For the treatment of hives, herbs can often be effective. They can be applied topically to the skin affected with urticaria. Herbs can also be ingested to treat the condition from within.

Treating Hives: Herbs That Work

A wide variety of herbs have helped to provide patients with relief from the discomfort, itching and stinging associated with hives. One of them is aloe vera, a succulent plant that is known for its wide applications in medicinal and cosmetic use. Aloe vera can be applied to the skin as a topical remedy. Its immediate effect is to reduce itching and irritation and to bring down inflammation. It can also be taken as a beverage for the treatment of hives. Herbs such as aloe vera are especially versatile as, in addition to acting on already existing hives, they help to prevent future episodes of hives. This they achieve by enhancing bodily immunity to allergens.

Curcumin is the bright yellow active ingredient in turmeric powder, which comes from the preparation of parts of the turmeric plant. When it is ingested, curcumin helps to reduce the body’s histamine levels. In this way, it helps to resolve the characteristic wheals of urticaria. Herbs like turmeric are easy to use as they work well whether they are ingested or made into a paste and applied to the skin topically.

Bromelain is an active ingredient that is found in the stem and juice of the pineapple plant. It consists of proteolytic enzymes, which essentially digest proteins. Bromelain is especially popular for its anti-inflammatory properties. When used, it minimizes the inflammation and irritation associated with hives. It can be applied topically to the wheals, or it can be taken by mouth. However, for maximum effect, it is advisable to use it topically.

The leaves and bark of the red alder tree also make an effective remedy for hives. One should make them into a tea and subsequently use the tea topically and take it orally as well. The hives will clear quickly.

As for the leaves of the black nightshade, they are used differently. One must not ingest the preparation made from them, nor should it be allowed to get into contact with the eyes. The leaves should, instead, be made into a poultice, which can then be applied to the hives. The poultice provides relief from the inflammation and irritation of urticaria.

In the Treatment of Urticaria, Herbs Should Be Used With Caution

Care must be taken when using herbs to treat hives. Herbs can be as potent as pharmaceutical drugs. Some of them should not be used by patients who have conditions like high blood pressure. Yet others may have negative side effects if used for too long or may prove poisonous if used the wrong way. Thus, in the treatment of urticaria, herbs should be used under the supervision of a qualified professional.

For those who are interested in learning more about urticaria, news reports can be instructive. On occasion, online news articles discuss incidents involving unusual manifestations of hives. News of this nature can be enlightening for a hives patient or even for a medical student, because it describes some of the symptoms of hives in a manner that is impossible to forget.

Urticaria News Article on Skin Writing Artist

One example that comes to mind is a brief piece describing a hives artist. This artist essentially uses her hives symptoms to produce breathtaking artwork. She is a woman with a form of hives called dermatographic urticaria or skin writing.

In this form of hives, the exertion of pressure on the skin results in the formation of a welt on the area of skin where the pressure was applied. Thus, if a dime is pressed onto the sensitive skin, a dime-shaped welt will appear on it shortly thereafter.  Likewise, if one uses a finger to trace the letter A onto the skin, then an A-shaped welt will subsequently appear on the skin. It is not unusual that an artist with dermatographic urticaria would use her skin as a canvas of sorts for calligraphic welts. Nor is it surprising that her story would make it into an urticaria news article.

The welts last only 30 or so minutes, but that is long enough to take pictures and immortalize the hives. News articles on this artist, together with pictures of her art would undoubtedly appeal to creative people everywhere.

Dermatographic urticaria is actually a very common form of hives. The sensitivity to pressure tends to be triggered by allergens, but can also be attributed to the diet. It often occurs in people in their teens, early twenties and middle age. The duration of the condition can be as short as a few months or as long as a few decades.

Hives News Article on Rapidly-Aging Woman

There are other curious manifestations of urticaria. News articles have focused a lot on the case of a 27-year old Vietnamese woman who seems to have aged prematurely. The diagnosis, finally announced by specialist doctors, is chronic autoimmune urticaria, likely complicated by the use of corticosteroids and traditional forms of medicine. For the woman, who has suffered from the condition from the age of 12, it is probably a relief to find out that she has a well-known condition- hives. News of the diagnosis will hopefully help to dispel the social stigma she has experienced.

