Hives can affect all sub-sections of the population: the elderly, men, women and children (including infants). Thus, hives in women are not cause for surprise.

Hives In Women and the Rest of the Population- Possible Genetic and Environmental Factors

It is worthwhile thinking about the degree to which age-specific or gender-specific factors might contribute to the development of hives in a particular sub-section of the population. One way of going about this would be to look at the form of hives that was prevalent. For example, more women than men are stricken by chronic urticaria. This might point to the involvement of hormones in the progression of a good number of cases of chronic urticaria.

Alternatively, it might suggest that women are more frequently exposed than men to environmental factors that trigger chronic hives. Whatever the case, chronic hives in women and men alike are often idiopathic. Thus, it would be difficult, if at all possible, to prove the gender-specificity of the triggers of chronic hives.

Another way to figure out what age-specific or gender specific factors contributed to the development of hives would be to focus on the prevalence of certain hives triggers within each subsection of the population. For instance, among infants, viral infections would likely be found to contribute to a large number of cases of acute hives. Does this suggest that infants are exposed to a larger number of viruses than other age-groups? This is not likely. It might, however, suggest that infants’ immune systems are not as finely-tuned as those of adults.

It must also be recognized that, through breast milk, breastfeeding infants are exposed to some of the same factors as their mothers. These factors may cause the infants to develop hives. In women, specifically their mothers, these factors might cause no symptoms, but the babies are likely to have much more sensitive bodily systems.

It is also important to consider the contribution of nutrition to the distribution of hives among different population groups. Some cultures may have different dietary practices for different age groups and genders. Infants tend to be fed simple, easy-to-digest plant-based foods through the weaning process. As they grow older, harder-to-digest foods may become a part of their diet. Some cultures have dietary restrictions and taboos that result in the avoidance of foods that frequently act as allergens. For instance, in cultures that don’t allow women to eat eggs, allergic hives in women will be less likely than allergic hives in men to be triggered by eggs.

The urticaria (hives) skin condition is relatively common. For this reason, it is not difficult to find information about it on the internet.

Hives typically present as wheals: smooth, flat-topped, reddish bumps on the skin. They may be accompanied by itchiness, stinging, tingling or a burning sensation. Hives often stay in one location for a short while before vanishing and then ultimately appearing elsewhere. They do not usually leave scars behind.

In addition, they do not have the capacity to become life-threatening unless they are complicated by angioedema and result in anaphylaxis, a deadly medical condition. Hives and anaphylaxis make for a frightening experience. If the anaphylaxis is not addressed immediately, it can lead to severe injury or death.

The nature of hives varies according to the circumstances. To give an example, hives can be triggered by an autoimmune disease, in which case, they might be thought of as a symptom of this medical condition. Hives can, conversely, be thought of as constituting a distinct autoimmune condition. In this latter situation, hives are more than just a skin condition: hives are, rather, a disease that is characterized by the dysfunction of the immune system.

Hives can also be triggered by various bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections. The hives condition of a patient suffering from one of these infections can typically be resolved with the infection’s successful treatment. These infections often affect the digestive system, the upper respiratory system, the dental area and the ENT area. Thus, a patient suffering from one of them experiences additional discomfort to the urticaria skin condition.

The Presentation and Treatment of the Urticaria Skin Condition

The hives skin condition can present in different ways. In some cases, the hives appear solely at the site of contact between the skin and the factor that triggers them. This form of hives is referred to as contact urticaria. When it develops in response to a latex glove, it is the patient’s hand that gets covered in wheals. When it is makeup that triggers the hives, it is the patient’s face that develops the localized hives.

Hives can also present as a generalized skin condition. Hives of this kind can appear anywhere on the body, especially on parts of the body that have not been exposed to the triggering factor. One might develop this form of hives in response to an allergen like ingested food.

Various medications can be taken to manage the symptoms of hives. They include topical creams for the itching skin, antihistamines to prevent the action of the skin’s mast cells, and steroids for the inflammation.

