When an irritant invades your body your immune system sends chemicals, including histamine to fight it. This sudden jump in histamine levels can cause an outbreak of hives. Many people about 1 in 5 get hives at some point.
Milk, eggs, nuts, shellfish, berries, food additives, and certain medicines call all prompt hives in some people. so can insect bites, sunlight, extreme heat or cold, pressure on the skin, and sometimes infections. Stress can make hives worse. One form of hives known as Angioedema is a deep swelling in skin tissues such as lips, tongue, eyelids, or genitals. It often lasts for 24 hours or more. Most other hives go away on their own, within a few days or weeks.
Symptoms for Hive:
- Itchy raised, red or pink swellings on the skin (wheals). Each may range in size smaller than a pea to the size of a dinner plate
- Wheals that occur in groups
- A wheal with a whitish center, rimmed by a red rash
- Wheals that itch or burn and sting, new ones may appear as old ones fade
- Swelling on the lips, tongue, eyelids, or genetals. Swelling may also occur on the backs of the hands and feet
Hives Prevention:
Find the trigger. If you are reacting to a food, the hives will begin within 2 hours after they start eating. To find the culprit:
- For a few days, eat foods that you think wont make you breakout. Slowly add other foods back into your diet, watching for a response
- Look for a pattern. Keep a list of what you eat, what you do each day, and the products you use. You'll need this list when you talk with your doctor
Hives home remedy:
Most effective home remedies for hives are:
- Take an antihistamine to reduce your body's response and relieve pain
- Soothe your skin with cold compresses or calamine lotion
- Take a cool bath with a few table spoons of cornstarch
- Relax with a book, some music, or a movie. Tension tends to make hives worse
When do you need home remedies for Hives
- If you have hives with hoarseness, wheezing, cold sweats, nausea, dizziness or trouble breathing
- If you have a burning feeling or itchy hives in your throat
- If you get hives after taking medication you may have an allergy attack
- If you have hives that keep coming back for a month or more
