What is hives on Skin – Symptoms, Causes, Treatment

Many of you must have faced something like red swollen bumps on your skin. It is more kind of a swelling that occurs on the surface of your skin when your body is undergoing any allergic reaction. Now your body can have allergic reactions, but it does occur when your body comes in touch with the allergen. 

If you are asking what allergens, they are the proteins that tend to be harmless to many people. It could be severe for the ones with sensitive skin. In today’s article, we will discuss the details of hives on the skin – 

What are hives on the skin? 

Also known as urticaria, hives are mainly a skin reaction on the upper segment that tends to be pretty itchy. They are in the form of welts that start as itchy patches and tend to vary in size in different sections of the body. They tend to appear and face away at random. People who suffer from hives on their skin tend to feel pretty uncomfortable and do have problems with their daily chores of work. This includes sleep and daily activities. 

What do hives look like on the skin? 

Hives are like red swollen bumps or like welts forming on the upper part of your skin. It is more like a skin reaction caused due to an allergen. It can look like tiny little spots, larger connected bumps or even skin blotches in red. The skin reaction varies to sustain in the body from person to person. This means if you are suffering from active hives, it might take 6 weeks or even less to heal. On the other hand, people suffering from chronic hives might go longer than 6 weeks. 

Is hives a skin disease? 

It is not like a skin disease but more like a skin reaction. For most people, hives on the skin are not that serious. Children tend to often outgrow this. Certain types of goods or medications can trigger the skin reaction causing hives. You may see some visible changes on your skin though like changes in the affected areas of your skin. The affected area may turn brown or black. 

Why do hives appear on the skin?

As you already know hives are itchy bumps on the skin. It is more like a raised patch that tends to appear on the top of the skin when the body is releasing histamine. So now what is histamine? Your body tends to store these inside the cells. When the immune system comes across a threat, they tend to release this followed by other chemicals. These all come together to act as a protective layer so that you do not undergo any serious threats or develop any allergic reactions.  

How do hives form? 

There can be a lot of factors that result in forming hives on the skin. If you are anyway allergic to overexposure to an allergen, it may trigger hives. Furthermore, a physical outburst like pressure from wearing tight clothing or an underlying health condition could even lead to forming hives on the skin.

How do hives spread? 

They are not contagious. In simpler words, they do not tend to spread to your body or from touching others who are affected by them. If you are suffering from one, it will only cause a section of your skin but not overall. Though, the trigger that tends to cause this skin reaction or the form of bacterial infection might get contagious. 

Here are some of the ways that you may be contaminated – 

• Virus
• Strep throat
• Common cold bacterial infection

Can hives damage skin? 

Chronic hives can lead to angioedema. This leads to swelling in the deeper layers of the skin. This occurs mostly around the face and lips. The acute ones are short-lived. Most of the time, they are mostly harmless. It clears up within a day or so but does not leave any sort of long-lasting marks, even if you are not treating them. 

Can hives burn your skin? 

Hives can cause itchiness. For some people, it might burn or sting your skin. It can occur in any part of your body. This includes the face, lips, tongue, ears or throat. Now, it tends to vary in size. Now, they may even conjoin together to become larger and they are known as plaques. It can persist for up to 1 day before healing. 

Hives on skin symptoms

Here are the symptoms of chronic hives on the skin symptoms – 

• You might see huge batches of itchy welts that occur in different parts of your body. 
• The colour of the week could be purple, red or even skin-coloured. It completely depends on your skin tone and color. 
• The welts vary in shape and size. It appears and disappears randomly. 
• The intensity of itchiness could be high. 
• You might feel the swelling and pain near your eye, cheeks or lips. 
• Trigger areas are caused by heat, exercise, or even stress. 

The symptoms tend to persist for more than 6 weeks. It might disappear and occur again. 

Hives on the skin causes

Hives are mainly caused by an allergic reaction to something that you might either have been in contact with or swallowed. 

• When you are coming in touch with a particular allergic reaction, your body tends to release histamines directly into your blood. 
• Histamines are a type of chemical present in your body that helps in defending itself from the infections affecting your body. 
• In some cases, this protective chemical may lead to swelling, itching, welting and even irritation along with hives on the skin. 
• When it comes to allergens, hives are caused by pollens, food, animal dander, insect bites as well as medications. 
• It may even occur due to wearing tight clothing, exercise, heating, illness or infections. When you are sweating due to extreme hot or cold temperatures, it may lead to irritation and an increase in the hives on the skin. 

Hives on skin treatment

In most cases, you can opt for home remedies that will help you in finding relief. Here are some of the ways that help in soothing your skin – 

1. Using Cold Compress 

Try to apply something cool to the affected area. You may use ice for relieving irritation. You may even grab frozen veggies as well. Apply to the affected area for 10 mins and repeat the same every day. 

2. Anti-itch Solution Bath

You will find different products in the market that tend to have an anti-itch solution. You can place a few drops in the bathing water to relieve itching. Some of the home remedies that you can opt for are oatmeal or baking soda. Make sure that you are not exfoliating your skin, just massage gently. 

3. Light Clothing 

Heat and excessive sweating might make your itching worse. For this, you need to wear light clothing that will not stick to your skin. It should keep you cool and comfortable. Avoid being in direct sunlight as well. 

4. Witch Hazel 

They are natural tannins filled with Vit C extract that helps in relieving irritation. You may even tend to prepare your own in the form of an astringent. 

All you have to do is taken 10 grams of witch hazel in 1 cup of water. Mash the bark well. 

Pour the mixture into the pot. Bring it to a good boil and remove the heat. 

Strain the mixture. Let it cool before application. 

You can apply or spray this on the affected areas. Let it sit for 20 min and rinse it off. 

5. Aloe Vera 

Having healing properties, aloe vera acts like a natural anti-inflammatory to protect your skin. It leaves a cooling effect that further helps in reducing swelling. You can simply do a patch test before application of the same to the affected areas. If within 24 hours you do not experience any discomfort, you are good to opt for topical aloe vera gel. 

When it comes to medications, here are some of the ones that will be good for you  – 

1. Benadryl

It is more like an oral antihistamine that helps in reducing rash. It usually starts showing its result in an hour. Make sure that you are looking into the dosage well. 

2. Calamine lotion

It does have an immediate cooling effect on the same. Just make sure when you are using the product you shake the container well before use. Put it on a cotton pad and then apply on the hives to let it dry. 

3. Fexofenadine, Loratadine and Cetirizine

Also known as Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec, respectively, they even work like antihistamines for nearly 24 hours. It provides you with relief and does not let you be drowsy. You will have to look into the dosage before you are using it to treat hives on the skin. You may even seek a recommendation from a doctor or pharmacist. 

Prescribed Medications – 

4. Dapsone

It is an antibiotic taken as an oral medication for treating inflammation caused by hives or another form of skin condition. Before using this, you should be prescribed by a doctor. 

5. Omalizumab

It is injected into the skin only if you are suffering from chronic hives for years now. Some of the common side effects are headaches, dizziness,  inner ear pain and cold. 

6. Leukotriene-receptor antagonists

A nonsteroidal treatment, this medication is taken orally. It should be used after steroid or antihistamines treatment. Some of the common side effects are cough, fever, stomach ache and headache.

Conclusion

Hives are mainly treatable. They tend to disappear randomly without even having to apply any medications. If you are opting for home remedies, it is good to go. Make sure that you are not allergic to any of the remedies that you are opting for. Be persistent and patient so that you will not have to seek medical treatment. 

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