Hives in infants consist of reddish welts of different shapes and sizes. As in other age groups, urticaria in infants often lasts a few hours or days at a time- this form of the condition is called acute urticaria. By contrast, chronic urticaria lasts for periods of time longer than six weeks.

It is not unusual for first time parents to be alarmed when they are first introduced to hives in infants. Pictures of the condition reveal swollen areas on the skin, sometimes on the entire body. On an infant’s small, vulnerable body, these might look especially tender or painful. However, infants often experience hives as nothing more than a minor discomfort. If these hives are not accompanied by angioedema or other health complications, then all the parent has to worry about is helping the baby find relief from the itchiness.

Hives (Urticaria) in Infants: Some Triggers

The triggers or causes of hives in infants vary. They include viral infections like the common cold and influenza. Hives in infants also develop in response to the ingestion of particular foods, including milk. This is particularly important because infants’ primary food tends to be milk. The milk in question could be one of various formulas developed for feeding infants. If infants develop an allergy to, say, the soya protein in the formulated milk, then radical changes have to be made to their diets.

Contact allergens have also been known to trigger urticaria in infants, as have medications like antibiotics. In yet other cases, infants develop physical urticaria in response to environmental stimuli like temperature: a baby may develop hives when it feels extremely cold.

Some Remedies for Hives (Urticaria) in Infants

There are various approaches to relieving the discomfort caused by hives in infants. One may use cold compresses on the affected area or bathe the infant in lukewarm water with baking soda added to it. Other home remedies for hives include calamine lotion, aloe vera pulp and milk of magnesia. Each of these provides relief when applied directly to the affected skin. Likewise, sandalwood oil is soothing when applied to the skin. In addition to these home remedies, one should make a point of dressing infants in clothing that fits loosely in the affected areas. This will help minimize the discomfort felt by the hives-stricken infants. It could also help prevent the development of more hives: in some cases, hives is triggered by pressure and sweating, both of which are likely when babies’ clothing fits too snugly.

Like older children, newborns are susceptible to allergies. Hives in newborns are not unheard of. Nor are other skin conditions that are readily recognized as allergic responses. Newborns can also experience the digestive problems and cold-like symptoms that are characteristic of some forms of allergy.

The factors that cause hives and other allergic responses in newborns vary. They can include pet dander, certain types of fabric, certain foods and other substances or situations. Hives in newborns can be a response to a contact allergen. The allergen in question could be something like soap or some other skin care product used on the baby’s skin, the detergent used to wash the baby’s clothes, any medication that the baby happens to be on or an insect bite.

If the allergen is one of the chemical components of a skin care product, then it is important to stop using that product and to substitute it with a mild or hypoallergenic product. If the baby’s caregiver knows what the chemical that triggers the allergic response is, making sure that it is not a constituent ingredient of the mild or hypoallergenic product is the responsible thing to do.

The Presentation of Hives in Newborns

The presentation of hives in newborns under the above circumstances typically begins with the sudden appearance of the hives. If the allergen has been removed, the hives remain visible for a period of time lasting from a quarter of an hour to a few hours and then they ultimately disappear. If the child is not exposed to the allergen again, then the hives are not likely to recur. However, if the newborn continues to encounter the allergen, then the hives will appear again and again.

How to Respond to Hives in Newborns

Caregivers can take a few steps to deal with hives in newborns when they do occur. First of all, when the characteristic rash and inflammation first become apparent, if the baby seems comfortable, then there may be no need for alarm. However, if the newborn has symptoms like vomiting or experiences difficulty breathing, he or she should be taken to the emergency room at once. In either case, the caregiver should make an effort to determine what might have caused the hives. This will likely involve making a list of the substances the newborn was exposed to before they developed and then consulting an allergist. It is important to discuss the hives with the newborn’s doctor as the baby might be reacting to medication or to something in the mother’s milk.

Hives can be triggered by various factors. These include allergens such as medical drugs, to which a patient’s body responds by breaking out in hives (urticaria). Side effects of various drugs, as listed on drug information websites, include allergic responses such as hives.

