It doesn’t matter if you are suffering from hives or angioedema, neither one is a pleasant experience. Many patients feel desperate and hopeless. However, if you learn the basics of these diseases and how to treat them properly, you can make your life much easier.

Let us first consider the differences: angioedema is deep inside the skin and usually not visible with naked eye, whereas hives are on the dermis or upper layer of the skin. Hives rashes are itchy while angioedema swelling is not itchy, but can be painful in some cases.

Angioedema can be lethal, but hives do not threaten the patient’s life. As far as the similarities are concerned, both of these diseases have pretty similar triggers and causes e.g. allergies, pressure, stress, extreme temperatures as well as similar treatment

Do read my next post equating dermographism and angioedema which will be here in the upcoming week.

As promised earlier, today’s post is about some simple steps which can be helpful when battling angioedema. Usually angioedema swelling is painless, but when it is painful it can be literally intolerable. Let us see what steps can help reduce the pain.

If you are in the middle of angioedema treatment, but the swelling is getting out of control, try to cool down the affected area and if there is difficulty in breathing, go out in the open, fresh air and take large slow breaths. You may take H1 antagonists with antihistamines. In case of acquired angioedema, epinephrine has proven itself to be a lifesaving drug.

Everyone wants to learn the similarities and differences between two analogous diseases; the post next week will explain the comparison between hives and urticaria, a must read for patients.

Angioedema is a painful and life threatening disease and unfortunately its treatment is also very difficult. If you are prone to angioedema or have a family legacy of this ailment, you need to be extra vigilant because hereditary angioedema treatment is the most difficult of all.

Those individuals, who have a family history of angioedema, should consult an angioedema specialist at a younger age. When they are young the treatment can be easy and the disease will respond well to the medication. Avoid the allergens, triggers and causes that may result in the outbreak of angioedema. Stress and some mechanical occupations can also cause angioedema, if you are prone to angioedema avoid such activities.

Angioedema swelling is usually painless, however, in some cases it can be painful. If you want to know how you can reduce this pain, read my post next week.

Are you having itch-less swelling around your eyes, lips or any other part of body? Well, it is quite possible that it might be angioedema swelling usually caused by what some people call an angioedema rash.

Swelling is the most common and obvious symptom of angioedema, a weird skin problem which can even threaten the life of the patient.Even though this swelling is painless, it usually vanishes within a few hours without any treatment. If it progresses quickly, especially on the tongue, throat or upper airway, it may cause suffocation so it should be treated as a medical emergency.

To read more about angioedema swelling & angioedema rash, click here.