Hives are a common skin condition. Hence, it is easy to find information about them online. When this information is credible, it is a valuable source of hives facts for those who are suffering from the condition.

Much of the time, the available information about a given health condition is not completely based on the truth. This is cause for worry as some people might believe that information and choose to act on it. In doing so, they might endanger their health. Thus, it is important to assess the credibility of a source which claims to present hives facts.

Hives, also known as urticaria, are characterized by the appearance of welts or wheals: smooth, flat-topped itchy swellings on the skin.  They are typically pale red and may be accompanied by a burning sensation. When hives appear on the skin, they are present for a short while before disappearing and then reappearing somewhere else. Fortunately, it is only in rare cases that they are so severe as to become life-threatening. These cases tend to occur when hives is complicated by angioedema.

When Hives Facts Are Not Based On Hard and Fast Rules

Classifying hives and identifying their triggers can be complicated. This is partly due to the fact that they manifest in different ways. In some cases, they are generalized, appearing on different parts of the body. In other cases, they are localized, appearing only at the site of contact between the skin and the factor that triggered them.

Hives can be triggered by a number of factors: In some people, they are triggered by seasonal allergies. Others develop them upon exposure to foods, medications and other household items to which they are allergic. Yet other people develop hives in response to physical stimuli like heat, sweat, cold and pressure.

The above are just a few of the possible triggers of hives. There are likely many more, some of which have not yet been identified by medical science. Given these complexities, many sources avoid being definitive about the possible causes of hives. Among their more prominent hives facts, they promote the idea that hives is often an idiopathic condition- one whose trigger is indeterminable.

Given the speed with which medical knowledge evolves, it is possible that science has many surprises in store for those who make it their business to understand hives. Perhaps the hard and fast hives facts of the present moment will turn out to be the medical myths of tomorrow.