acid.

Often a Tricky One to Solve

It seems the reason for the vertigo is that unlike most other food allergies, citrus allergy often causes some slight swelling of the inner ear which is responsible for the vertigo. Most other food allergies don’t present this symptom and the reason for it is not really understood.

Many people are told to start eating a healthier diet or decide to do so on their own to try to resolve chronic hives. Vertigo begins to develop and the hives don’t go away and patients become even more concerned. But the decision to eat healthier often means including more fruits in the diet. Just as a matter of preference, some begin including citrus fruits or juices. It doesn’t make sense to them or their doctors when not only the hives get worse but they begin to get dizzy spells of full blown vertigo. So just having the knowledge up front will help you uncover your allergies if these symptoms fit your particular case.

It should be understood that the hives/vertigo relationship is not a common one but the information contained here may help some hives sufferers figure out a solution to their hives problem.

One condition that the hives, tiredness combination could be a result of can fortunately be ruled out with ease. This is what is known as menopausal hives. It is well documented that anxiety is a stressor, or trigger for hives. Tiredness or general fatigue can also be a symptom of stress or unusual anxiety. One condition that the hives/tiredness combination shows up in is menopause.

There is not medical proof that menopause causes hives but a lot of menopausal women do, anecdotally, experience hives. Fatigue is experienced by almost all women going through menopause. But the combination of symptoms while going through menopause should cause you to at least consider the possibility.

Fortunately, menopausal hives are usually a short-term occurrence that doesn’t come back. If it lasts more than a couple weeks, try some stress management techniques that you can incorporate into your daily routine. Sometimes this alone is enough to break the cycle and cause the disappearance of the hives. Fatigue can usually only be beat by getting more rest unless brought on by a disease.

Allergic Reaction Common Cause of Hives

Most everyone knows that allergic reactions to an otherwise harmless substance can cause hives. Tiredness along with it may be just another symptom of the allergic reaction or could be the result of medications used to combat the hives. Antihistamines are commonly given to treat outbreaks of hives. Tiredness, or drowsiness and fatigue are common side effects of many of the antihistamines.

If the antihistamines get rid of the hives and you stop taking the antihistamines, the fatigue should go away by the next day unless it is caused by something else. But fatigue is such a common side effect and symptom for a multitude of conditions and medications, it is just impossible to say and is really just a trial and error thing that each individual must judge on their own.

Mononucleosis Needs To Be Ruled Out

Although it is not a common cause of hives, tiredness is a major symptom of mononucleosis. If both conditions last for longer than a couple weeks and you can’t determine the cause, you should at least rule out mononucleosis. Fortunately, there are tests that can be done for this and your doctor can set you up for one if appropriate.

Pressure urticaria is a relatively common form of hives, muscle aches, or pain being the common symptom other than hives being the key to this diagnosis. Urticaria is the medical condition known more commonly as hives. Muscle aches and pain can be caused by too many things to list here but when hives, muscle aches, and pains appear simultaneously, pressure urticaria is very likely.

What Is Pressure Urticaria?

Pressure urticaria is a pretty common form of hives that comes when the skin in any particular location has been under pressure at the same place for a considerable length of time. This happens a lot on the feet from standing a long time or on the buttocks area from sitting in the same position too long. Naturally, not everyone who does either of these things will break out in hives; muscle aches don’t happen to everyone under these circumstances either. But in some people it actually does result in a painful or sore type of hives. It can also come from tight clothing causing pressure in a certain area. The hives will begin after the pressure is relieved, usually a few hours after.

Why Does It Happen More In Working People?

The condition often happens to people in professions that require a person to wear things like a tool belt, where the belt itself or a tool like a hammer hanging from it causes pressure and that pressure is applied all day as a result of having to work. After taking off the belt, or other working accessory, the person will break out in hives. Muscle aches or outright pain accompanies the hives and they itch more than normal hives. They usually last for anywhere from two to 48 hours and can be accompanied with fever or chills, and sometimes a headache. Other types of work that can cause this are carrying a bag of some sort on a shoulder (think delivery person), using a hand tool the same way all day, or having to walk or stand with safety vests or other unusual work apparel that is heavy and unusual.

Many types of work will cause a person to have to have pressure applied in a way to some body part that is not normal in non-working conditions. Antihistamines usually don’t help this type of hives. Muscle aches can be eased with NSAID drugs, as long as it is not a drug that triggers hives.

If a person experiences persistent hives, nervousness should be at the top of the suspect list if an obvious physical allergen isn’t present. Recent research has shown a pretty clear connection between anxiety and hives.