Over years, the field of medicine has been able to determine what some of the common causes of hives or urticaria are. It is important to note that many of these factors do not ordinarily provoke hives in most people. Hence, it is implied that the people who develop hives when exposed to them are often already hypersensitized.

This article does not look into what causes the hypersensitization in the first place but, rather, at the factors that trigger the hypersensitized person to develop hives. The factors in question vary significantly, but they ultimately provoke similar processes within the body: they trigger the release of the chemical histamine in the skin by special cells called mast cells. This, in turn, causes plasma to leak from the tiny blood vessels nearby, resulting in the development of the characteristic swelling in the skin.

Common Causes of Hives and the Associated Varieties of Urticaria

Each of the common causes of hives is typically associated with a particular variety of hives or urticaria. Acute urticaria, named thus because it lasts less than 6 weeks, typically develops as a response to various substances, including foods, medicines and the toxins from insect bites. Some infections, for instance underlying viral infections, also trigger acute urticaria.

Fresh foods like milk, nuts, shellfish, eggs, berries and tomatoes are common causes of hives in those who are allergic to them. Cooked foods do the same to a lesser extent. Processed food products, including chocolate, preservatives and additives can also trigger hives. As for medications, these can also trigger hives when they are relatively new additions to the patient’s regimen. They are typically medications that provoke the mast cells to release histamine. Examples include ACE inhibitors (for high blood pressure), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen) and opiates (like codeine and morphine).

Chronic urticaria, which lasts longer than 6 weeks, is mostly “idiopathic”. This is to say medical practitioners are unable to determine what caused it even after they have considered all the common causes of hives to which the patient has been exposed. Sometimes they eventually determine the cause. When that happens, the urticaria can no longer be considered idiopathic. In a minority of cases, chronic urticaria has readily determinable causes. These include cases of physical urticaria, which is triggered by physical stimuli like pressure, water, cold, sweat, heat, sunlight and exercise. Dermatographism is the form of physical urticaria that results wherever one exerts pressure on the skin.

At least one study has demonstrated the existence of a link between hives and thyroid disease. Some examples of thyroid diseases are Grave’s disease and Hashimoto’s disease (which is a form of hypothyroidism). These conditions are autoimmune diseases. Hence, as they progress, they influence the body to produce antibodies that attack the body’s own organs.

The study mentioned above was focused on 99 patients who had chronic hives. The control group in this study consisted of healthy individuals who were hives-free. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency with which the patients who had hives tested positive for thyroid autoantibodies (that is antibodies that the body produced against itself) when compared to the control group of hives-free people.

The results were unambiguous. They showed that the association between chronic hives and thyroid disease was statistically significant. In other words, the study supported the idea that some cases of hives were triggered by thyroid disease. For the study, testing for autoantibodies was a more reliable indicator of thyroid disease than thyroid function tests would have been.

Thyroid Disease, Hives and the Connection between Them

Thyroid disease is a term that refers to a range of disorders that affect the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is one of the largest endocrine glands; it plays a key role in many metabolic processes by virtue of the thyroid hormones that it produces and secretes. These hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine, influence the speed with which the body uses up energy and manufactures proteins, and also impact the body’s ability to respond to other hormones. Thus, it should not be surprising that disorders of the thyroid gland have the capacity to affect many different organ systems and organs, including the skin.

In addition to the study mentioned at the beginning of this article, a number of studies have been done on the association between chronic hives and thyroid disease. The results of these studies confirm the existence of a significant association between hives and thyroid disease. Furthermore, they suggest a stronger association between Hashimoto’s disease and hives than between Grave’s disease and hives.

The patients in these studies who tested positive for autoantibodies also had severe chronic hives, but they often had no other symptoms that could be associated with thyroid disease. When these patients’ were treated for thyroid disease, their hives improved; when the thyroid disease treatment was interrupted, their hives resumed. This simple intervention made it clear that their thyroid disease and hives symptoms were directly related.

