There are a number of factors that are described as triggering hives, and liver disease (specifically hepatitis B) is one of them. Hepatitis B is an infectious viral disease. The virus that is responsible for causing it is named, simply, hepatitis B virus or HBV. Because viral infections are often implicated as hives triggers, the association between hives and liver disease of the viral persuasion is not unusual.

Hepatitis B transmission occurs through body fluids. Thus, infection can spread through transfusions, dialysis, unsterilized equipment used for acupuncture or tattooing, unsterilized needles, sex and childbirth. To reduce the risk of infection, one can take precautions to reduce contact with contaminated body fluids or to strengthen the immune system. For instance, protected sex, which entails the use of condoms, significantly decreases the likelihood that HBV will be transmitted through sex. The sterilization of needles and any equipment that breaks the skin before reuse is also an important way of minimizing the transmission of infection. The third way to maximize protection against hepatitis B is immunization. Administered appropriately, hepatitis B vaccines have the capacity to boost immunity to the virus, even among newborns.

Diagnosing Liver Disease: Hives and Other Symptoms

Certain symptoms are associated with hepatitis B, but it is also true that their presentation varies from person to person. For instance, hives and liver disease might be associated in some cases, but not in others. Thus, diagnosing hepatitis B is not an easy thing to do unless one is doing so from an informed, medical perspective. Acute hepatitis has been known to mimic other medical conditions. So, instead of relying on self-diagnosis, patients should consult their doctors the minute they sense that something might be wrong in the area of the upper right abdomen.

The symptoms alluded to in the previous paragraph include jaundice, vomiting and nausea, appetite loss, tenderness in the area of the right upper abdomen, fever, soreness in the muscles, pain in the joints, itchy skin and hives. Liver disease like hepatitis B can result in cirrhosis of the liver or hepatic cancer if it becomes a chronic condition.

Additional situations in which hives and liver disease coincide involve other forms of hepatitis: namely, hepatitis A and hepatitis C. Note that the association between hepatitis (or liver disease) and hives tends to follow certain patterns. For one, it is not just any form of hives that is triggered by hepatitis. Rather, acute hives are the “culprit”. Additionally, some scientists have noted that, when hives are associated with hepatitis A through C, they tend to appear in the earliest stages of the diseases, before other hepatitis symptoms manifest.

It is not always possible to determine what causes hives on face. However, it is possible to identify the condition when it occurs, particularly in the presence of certain symptoms. The skin tends to itch a lot, and sometimes it has a burning sensation. It can be bright red in color and feel unusually hot. The face often has welts or large patches of inflamed skin and small, round swellings. Facial hives can extend to the neck and shoulders.

Of particular concern to medical professionals is the fact that facial hives can be accompanied by angioedema. This is a similar condition to facial hives, but it strikes deeper in the skin. While hives affect the upper dermis, angioedema affects the dermis, subcutaneous tissues, mucosa and sub-mucosal tissue. Angioedema can present as a swollen face with inflammation of the eyes, ears or mouth. It usually lasts a few hours, hence is not typically life-threatening. Even so, it is an alarming condition for the patient who experiences it. He or she will want to understand what causes hives on face and facial angioedema in order to effectively deal with them. Living with the threat of developing either or both of these conditions at any given moment can severely diminish a patient’s quality of life.

When Knowing What Causes Hives on Face Can Save Lives

In the worst case scenario, the simultaneous occurrence of facial hives and angioedema can be a threat to the patient’s life. This can happen when the patient’s throat swells, causing the constriction of the air passage and difficulty in breathing. If not addressed immediately it can result in the patient’s death. The administration of epinephrine tends to be effective when the patient’s hives and angioedema are caused by factors other than genetic heritage. When the patient’s susceptibility to hives and angioedema are inherited epinephrine is less effective. It would be important for such a patient to avoid the factor that triggered the hives and angioedema. Thus, he or she would be best served by knowledge about what causes hives on face.