Examples of antibiotic drugs that have been known to trigger allergic hives in some patients are Amoxicillin, a penicillin antibiotic drug, and Minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic drug. These drugs have the capacity to trigger more than just hives. Side effects that result from their use have included both hives and angioedema, which, in their most extreme form, can send patients into anaphylactic shock.

The symptoms associated with anaphylaxis include hives, itchiness, labored breathing, swelling of the face, lips and tongue, and a tight chest. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition. Hence, when patients experience it, they should seek emergency medical care, which will entail the administration of epinephrine.

The above paragraph describes the most appropriate way to address these extreme Minocycline side effects. Hives can be treated afterwards by changing the antibiotic prescription and applying a topical cream to the wheals. Of course, the same applies when one is dealing with Amoxicillin side effects: Hives left over after the anaphylaxis has been addressed can be treated with topical cream or other hives remedies.

The Side Effects of Hives Medication

If there is anything to be learnt from the foregoing paragraphs, it is that the medications so often taken to provide relief from ill health can result in adverse side effects like urticaria. Side effects of this kind can range from mildly uncomfortable conditions to life-threatening ones.

In the same way that antibiotics like Minocycline and Amoxicillin can trigger hives, the corticosteroids taken to relieve the inflammation of hives can provoke their own set of side effects. The side effects of hives medication, and more specifically of corticosteroids, are serious: These medications suppress the immune system, thus increasing one’s vulnerability to infection.

Ultimately, all medication comes with side effects. Some people just happen to respond better than others. Hence, as long as medication is necessary for the treatment of a given condition, it is not possible to eliminate all side effects.

However, there are steps that one can take to reduce the damage or suffering brought on by medication: It is important to use medication only when necessary and as prescribed by one’s doctor. Any problems that develop along the way should be shared with the doctor immediately. He or she will be best placed to make changes to the dosage or to prescribe an alternative form of treatment.

It would be difficult to come up with a single set of criteria to describe people with hives. This is because hives strikes people of all age groups, genders, nationalities and income levels. Furthermore, hives can be triggered by a wide range of factors: While one person might develop hives in association with a hepatitis infection, another might develop hives in response to the application of pressure on the skin.

Much of the time, medical professionals speak of treating hives and not of curing it. It is also more common for them to speak of hives’ triggers than to speak of its causes. There seems to be an underlying recognition that there is more to the pathology of hives than medical science has been able to uncover. In fact, a large proportion of hives cases are labeled idiopathic because medical professionals are humble enough to admit that they cannot always identify the triggers of hives.

The Frustrations of People with Hives

Sometimes this state of affairs frustrates people with hives. This is especially the case when they have to endure chronic hives for months or years at a time. Hives ordinarily cause mild discomfort, but when they last for months and months, they can wear down even the most patient of people. Furthermore, people with hives of this type can develop complications either because of or despite the treatments they are undergoing. These complications vary considerably. They can lead to pain and incapacitation and might even compromise the immune system.

Worrying about these kinds of complications places a burden on the shoulders of people with hives. Constant worry leads to stress, which can actually exacerbate their hives: The form of hives known as cholinergic hives has been associated with severe stress.

Hives’ complications are not the only cause for worry in patients. Some patients worry because they have no idea what factors might have triggered their hives. Furthermore, they do not know if they will ever find permanent relief from the condition. Often, their best bet is to turn to those who have had similar experiences and to learn from them. Various discussion boards and forums afford them this opportunity.

Belonging to communities of people who have endured similar challenges gives a boost to the morale of many hives patients. They take comfort in the knowledge that they are not alone in their suffering. Additionally, they can learn about alternative approaches to treating hives that just might work for them.

There is a definite association between hives and various autoimmune conditions. Thus, it makes sense to refer to these conditions as autoimmune and hives-associated conditions.

Autoimmune and hives-associated conditions include diseases like Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s disease, lupus and multiple sclerosis. These are all diseases that have been noted to occur simultaneously with hives in certain patients. In the case of the first two, there is scientific evidence to suggest that chronic hives are significantly associated with autoimmune thyroid disease. This evidence is derived from a study in which patients with chronic hives were found to be more likely to test positive for thyroid autoantibodies than were members of the healthy, hives-free control group.

