What is chronic urticaria? Urticaria is the medical term used for hives.  Chronic urticaria is any case of hives that lasts more that six weeks, or reoccurs frequently. Chronic hives (urticaria) are uncommon, only about 1 in 1,000 people develop this condition, and it is twice as common in women as it is men (patient.co.uk).

Most conventional chronic urticaria treatment treats the symptoms of the disease with antihistamines, and in more severe cases corticosteroids. These of course are very helpful for treatment of chronic urticaria, but sometimes they do not take away all of the burning, itching, and other symptoms. It is wise to find home remedies and natural treatments to use at home as well; just make sure and tell your doctor about any extra treatment for urticaria that you take on.

Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria

What is chronic idiopathic urticaria? Chronic urticaria, or hives in general rather, are idiopathic in most cases. This means that in many cases the overall cause is unknown. Idiopathic chronic urtircaria is harder to treat because they cannot be prevented if you don’t know what could trigger another outbreak. In addition, many times it ends up being an underlying condition, such as lupus or hepatitis, which just hasn’t been recognized yet.

One thing that people do to narrow down their chronic urticaria causes is to keep a daily journal of potential things that could be triggering their chronic urticaria. Some of the common causes of chronic urticaria outbreaks are food, extreme temperatures, over-exercising, medications, and exposure to soaps and other such items.

Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria

Chronic urticaria is not due to allergy, though sometimes it may be triggered by allergins. It has been connected to several different underlying causes. It is widely believed that chronic hives are really a type of autoimmune disorder or caused by an overactive immune system. Chronic hives have been linked to autoimmune diseases such as lupus. These are some times referred to as autoimmune chronic urticaria. You can read more about chronic urticaria autoimmune disorders within the studies found on Medscape.com.

In chronic urticaria, thyroid conditions have also been linked as an underlying cause and so have diseases like hepatitis. In addition, chronic urticaria and angioedema are very closely connected, though one is not the cause of the other. Chronic urticaria angioedema is a very serious condition, in which the swelling occurs underneath the skin. This is an emergency condition because swelling can occur in the throat and block the airways.

Now you have learned the most common myths about urticaria, it is time to read about something that can be helpful in urticaria management. It is rightly said, “knowledge is power” but in the case of urticaria, knowledge is your only way out of this bizarre skin problem.

Urticaria is also called hives, but it is different from angioedema or lupus, however in some cases it can be accompanied by any of these diseases.

Urticaria can be acute urticaria i.e. the rashes vanish within a few hours after the outbreak and it can be chronic urticaria i.e. the symptom persist much longer, at least more than six weeks and usually reappear twice a week.

Urticaria can be a hereditary or a familial problem and it can also be acquired e.g. in the case of allergies or contacts. A timely diagnosis and proper treatment can cure you of urticaria for good!

There are tips that can help.  Learn what the tips and trick are, for managing urticaria.

As promised earlier, today I will describe the best medicines, drugs and therapies which will help when wondering How to Treat Urticaria? As a matter of fact, every drug or therapy is suited to a specific sort of urticaria and a correct diagnosis is very important before any treatment. In other words, medicines that are popular for chronic urticaria might not work in the case of physical urticaria.

Oral antihistamines are the most commonly ingested drug for treating urticaria besides certain herbal medicine and Chinese acupuncture.

The first choice should be to take non-sedating antihistamines e.g. Loratadine, Fexofenadine, Cetirizine, Levocetirizine and Desloratadine. In case the symptoms persist, you can take mildly sedating antihistamines e.g. Hydroxyzine, Diphenhydramine and Chlorpheniramine.

For severer cases H1 Antagonists (alone or along with antihistamines), Oral Corticosteroids, Tricyclic Antidepressants and Epinephrine can be ingested.

Now you know about the urticaria medicine, however, there are some drugs which must be avoided. I will be posting about them next.

How does it feel to have  chronic urticaria, which may stay  for a long time? Besides the extreme itchiness and burning you will be spending a lot of time at doctor’s appointments.

You may also miss many events not only because of the pain, but sometimes because of the embarrassment  you would feel by being around people.

Idiopathic Chronic Urticaria is one of its common types, it is usually caused by stress. Many people would suggest you to sit and wait for the rash to vanish, which is not a wise approach. To know more about this skin problem and find out the best treatments read my complete article