Another cause for concern by a patient with facial hives would be the development of a fever. The feverish patient would likely be suffering from and reacting to an infection of some kind. Such an infection could be fatal. Thus, it would be important to get it treated as soon as possible. Seeking medical help would be paramount. In this instance figuring out what causes hives on face could help save a life.

What causes hives on the face is not always apparent to doctors. This is just one similarity between facial hives and those on other parts of the body. On those occasions when it is possible to determine what causes hives on the face, the triggers are likely to vary greatly from situation to situation. They may include physical stimuli such as excessive cold or heat, exposure to too much sun and exposure to water.

Allergies to foods like fish, shellfish, berries, eggs, milk and peanuts can also trigger facial hives. Various drug allergies, seasonal allergies, allergies to certain fabrics, insect stings and bites and cosmetic products are notorious too. In some people, illnesses like lupus, cellulitis, sinusitis, some forms of cancer and morbid obesity are associated with facial hives. In other people, trauma to the face, for instance surgery or injury, is the trigger. The hormonal changes characteristic to menopause and pregnancy have also been associated with facial hives.

Determining What Causes Hives on the Face

Because the face is the most readily visible part of the body, facial hives are likely to garner a lot of attention. Not only do the tell-tale swollen areas, wheals and reddish skin cause intense itching and the sensation of burning, they also cause self-consciousness on the part of the person suffering from them. He or she is likely to be anxious to determine what causes hives on the face. Consulting an allergy specialist would be a good way to try to do this. The specialist would run numerous tests and, by eliminating a number of possibilities, would hopefully arrive at the “culprit.”

Knowing what causes hives on the face is a good thing for the sufferer of hives because it empowers him or her to avoid the substance or minimize exposure to it. Eliminating the item from one’s routine tends to ease the symptoms. However, it is not always possible for an individual to avoid the factors that trigger hives. This is the case for those whose hives are triggered by physical stimuli like heat, cold or pressure. As they cannot control their physical environment at all times, they have to be able to adjust to different situations. Hence, many of them use antihistamines to treat their symptoms. Yet others use corticosteroids. It is not unheard of for them to have an epinephrine autoinjector handy just in case they get stung by a bee or accidentally ingest peanuts and react adversely.

Parents with young children are interested in understanding what causes hives in kids because this kind of knowledge puts them in a good position to address their children’s health issues as they arise. Viral infections happen to be among the frequent triggers of acute hives in children. Many of these viral infections are ultimately harmless and are resolved quickly, especially if the child has a healthy immune system. However, some of them are potentially serious infections when left untreated.

Some of the viral infections that have been associated with hives include rubella, infectious mononucleosis, herpes, hepatitis, the common cold and influenza. When the hives appear, they tend to be an indication that the immune system has begun to overcome the viral infection. They can often be read as a sign that the child is getting better.

Hives constitute a complex condition about which much remains unknown. Thus, even if it is widely accepted that viral infections can play a role in the development of hives, the mechanism by which this happens is not always clear. With this in mind, one might want to consider whether it is more appropriate to speak of the factors that trigger hives in kids than to speak of what causes hives in kids.

Further Consideration of What Causes Hives in Kids

Further consideration of what causes hives in kids reveals a host of other triggers. These factors include bacterial infections, various forms of medication and insect bites and stings. Food allergies are also notorious for triggering hives. In some cases, the allergens in question are a regular part of the diet, like peanuts or fish. This makes them particularly dangerous because it is not always possible to control the child’s environment and ensure that he or she will not accidentally ingest the allergen.

Unlike the localized hives that usually result when a child comes into direct physical contact with an allergen like pollen or the venom in an insect bite, the hives that are associated with viral infections tend to be spread out all over the body. When allergies are the triggering factor for a child’s hives, angioedema sometimes coincides with the child’s other symptoms. In its most extreme forms, this can result in the child’s suffocation. Treating the symptoms of hives and removing their trigger from the child’s environment is of paramount importance. This is one instance where knowing what causes hives in kids can help ensure the prompt and appropriate treatment of a child.

