Heat Urticaria is an extremely rare condition in which hives occur as a result of heat exposure. This condition may also be referred to generalized heat urticaria or cholinergic urticaria. Cholinergic urticaria occurs as the result of a hot bath or shower or from exercise. This form of heat urticaria is brought about by a heat stimulus, but the reaction is actually due to sweat.

There is another type of heat urticaria that is less common. Localized heat urticaria is one of the rarest forms of physical urticarias. It is where well-defined lesions appear on the sites of the heat exposure.

Heat Induced Urticaria

All of these heat induced urticaria conditions are considered physical forms of urticaria. According to allergies.about.com, up to 20 to 30% of chronic urticaria cases have some sort of physical trigger. These heat induced urticaria forms can be triggered by any increase in body temperature.

Cholinergic especially can be caused by anything that causes the body to sweat; even things like spicy foods, stress, or anger is enough to start an outbreak.  Sometimes they are caused by simply the temperature change of going from a cool area to a warm area. Whatever the case may be, preventative measures should be taken in order to avoid exposure to heat stimuli.

Heat Urticaria Treatment

Heat urticaria is usually treated effectively by antihistamines to control the conditions and eliminating such exposures help to prevent hives. Corticosteriods and anabolic steroids are also used. Some patients with this condition are desensitized with hot bath therapy, but this should only be tried under medical supervision. UVB therapy, sweat and exercise therapy, and diet changes may also be used to help in the management of heat urticaria.

Cholinergicurticaria.net offers non-medical options for cholinergic urticaria treatment. They may work for other forms of heat induced urticaria as well, just be sure to consult your physician before trying any new forms of treatment. The treatment options are as follows:

• Avoiding situations that cause hives and/or rapid cooling
• Wearing appropriate clothing by not overdressing
• Meditation, prayer, or mental relaxation may help people cope and relieve stress
• Using cooling sprays, ice packs, and other materials to resolve oncoming attacks
• Avoidance of compounds such as aspirin and alcohol that may make the condition worse

Exercise and sweat therapy that may induce small attack, but in the long run limit severe attacks by making the body adjust histamine levels. It is said to be good for mild cases, but too risky for severe cases.

Today’s post has four simple tips for managing urticaria, no matter if it is autoimmune urticaria, physical urticaria or any other type.

1: Sort out the causes and triggers, and avoid them as much as you can. For example if you are suffering from heat induced urticaria, avoid hot temperature.
2: Avoid offending stimuli, allergens or foods that can cause allergies like  eggs, nuts, wheat, dairy products etc. Remember, different people can be allergic to different foods. Food elimination technique can be helpful i.e. avoiding one type of food at one time and noting the results and then repeating with other types. This can be time consuming though!
3: Do not rub or unnecessarily touch the rashes, this can cause the rashes to blister and increase itching.
4: Consult a qualified doctor for timely diagnosis and treatment and choose medicines which do not have side effects e.g. herbal products.

You can read about urticaria and related conditions in my post next week.

Urticaria is not a very common disease.  There are many different suggestions about how many people actually suffer from urticaria, but the most realistic one seems to be nearly 5%.

Urticaria has many subtypes, some of them are very common like heat induced urticaria, autoimmune urticaria and then there are some very rarely found types e.g. exercise induced urticaria or solar urticaria.

Treating the rare forms usually need the expertise of a professional, while the more common forms are less hazardous and can be helped with  the following home remedies.

The most common form, is heat induced urticaria and the best home remedy is applying cool compression or an ice pack.

Stress urticaria can be recurrent and the only home remedy is to stay happy.

Then comes the autoimmune urticaria, taking over the counter anti histamines can help. To reduce itching of the urticaria wheals, apply calamine lotion, vitamin E oil or Aloe Vera gel twice a day,  andexpose the affected area to fresh air.

Next week I will post five extremely important tips when you are managing any type of urticaria, do not forget to read them.

Today I will be describing some tips for managing urticaria which can be very helpful, especially for relieving the extreme itching and burning sensation caused by the urticaria wheal. But remember urticaria must not be taken lightly and a proper diagnosis and treatment is your way out, these points are only to temporarily reduce the itching.

In case of cold induced urticaria, avoid taking showers or cold temperatures whereas in case of heat induced urticaria bathing in Epsom salts or exposure to fresh air can help. If the symptoms are severe, add H1 antagonists in your prescription as well as antihistamines. Herbal products are also a great option because of their no-side effect qualities.

Hope this series of blogs have provided you with valuable information about urticaria.  Next time the topic will be Hives, so make sure you come back .

A few days back I blogged about cold induced Urticaria . Some people think they are safe when it comes to higher temperatures. Unfortunately, you are not safe from urticaria when it comes to heat.  There is a type called heat induced urticaria that can be caused when skin is exposed to heat above 43 degrees Celsius.

In most cases with heat urticaria, the exposed area of the skin becomes burned, stinging, turning red and swollen. It can cause immense itching and a burning sensation. Cooling down the affected area and exposing it to fresh air can help a great deal.

To learn the symptoms, causes and cures of heat induced urticaria, click here to read my complete article.