At some point in your life, chances are you will you experience urticaria, kind of like getting the flu. Over 25% of the population will experience urticaria, more commonly known as hives, at least once in their life, and usually more often than that. And like an otherwise healthy person who comes down with the flu, a healthy person who experiences any urticaria kind other than the chronic type really has nothing much to worry about. Acute urticaria usually goes away almost as fast as it appears, but it can be very uncomfortable and even frightening if not understood.
What is urticaria?
Urticaria, or hives, is a very common problem. Occasionally it is an allergic reaction to some food, drug, animal, or insect bite. But contrary to popular belief, hives is most often not an allergic reaction. And if you only get it one time, you don’t need to get tested for allergies, which can be a very tedious, expensive, and lengthy process.
The most common urticaria kind, ordinary urticaria, can best be described as a swollen itchy area, of different sizes, on the skin. It is usually red and splotchy, and can appear anywhere. Ordinary urticaria doesn’t mean you are sick, but it can be frightening because of the sudden nature of the outbreak. There is no lasting damage, no subsequent peeling or scaling of the skin, and only involves the top layers of tissue. A condition that mimics the ordinary urticaria kind, referred to as angioedema, is a little more serious, and involves deeper tissues. If you experience peeling or scaling of the skin after the itchy red areas disappears, you probably have angioedema and should seek medical advice.
The ordinary urticaria kind usually requires no treatment
Ordinary urticaria appears in a sudden and usually intense attack of randomly shaped, slightly swollen splotches on the skin. They can go away in a matter of minutes or hours and appear somewhere else on the body just as quickly. In most instances, there is not an apparent reason for the attack and it will be gone before you get a chance to figure out what the cause was.
The hives are the result of the release of histamine from the mast cells of the skin. This brings about a leak of fluid from the blood vessels just under the skin. This small amount of fluid release is what causes the slight swelling under the skin, as well as the discoloration. The swelling in turn causes itching and irritation. Usually they will go away very quickly in a matter of hours and you will be left as if it never happened at all. This urticaria kind is really nothing to worry about and if it lasts longer than a couple of hours, an over-the-counter antihistamine will usually clear it up. Only if the hives persist longer than a day or become chronic will you want to consider any kind of treatment or become concerned.