Thyroid antibodies are those antibodies produced by one’s immune system to attack the body during a spell of autoimmune thyroid disease. Thus, the results of the above study showed that patients who experienced chronic hives were also likely to have an autoimmune thyroid disease like Grave’s disease or Hashimoto’s disease. From this, one could speculate that thyroid disease played a role in triggering hives.

Hives and autoimmune diseases alike can be cause for uncertainty in the field of medical science. Chronic hives are often considered idiopathic, as are autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. Additionally, the exact mechanisms behind different forms of hives and various autoimmune diseases remain mysterious. Thus, the exact relationship between chronic hives and autoimmunity can be understood in different ways.

About Autoimmune Hives

As far as autoimmunity is concerned, one could speculate that there are two forms of urticaria: hives that are themselves autoimmune, and hives that manifest as symptoms of another autoimmune disorder. The former constitute a primary autoimmune disorder and have consequently been christened “autoimmune hives”. Autoimmune hives are thought to result from an overactive immune system. The ASST (autologous serum skin test) is used in their diagnosis. To carry it out, a sample of the patient’s blood is taken. Using a centrifuge, the serum is separated from the rest of the blood’s components. If the subsequent injection of the serum back into the patient’s arm triggers hives, then it is safe to say that the patient has tested positive for an autoimmune disease: hives of the autoimmune variety.

Determining who is likely to develop autoimmune hives (or any autoimmune disease for that matter) is sometimes possible. One high risk group includes people with a family history of diseases that are considered autoimmune, and hives can certainly be placed into that category, alongside rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions. People who have had some physical trauma within the previous six months are also at high risk. A traumatic event like an accident, infection or surgery can also push the immune system over the edge, rendering it overactive.

Hives present distinctly, with raised reddish bumps known as wheals on the skin. Getting help with hives often entails managing these wheals. However, since hives are triggered by a variety of factors, treatment can also involve taking steps to prevent the triggering mechanisms.

The factors that have been implicated in triggering hives include various physical stimuli, severe stress, viral and bacterial infections and allergens. The allergens could include food items like chocolate, eggs and shellfish and non-nutritional factors like pet dander and bee stings. Hives patients who avoid the triggers to which they are sensitive are well on the way to reducing the frequency with which they succumb to hives.

Sometimes consciously avoiding the triggers of hives is not enough. This is because people can be exposed to hives triggers without their knowledge. A man might inadvertently eat food to which he was allergic because the friend hosting him forgot to disclose its ingredients in full. Similarly, a woman allergic to cats might be exposed to pet dander when she walks into a room that a cat inhabited until recently.

For both of these individuals, educating the individuals around them about their allergies is important. However, this does not always work. Hence, it is important for them to have the appropriate medication on hand in case all else fails and they need help with hives. Many people have actually saved their lives by doing this: hives patients who typically develop severe allergic responses to peanuts and bee stings, for instance, make a point of carrying their epinephrine injections with them wherever they go. If they start to go into anaphylactic shock when exposed to allergens, the immediate injection of this epinephrine can save their lives.

Help With Hives’ Symptoms

As is indicated above, the treatment of hives largely involves the management of symptoms. Various kinds of medication are taken to help with hives in this way. They include antihistamines, some of which cause considerable drowsiness. Corticosteroids also help with hives, but only in the short term. Their long-term use results in the development of negative side effects. Additionally, patients’ resistance to infection may be compromised. A further complication associated with the long-term use of corticosteroids is that, once the treatment ends, it takes the body a long time to adjust to functioning without it.

The use of topical treatment for hives is also typical. The creams used can be obtained over the counter. They tend to work by numbing the nerve endings, thus providing significant relief from the itching.

According to medical science, there is a range of diseases that cause hives. These include diseases resulting from viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections. They also include a variety of autoimmune diseases. Hives is a complex condition that is likely triggered by a variety of mechanisms. This might explain why such vastly different factors as the diseases mentioned above, allergens and physical stimuli can all provoke the development of hives in different individuals.

