Urticaria is the medical term for the condition commonly known as hives. Chronic hives, those cases lasting longer than six weeks, are normally found to be one of the physical types of hives. Hives that bruise fall into this physical classification.  Some of the chronic hives are more painful than they are itchy. After they go away, these are usually the types of hives that bruise

 

What is Physical Urticaria?

 

In a broad sense, Physical hives just means that the hives are caused by one or more “physical” causes. Believe it or not, the most often seen chronic physical urticaria type is known as dermographism. These are the type of hives that show up within minutes of scratching repeatedly along the same skin area. It will usually be in a series of straight, linear red marks, following the direction of the scratching. These can be the type of hives that bruise, even bleed. As hard as it may be, the scratching must be stopped if there is any chance of them going away.

Other common types of physical hives are described below. Not all of them will result in hives that bruise, and in fact only a few types of hives bruise potentially.

  • Pressure hives occur a few hours after pressure is applied to the same portion of the body for an extended period.  It may be a too-tight belt, a mattress pressing up against a sensitive area for hours while sleeping, clothes that are too tight, or some type of work orr safety type clothing that is extra heavy applying pressure in a spot that is not normal. It is sometimes hard to diagnose this type of hives, because they show up hours after the pressure has been relieved and the person may not be able to recall the pressure point. Unless the pressure was extreme, this is not normally the type of hives that bruise.
  • Cholinergic hives appear either during or shortly after a period of exercise. This is a common physical hives type, but not a type that would cause hives that bruise
  • Cold urticaria is a type of physical hives that come on with a very quick drop in temperature. It could even be from exposure to very cold water or ice.  This is another common type of physical hives, but also another that is unlikely to produce hives that bruise.
  • Heat urticaria is a physical hives type  that occurs after exposure to warm or hot temperature. It can even be from a hot bath.  Unlike the cold urticaria mentioned above, this is not common, and is unlikely to cause hives that bruise.
  • Solar urticaria occurs within minutes after exposure to sunlight.
  • Vibratory Angioedema happens when the skin is exposed to vibration over some time. This often happens with hand tools and in work situations. It is a rare form of physical urticaria, but could cause hives that bruise.
  • Aquagenic urticaria is hives that are produced after exposure of the skin to water. Fortunately this is a rare condition. It is difficult to avoid contact with water if you want to stay clean. But this would not result in hives that bruise.

 

So there are only a few of the physical urticaria types that will cause hives that bruise but the list above should help you narrow down any condition that applies to you. Finally, it should be noted that although hives that bruise are not all that common, hives that scar can occur with any of the hives types if excessive itching produces bleeding and gouging of the skin. If you do cause bleeding or gouging from scratching too much, consider using something like Benadryl ointment to relieve the itching and then apply an antibiotic cream to help the skin heal. Any hives that bruise will just need to be left alone until the bruising goes away on its own.