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.
