The occurrence of hives is pricky, raised welts, and pale red bumps. These conditions will appear pink, red, or flesh-colored. Medicine, food allergy, or irritant can cause an allergic reaction in your body, also known as urticaria (hives). Angioedema, to make it simple inflammation along with urticaria. 

Types of Urticaria

1. Acute Urticaria

Hives symptoms that last less than six weeks is considered acute urticaria. Various things can be held responsible for hives, including infections, medications, and food.

Food – basically, most people are allergic to nuts and other things like eggs, milk, fish, tomatoes, etc. Rather than cooked foods, fresh foods will give itches. 

Medications – aspirin, NSAIDs like ibuprofen, high bp medications (ACE inhibitors), or codeine painkillers commonly provoke irritating symptoms.

Infection – disease and insect bites are rare cases. 

2. Chronic Urticaria

Conditions that prolong more than six weeks are known as chronic urticaria. To find the exact cause of chronic urticaria is a greater challenge for a dermatologist. After a thorough diagnosis, doctors summarise some reasons, like cancer, infection, hepatitis, or thyroid disease. 

Symptoms – diarrhea, vomiting, shortage of breath, muscle soreness, and organs including lungs, muscles, and gastrointestinal tract are affected.

3. Physical Urticaria

Skin stimulants play a significant role in arousing hives, and most hives arise within an hour. Stimulants are heat, cold, pressure, exercise, exposure to the sun, or sweating. 

4. Dermatographism

Physical urticaria's common form is dermatographism, which also comes with other forms of urticaria. Scratching or rubbing the skin can cause hives.

5. Anaphylaxis

The critical allergic reaction that makes a person's life riskier. Here, hives assist with other difficulties like nausea, dizziness, breathing problems, and severe swelling.  

Causes of Urticaria

Researchers conclude that a person either bumps into or swallows something that can be the reason for the allergic reaction. This chemical reaction is where your body liberates mast cells that are histamines and other compounds into the blood. If your body comes to know about infection or external intruders, as a defensive mechanism, it secretes histamines for protection. It may give side effects like itching, swelling, and symptoms associated with hives for people with a weak immune system.

Symptoms of Urticaria

• A batch of red or skin-colored welts on the skin
• Itchy
• Hives in random shape (tiny or big and round, ring-shaped)
• Can extend, grow big, and alter the shape
• Painful inflammation (angioedema)

Treatments

Before starting treatment, your doctors will run a physical exam and blood tests to determine if there are hives and what causes them.

Prescriptions

• Prednisone (Deltasone) – this corticosteroid is for a short period of usage. Prolonged intake of this medication can bring side effects.
• Dapsone (Aczone) – this topical medicine will control inflammation caused by bacterial infection.
• Leukotriene-receptor antagonists – it is a nonsteroidal treatment. Dermatologists advise taking this option only after steroid treatment.
• Omalizumab (Xolair) – if the duration of hives is more than months or years, doctors inject it under the skin. 

Over-the-counter

• Calamine lotion – soothe your skin and lessen the itching.
• Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) – consuming Benadryl minimizes symptoms within a day.
• Fexofenadine (Allegra), loratadine (Claritin), and cetirizine (Zyrtec) – these antihistamines will elongate relief.

Home Remedies for Urticaria

For temporary relief, people can perform home remedies. However, after the condition is under control, please consult your doctor and know the reason for it.

• Cold compress the irritating area.
• Avoid hot showers and baths using lukewarm and colloidal oatmeal water
• Don't rub the itchy area
• Stop using irritation-inducing products

Takeaway

You guys may think if you have an initial symptom on day one, not a severe issue. But later, it will visit you daily and cause inconvenience. Then you will get treatment and become your doctor's regular patient. Later visiting the hospital will become a routine in your life till your condition heals. Now, jokes apart, even doctors don't know how it appears and disappears for skin problems. So please be patient and maintain your body hygiene. Without a doctor's prescription, don't take any medicines for your good.