Getting treatment for one’s hives illness can be easier said than done. This is because, while hives are sometimes triggered by identifiable factors, other times they are idiopathic in nature. This is to say that the factors that trigger these latter cases of hives are indeterminable. For this reason, patients who experience them can continue to expose themselves to the “anonymous” triggers and, thus, keep developing bouts of hives.

Sometimes a bacterial infection can trigger the development of hives. Illness of this form can be alarming because it combines the symptoms of the bacterial infection with the ugly wheals characteristic of hives. If the patient has no prior experience of hives, then the combination of the symptoms can be frightening. For such a patient, it would be a relief to learn that the hives constituted a temporary condition that would clear up as soon as the bacterial infection was dealt with. Antibiotic treatment would leave this patient feeling as good as new.

Why Hives Illness Is Likely To Recur In Some People

Patients whose hives were regularly triggered by allergens in the food they ate or by pet dander or insect bites could learn to stave off the development of hives illness by taking antihistamines whenever they presented with urticaria. Of course it would be far better for them to avoid developing the hives in the first place, and this they could do by steering clear of those allergens. However, it is not always possible to account for the ingredients that go into the food one eats: sometimes, the ingredient information given for pre-packaged foods is not completely accurate.

As for insect bites, one cannot always prevent them from happening; after all, insects have minds of their own. Pet dander can only be avoided by those who don’t leave their own homes. Given the ubiquity of many allergens, some sufferers of hives will be exposed to their hives triggers on a regular basis. Thus, any hopes for an absolute end to their hives illness will not come to fruition.

Treating hives can be difficult for additional reasons. One of these is the ineffectiveness of some of the medications typically used to treat hives. Corticosteroids, for instance, appear to work well when first taken. But one week after the treatment is stopped, the hives often resurface. It is not possible to resume the corticosteroid treatment every time this happens as these medications have negative side effects when used for a long time.

The synonymous terms “urticaria syndrome” and “hives syndrome” are potentially confusing. It may not be immediately apparent to the layperson what they mean. The first step towards understanding the terms involves looking up the definition of the word “syndrome.”

A syndrome refers to a group of symptoms that occur simultaneously. It often suggests that one has a certain disease or is likely to develop that disease. However, a syndrome is not always related to a specific disease. Some syndromes can be indicative of a number of different diseases. Other syndromes have absolutely nothing to do with disease. Yet other syndromes have no identifiable physical cause.

Diseases, on the other hand, are abnormal conditions that involve the impairment of function in an organism, and have readily identifiable causes. Diseases may be inherited, or they may result from environmental poisoning, infection or dietary deficiency.

Various conditions in which hives manifest as prominent symptoms are referred to as urticaria syndromes. Some examples include the five cold urticaria syndromes: idiopathic cold urticaria, secondary forms of cold urticaria (for instance cryolubulinemia and cold hemolysis), delayed cold urticaria, localized cold urticaria and localized cold reflex urticaria.

Contact Urticaria Syndrome

Another example of a hives syndrome is contact urticaria syndrome or CUS, which was first given this name in 1975. The factors that trigger this syndrome include metals, preservatives, foods and plant and animal products. This condition can be difficult to diagnose when the patient also has hand eczema as they can both be triggered in similar contexts (for instance, the healthcare workplace, where latex gloves abound).

When one has CUS, the irritation usually shows up on the skin within a period of a few minutes to one hour after exposure to the triggering factor. Knowledge of this fact might help the patient figure out what the likely triggering factor is.

The symptoms of CUS are similar to the symptoms that one encounters with other urticaria syndromes. They include an itching or burning sensation as well as the reddish bumps known as wheals. A number of CUS patients are able to identify the triggering factor because of the limited amount of time that passes between their exposure to it and their development of the symptoms.