Sufferers of hives have an interest in understanding what causes hives on the body because doing so is the first step towards finding an appropriate form of treatment. Hives are triggered by a number of different factors. Additionally, they manifest on the body in a variety of different ways. In some cases, the hives are localized, affecting only the immediate area to which the triggering factor was exposed. In other cases, they are generalized, affecting even those parts of the body to which the factor was not directly exposed.

In many cases, the hives present as itchy skin with reddish welts that appear on certain parts of the body. These eventually disappear then reappear elsewhere on the body. The body parts on which they appear tend to be the limbs and trunk. When the hives are particularly severe, they can appear on the face, together with angioedema. Sometimes, because of the rapidity with which hives occur and then disappear, a patient may be symptomless by the time she consults a doctor. Taking pictures of the hives before they disappear would help the doctor make a diagnosis.

What Causes Hives On The Body: Considering Cold, Stress And Solar Triggers.

Rather than limiting oneself to an exploration of what causes hives on the body, it might do to also look at the presentation of specific types of hives. One might consider hives that are triggered by exposure to the cold, for instance. The common variety of these hives tends to appear on those parts of the body that have been exposed to the cold. Thus, somebody who left only his legs exposed to the cold would likely have hives on the legs alone. On the other hand, somebody who had the hereditary form of these hives would develop them all over his body after exposure to the cold.

Cholinergic urticaria tends to manifest as small hives on the arms and upper trunk. Sometimes they extend upwards to the neck and downwards to the thighs. What causes hives on the body in this instance is the person’s involvement in activities that raise the body temperature.

In the case of solar urticaria, what causes hives on the body is the exposure of the skin to certain wavelengths of light in the sun’s rays. Typically, it is the parts of the body that have been most highly exposed to the sun that present with hives. The hives do not last very long. Often, they are no longer visible 24 hours after one has stopped exposure to the wavelengths of light in question.

Urticaria or hives can develop as a result of various types of allergy. Hives’ causes include various medications, foods, preservatives and additives, the venom from insect bites and other allergens. These allergens trigger the body’s mast cells to release histamine and other chemicals. The chemicals cause the leakage of fluid from the capillaries into the upper layers of the skin. As a result, the skin breaks out in swellings known as hives.

Sometimes people go about their lives oblivious to the fact that they have an allergy. Hives causes them much discomfort and frustration when, one day, they are exposed to the allergen. This is often how they find out that they have a particular allergy. Typically, those who have allergies to foods like eggs and peanuts learn about them early in their lives because these foods or products made from them are part and parcel of the regular person’s diet. Those who have allergies to less frequently eaten food items might not find out about them until later in their lives.

Sometimes, When One Is Diagnosing an Allergy, Hives Causes Confusion.

In many cases, people will break out in hives each time they are exposed to an allergen. Unfortunately, because the allergen in question is a preservative or additive that is “hidden” in a variety of products they use, they may have a hard time determining what exactly it is they are reacting to. This may be the case for somebody who has an allergy to a chemical like the synthetic food dye, FD&C Red No. 40. The food dye is used in candy, baked goods, ketchup, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, yoghurt and other food products. A person who regularly eats these items may develop hives again and again without realizing that it is the same allergen each time. Only an allergist would be able to diagnose him or her as having an FD&C Red No. 40 allergy. Hives causes much confusion to patients and doctors alike until such diagnoses are made.

When one has an allergy to medication, it usually does not manifest when the medication is first used. It tends to take a bit of time before the body is fully primed to react strongly to the allergen. Thus, it might take one or two weeks before the medication starts to trigger the symptoms associated with an allergy. Hives causes confusion in such cases because one cannot tie the development of the symptoms to the day he or she began using the medication.

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.

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.