It is known fact that anxiety does cause a physiological response. The body detects stress or even fear and activates the sympathetic nervous system. This alone can be enough to cause an acute outbreak of hives. Nervousness throws the body into the “fight or flight” mode to some degree or another. This fight or flight manifests in the body by opening up blood vessels almost immediately in a stressful situation. Histamine release in the small blood vessels around the mast cells of the skin causes the blotchy appearance in some people of hives. Nervousness either can cause this or even worse, can kind of snowball on itself where the anxiety causes the hives, nervousness increases and makes the hives worse, which in turn makes the anxiety level kick up even another notch.

Chronic Stress Related Hives Is Even Tougher To Beat

With chronic hives, nervousness can be even more of both a problem and a cause. The stress builds on itself as the person deals with the physical and visible symptoms of the hives. Hardly anyone can avoid being self-conscience when a large part of their body, especially the facial or neck areas are covered with unsightly red splotches that case them to itch. They become aware of the constant itching as well, and how that looks so try to avoid it, which makes them even more anxious. With chronic hives, nervousness and anxiety levels go up almost daily until resolves. Some of the things that add stress to the chronic hives sufferer are:

• Trying to go to sleep at night when the itching is so bad they can’t get comfortable and also worry about disrupting their spouse.
• The lack of sleep makes staying awake during the day a struggle.
• Trying to find clothes that won’t aggravate the condition or possibly that may cover the hives. Nervousness about only having a couple of clothing choices that provide them comfort.
• The real negative emotional toll that the change in lifestyle needed to live with hives causes
• The side effects of antihistamines. Usually making them even more tired
• Worrying that creams and ointments smell offensive to others or are causing damage to their expensive clothing. (creams don’t help much anyway)

If You Can Break The Cycle Of Hives, Nervousness Will Diminish

The real key to long-term success in fighting hives is to get to the cause. Manage your lifestyle, but remember at the root of hives is an immune system response. If you can’t identify a specific cause, do the best you can with natural alternatives to strengthen your immune system.  Eat a healthy diet, which can reduce anxiety, improve sleep and improve the health of youer immune system. Most importantly – don’t give up.

Solar urticaria, or hives, is one of the physical hives. This means there is a physical trigger for the hives, sunlight in this case. About one fourth of chronic hives cases are due to a physical cause.

With cases of solar urticaria, the physical trigger for the hives, sunlight, can be a difficult trigger to avoid which makes it unusually annoying. The hives cause the same typical symptoms as any of the hives types, which include redness, itchy spots, and slightly raised areas. But the difference is that in this form of hives, sunlight exposed areas are the only areas where the spots occur. And it can happen in a matter of minutes from exposure on areas not typically exposed like under your shirt or shorts. Don’t confuse it with sunburn, as it will usually go away just as fast after exposure is stopped.

How Does It Happen?

Patients with solar urticaria make their own allergic antibodies against certain proteins in their own skin. The structure of these proteins changes with sunlight exposure, which allows the allergic reaction to occur, causing hives. Sunlight exposure long enough in a person that develops these proteins can even cause anaphylaxis, a much more serious problem.

How Does Solar Urticaria Get Diagnosed?

A diagnosis is typically arrived at when the skin gets exposed to various light sources that are capable of producing different light spectrums, or wavelengths. A dermatologist will usually have this type of equipment to perform this test, whereas your family doctor will probably not. With some chronic solar hives, sunlight of the natural kind will be the only way to make a conclusive diagnosis.

How Is Solar Urticaria Treated

As you might suspect, there is one easy way to stop solar hives, sunlight avoidance. This isn’t very practical for most people and not necessarily healthy either. Everyone can benefit from moderate sunlight exposure.

Antihistamines will sometimes be helpful to ease the symptoms but is only a temporary fix, as are some of the topical steroid creams like hydrocortisone. Prednisone is used in really severe cases but all medicines should be avoided if possible.

A dermatologist can help you in a natural way with solar hives; sunlight desensitization is possible with controlled exposure periods. But you should not try this on your own as you may make the condition worse.

When people get hives, kidney disease is probably not the first thing that comes to mind as a cause. And while most people think of allergies as the most common cause of hives, a viral infection is at least as likely if not more so to be at the cause, especially for children with hives. Kidney disease or liver disease is certainly not rare though.

First Rule Out A Few Other Possible Causes Before Jumping To One Of The Metabolic Diseases

As a cause for hives, kidney disease should not be the first thing you look into. You should rule out some of these more common causes before you investigate a metabolic disease as the source of your hives outbreaks:

• As stated above, rule out viral infections first. Especially in children, be sure there is no recent illness like a urinary tract infection, strep throat, or even something as seemingly unrelated as athlete’s foot.
• Make sure there are not unusually high stress levels or chronic anxiety or depression problems. And don’t immediately rule it out. Most people’s hectic lives add more stress than they think. Stress is a common cause of both acute and chronic hives.
• Allergic reactions. Although only about five or ten percent of chronic hives are caused by allergies. And when they are, pet dander is a likely culprit.
• Chronic infections like hepatitis, bladder infections or stomach ulcers caused by bacteria can cause hives.