Viral diseases are among the prevalent hives diseases in infants. Influenza and other viral infections have been known to trigger acute hives. In many cases, the hives manifest when the viral infections have almost run their course. Thus, the child presenting with the alarming symptoms of reddish wheals on the skin could easily be over the worst of the viral infection. Babies’ immune systems are still at the developmental stage; hence, it isn’t a surprise that they show some vulnerability to hives. However, as time goes by and the babies’ immune systems strengthen, one can expect the prevalence of this form of hives to decrease.

Among adults, viral infections have been linked to both acute hives and chronic hives. These viral infections are often located in the digestive system, the upper respiratory system, the ENT region and the dental region. They include rhinoviruses, the flu and adenoviruses. When hives patients with these viral infections have been treated successfully for the infections, their hives have disappeared. This could lead some to classify the conditions resulting from these infections as diseases that cause hives.

Bacterial Diseases That Cause Hives

Similar findings apply in the case of various bacterial infections. When patients with hives have also been shown to have bacterial infections, specifically helicobacter pylori, the successful treatment of their infections has coincided with the complete cure of their hives. One could, therefore, understand the temptation to classify the bacterial diseases in question as diseases that cause hives.

Autoimmune Diseases That Cause Hives

Some autoimmune diseases have been linked to hives in various studies. They include lupus and autoimmune thyroid disorders like Hashimoto’s disease and Grave’s disease.

After patients with chronic hives were shown to also test positive for thyroid autoantibodies, they were treated for autoimmune thyroid disorder. It was noteworthy that the successful treatment of the disorder was accompanied by the resolution of their hives. In these studies, the statistical significance of the association between chronic hives and autoimmune thyroid disease was established. This suggests that research on the mechanisms by which hives develop might ultimately identify autoimmune diseases as diseases that cause hives.

Hives (urticaria) in adults are triggered by some of the same factors that trigger hives in children and teenagers. Among these triggers or causes of hives in adults are allergic reactions. Adults may have allergies to such substances as medication, food, preservatives and pet dander. In allergic responses to these triggers (either from ingesting or touching the allergens), these adults develop hives on their skin within any amount of time between a few minutes and a few hours.

Allergic hives typically present as acute hives. As long as one is able to remove the allergen from his or her environment, the hives symptoms ultimately resolve and do not recur. If one should fail to identify the substance, then it is possible to be exposed to it again and again, resulting in hives episodes without relief. This could easily happen with a substance like food coloring or a food preservative. Most people are unaware that they ingest these substances when they eat processed foods. Hence, they are not likely to know which foods contain them or that they are repeatedly exposing themselves to allergens.

Autoimmune disease is another cause of hives in adults. Various autoimmune disorders, including lupus and thyroid disease, are associated with outbreaks of chronic hives. Some studies on the connection between hives and thyroid disease have shown greater prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies among patients with hives. Upon treatment for thyroid disease, these patients’ hives have cleared. The studies, therefore, indicate a definite connection between autoimmune disease and the development of hives, even though the mechanisms behind such a connection remain largely mysterious.

Stress and Infection as Triggers of Hives in Adults

Stress is yet another common trigger of hives in adults. This should not come as a surprise, given the high levels of stress endured by adults at their places of work and in other aspects of life. Younger age groups do experience stress. However, children tend to be shielded from the extremes of stress by the adults in their lives.

When urticaria in adults is associated with stress, it tends to present as a chronic condition. If the stress is not addressed, then the urticaria endures. In addition, chronic stress weakens the immune system, increasing patients’ vulnerability to infection and to psoriasis, an autoimmune disease which manifests as a skin condition.

Various infections, including viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections can also be considered reasons for hives in adults. These infections vary. They may include urinary tract infections, infections of the gastrointestinal tract, ENT infections, upper respiratory tract infections and infections of the dental area. When these infections are successfully treated, the associated hives vanish, indicating that there is a connection between infection and the prevalence of hives.