Familial Cold Urticaria Syndrome

Familial cold urticaria syndrome is yet another hives syndrome. It is an autosomal dominant condition. This means that it is genetically transmitted and the patient needs only one copy of the altered gene from one affected parent for the condition to manifest. The symptoms include joint pain, fever and a rash on the skin whenever one is exposed to cold temperatures. It is evident for much of the patient’s life, usually beginning in infancy and continuing henceforth.

Living with urticaria of the acute variety is, at most, a six week-long ordeal (but typically shorter). Living with hives of the chronic variety is another story.

Acute urticaria is often triggered by allergens or by viral infections. If the trigger is an allergen, it is possible for an allergy specialist to determine what it is by questioning the person with the symptoms and doing some tests. As for viral infections, it is often possible to recognize these by their associated symptoms.

When the trigger is identifiable, the patient can take steps to avoid or remove the trigger henceforth. Thus, the prospect of living with urticaria can be kept at bay. Sometimes, doing this is not even necessary: hives can resolve in a few hours or days, bringing an end to the itching, discomfort and wheals without any need for intervention.

Chronic hives are often idiopathic. This means that medical professionals are frequently unable to determine what the trigger of this form of hives is. Because they can last for years, the person living with hives of this form has to face the possibility that the symptoms will become a permanent part of his or her daily existence. The challenge for this patient is to figure out how to live a productive life, even with chronic hives.

The Impact of Medication on Those Living with Urticaria

Antihistamines are a popular treatment among sufferers of urticaria, especially now that non-sedating or low-sedating forms have been developed. Patients who use these antihistamines don’t have to worry about drowsiness. Thus, unlike hives patients who rely on soporific antihistamines, they can live their lives productively.

Medications that address the itching and wheals may make living with urticaria manageable. But that does not mean that they cure the condition. A person could easily spend decades suffering from hives and appearing to recover from them, only to succumb again. The oral corticosteroids that some patients take to treat the most severe forms of chronic hives help control the symptoms, but when taken for a long time they can weaken the immune system.

Some patients who use these corticosteroids are pleased with the results when they first use them. The hives clear up quickly, leaving no scars behind. However, a short while after the patient takes the last dose of the medication, the stubborn symptoms return. This means that the patient living with hives may have no choice but to continue taking potentially harmful medications indefinitely.

Urticaria testing is one of the important steps that specialists take in their efforts to diagnose and treat hives. When hives testing is successful, the trigger of the condition can be determined and the appropriate form of treatment started. This is more desirable than dealing with chronic idiopathic hives, for which a trigger is undeterminable.

When a patient first consults an allergist/ immunologist about ongoing hives, a number of steps follow. The specialist asks the patient questions about the condition, examines the patient and then requests that, for the duration of the urticaria, the patient should keep a diary of activities, foods and drinks taken and of medications, supplements and herbs used. The diary should also indicate when the hives appear, on which body parts they appear, and how long they last. Subsequently, depending on what the specialist surmises from the consultation, he or she will order urticaria testing for the patient.

Different Approaches to Urticaria Testing

Hives testing could include blood tests to help the doctor determine the levels of specific components of the blood. X-rays may also be ordered, as well as urine tests. The doctor may order allergy skin testing. In the case of suspected vasculitis, a skin biopsy is more typical. The doctor can also order special tests to rule out health conditions like hepatitis and thyroid disease, which have been known to trigger or exacerbate hives.

For suspected food allergies, the doctor may order one of two tests. One, the elimination diet, involves the patient avoiding the food that might be responsible for triggering the hives. If the symptoms go away, only to return when the patient eats that food again, then the trigger has been identified. The test can extend from 2 weeks to 2 months.

The second possible test is the oral food allergy challenge. In this test, the patient ingests a variety of foods while the doctor observes for reactions. This is a good way to diagnose food allergies, but it comes with a risk. If the patient develops an adverse allergic reaction, then symptoms like anaphylaxis could ensue. It is for this reason that the test is carried out under a doctor’s observation.