Metabolic Diseases Can In Fact Cause Hives, Kidney Disease and Liver Disease Chief among Them

A lot of patients worry that kidney or liver disease may be causing their hives. This is possible. Metabolic diseases are in fact a root cause of some cases of chronic hives. Thyroid function should also be checked.

But usually when a metabolic disease is suspected, it is eventually found to be an autoimmune disease instead. Autoimmune diseases or disorders happen when the immune system attacks a healthy organ or tissue thinking that it is foreign and unwelcome. There are over 75 different autoimmune disorders and if you have or suspect you have one of them you have likely found the cause of your chronic hives.

Many patients experience unexplained hives. Numbness and pain along with the hives is a combination commonly seen in a condition known as fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is often diagnosed by excluding other conditions but look at some of the other symptoms of fibromyalgia and if you experience a few more along with hives, numbness and pain, you may ask to be treated for “fibro” to see if the symptoms subside.

Besides Hives, Numbness And Pain, What Are Other Symptoms?

Pain is the most common symptom experienced by fibromyalgia sufferers. Many of the other symptoms just come and go often enough that the person never has a day where they feel good.

The pain is musculoskeletal pain and is often accompanied by fatigue. It can come and go, or be migratory as can the hives. Numbness or tingling sensations come and go in different areas as well as opposed to always being in the same place when caused by a pinched nerve or spinal condition.

Other symptoms may be grinding the teeth at night, tight or clenching jaw, headaches, sore throat that comes and goes, heart murmur, digestive problems, heartburn, reflux, and others. Not everyone experiences all of these nor do any of them mean fibromyalgia is the cause. But the one constant is the pain.  It is not unusual to have recurrent hives, numbness, and tingling.  But always the pain in one or many manifestations.

Why Is Pain Such a Constant with Fibromyalgia?

One popular theory is something referred to as Substance P. People with fibromyalgia have triple the amount of Substance P as normal people. This substance carries the pain stimuli to the brain. The brain can interpret pain incorrectly and therefore it responds incorrectly. What one person feels as an itch or tickle, the fibro patient will feel as pain. And to make matter worse, fibromyalgics often have more pain receptors in the brain which only magnifies this pain.

Due to a lack of stage 4 sleep, sometimes fibro patients don’t get enough natural muscle repairs that occur during this sleep stage. So the little muscle traumas that we all experienced are not repaired during sleep. This adds up over time and causes stiffness and pain. Obviously, exercise will usually aggravate pain in these patients so the normal advice of getting more exercise will not help much.

Why the Hives, Numbness Combination

Often an allergic reaction to a pain medication like codeine will cause hives, numbness being unrelated. There are many medicines that cause hives.

But it is not uncommon for fibromyalgia patients to get hives. Numbness, On the other hand is a very common symptom, second only to pain. So be sure to mention it to your doctor so he or she can factor it in to your diagnosis.

For a person treating hives, weight loss may become a real concern. Especially if you already have a weight problem or are obese, extra precautions should be taken be sure you start a hives weight loss program and not just a hives elimination program. Many of the medications used to treat hives will cause weight gain. And with hives, weight loss is even more important because packing on those extra pounds can actually decrease the chances for successfully treating the hives condition.

What Makes Hives Weight Loss So Difficult?

With hives, weight loss is made more difficult for the some of the following reasons:

• Most prescriptions given to treat hives will cause weight gain
• Stress and anxiety, which are common causes of hives, are also known to cause weight gain in many people.
• Some people with chronic hives become so self conscious about their hives and what other may think about it that they stay indoors and “hide”. Inactivity and boredom often lead to overeating.
• Most people with hives are too uncomfortable to exercise. The itchy condition tends to keep people from exercise.

What Can Make Hives Weight Loss Easy?

Conversely, some people with hives end up losing weight. They find out that their hives are a result of a reaction to a certain food so in an effort to get rid of the hives they stop eating almost everything. While this may be good for the hives, weight loss because of not eating is not very healthy. So beware of this opposite weight effect when dealing with your hives condition.

Be Careful How You Try To Lose Weight

A final word about the relationship between hives, weight loss, and weight gain. It can become a confusing vicious cycle of sorts. Some patients develop hives and begin to treat it. They find that they are putting on weight as a result of the treatment and decide to go on a diet. The diet turns into fasting or into only a raw food to get the stubborn pounds off faster. The hives get worse and they end up unhealthy and still with hives.

It has been documented that fasting can be a cause of hives. And any prolonged diet that consists of less than 1000 calories a day can also result in hives. It is not advisable under any case to fast or starve yourself in an attempt to rid yourself of hives. Look for another alternative way to treat the hives condition.

The relationship between hives, weight loss or gain, and diet is a complex and confusing one. It is one that should be explored with the help of a professional with a track record of results in treating hives.