At any given moment, a doctor’s decisions about hives testing will depend on the circumstances surrounding the hives. A patient in anaphylactic shock will require immediate evaluation to determine the trigger. A patient with mild urticaria, on the other hand, can follow the slower route described in the previous paragraphs.

In a significant number of cases, medical professionals have shown the development of hives and viruses to be linked. Acute hives are thought to frequently be indicative of viral infection, predominantly in children, and to a certain extent in adults. In children, the infections in question are typically benign viral infections of the digestive system and of the upper respiratory system.

It is no accident that, in certain seasons, the incidence of both hives and viruses in the population rises: this is the case with viral infections like influenza, rhinoviruses and adenoviruses. Not surprisingly, the incidence of hives falls with the successful treatment of such viral infections. Flu vaccinations, which essentially contain weakened forms of the flu virus, have been known to trigger hives. Viruses are, thus, clearly an important part of the hives story.

Some of the other viruses that cause hives include Hepatitis A and B, various enteroviruses, parvovirus B19 and norovirus. Making sense of the immunological mechanisms that viral infections set into motion would greatly advance our present understanding of urticaria and its manifestations.

Cold urticaria is one form of acute urticaria. Most instances of cold urticaria are characterized as idiopathic but a connection has been established between 5% of the instances of this form of hives and viruses. The viral infections that have been associated with cold urticaria include measles, hepatitis, HIV, mononucleosis and varicella. As for chronic urticaria, its incidence has been tied to gastrointestinal infections as well as dental and ENT (ear, nose and throat) infections.

The Combined Impact of Hives and Viruses

Some of the viral infections that trigger hives are benign. Thus the body’s immune system is able to overcome them. The hives are a manifestation of the immune system’s efforts to combat the infection. In such cases, the most prominent symptom of the infection might be a mild fever, which passes quickly enough. The infection can be so mild that the individual experiencing it does not bother consulting a medical professional for it. However, he or she might seek medical assistance for the hives. Once the hives are over, the individual can go back to life as usual.

Some of the viruses that trigger hives are life-threatening, though. These demand sustained medical attention, especially since they can wreak havoc on the immune system. One such viral infection is HIV. In the cases characterized by this kind of infection, the hives and viruses together can exact a heavy toll on the individual’s body.

Hives information is relatively easy to get hold of on the internet. In addition, one can readily find other sources of urticaria information offline. Thus, there is no shortage of resources for sufferers of hives who want to learn more about their condition.

When searching for information on hives, it is important to determine the credibility of the different sources at one’s disposal. The most credible sources tend to be those authored or at least reviewed by medical professionals. Thus, medical textbooks are ideal, as are peer-reviewed medical journals. On the internet, sites authored or reviewed by medical professionals are also of good quality.

A good number of hives resources approach urticaria from the standpoint of alternative medicine. It would be problematic to dismiss these simply because they were based on a different medical philosophy from conventional Western medicine. One would be better off trying to determine their credibility by seeing how they were rated by hives patients and by practitioners of alternative medicine. Information about hives is not the preserve of Western science. Keeping an open mind and considering what other medical traditions had to offer would likely expose one to a wealth of hives information.

Understanding Hives: Information Is Power

There is no guarantee that all urticaria information encountered in credible sources online and offline will lead to a cure. This is because hives is a complex condition whose progression can vary considerably from person to person.

The triggers of hives can be drastically different in two people. Hives’ triggers can include food items like milk, shellfish, berries, and chocolate, as well as food additives and preservatives. They can also include medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opiates and ACE inhibitors and physical stimuli like water, sweat, heat, exercise, sunlight, pressure and cold.

The durations of hives episodes also vary considerably from person to person. For instance, hives can be a short-lived condition that is quickly resolved without the need for medical intervention. Alternatively, it can be a chronic condition that persists for years with little relief.

All of the above possibilities make it clear just how complex a condition hives is, even when one has access to volumes of medical information. Hives sufferers are advised to learn as much as they can about the condition as doing so empowers them to be more involved in their own treatment. They feel less intimidated in interactions with their doctors and are able to make medical decisions from informed positions.