What is hives rash? Hives rash is often referred to as urticaria, or just hives. Hives are typically dark red patches of raised skin that are very itchy and often have a stinging and burning sensation as well. They are known to be triggered by allergic or non-allergic factors.

Basically, there are two types of urticaria, acute and chronic. By definition, acute urticaria is any case of hives that lasts less than six weeks; chronic urticaria is any case that lasts more than six weeks, or is very frequent.  According to Hives.org, urticaria are curable in 95% of cases with the right hives rash treatment.

Hives or Rash?

When symptoms occur, sometimes it is hard to tell if the symptoms are of a rash or hives. Health.msn.com explains the difference, stating “‘Rash’ is a catch-all layman’s term, defined broadly as any inflammation of the skin.” The article continues on saying “Hives (urticaria) result from a build-up of fluid underneath the top layer of skin.” In other words, hives are always a rash, but a skin rash may not necessarily be hives.

If you are wonder about a certain rash you should see a dermatologist for a complete diagnosis. However, if you are not sure if it is hives or just rash symptoms you are having you can find hives and rash pictures at Dermatology.about.com and Web.md.com. You can find more hives and rash information on these websites as well. This should help you determine if it is just a skin rash or hives.

Hives Skin Rash

Skin rash and hives symptoms may vary from person to person depending on the causes. Many people think that the allergen that triggered the reaction is the cause. This is not true. Most of the time hives, or urticaria, cases are found to be idiopathic. This means the cause is unknown.

Hives usually have another medical condition as an underlying cause. They are namely, lupus, hepatitis, a thyroid dysfunction just to name a few. Most are linked to autoimmune system problems or over-active immunity conditions. It is, however, the triggers (not the cause) of these outbreaks that define the type that you have. Here are some basic types of urticaria:

• Dermatographism Hives
• Physical Hives
• Chronic Hives
• Acute Hives
• Hereditary Hives

For more information about each of these types and other basic information on urticaria, you should visit Hives.org.

It is a fact that hives treatment is not very easy especially in case of hereditary or chronic hives, but if you know how it attacks your skin you have much a better chance of coping with it. Most of these facts are not commonly known .

Hives is actually the common name for urticaria. The most common cause of hives is a faulty autoimmune system however allergies, physical triggers and a family legacy can also be the cause.

Hives rashes are different from angioedema as they are evident by red and itchy wheals while angioedema is apparent by painless swelling. Hives are chronic if they persist more than seven weeks and reappear twice a week. H1 antagonists should be ingested along with oral antihistamines if the disease is not responding well to antihistamines alone.

As I said earlier, treating hives is dodgy but you can learn some things to counteract this disease in a clever way.  If you want to know how you can do it, read my next post in two days.

It is an irony that man made drugs can cure you of hives, but some other drugs can also cause hives.

If you are prone to hives, staying away from these drugs is mandatory because prevention is always better than cure. But these drugs are not the sole cause for hives e.g. hives food allergies are caused by certain food e.g. peanuts, wheat, eggs etc.

Even if you are already a victim to the hives rash, learning about these perpetrator drugs can be helpful. Certain antibiotics (Penicillin), hormonal preparations, anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, indomethacin), vaccinations, NSAIDs, foreign sera and contraceptive pills are considered to be the drugs that can cause hives. Some reports reveal the involvement of morphine in causing hives as well.

Now you know about the current research and hottest drugs for curing hives, it is time to get acquainted with some important details about the secrets linked to undesirable and painful hives.

Hives can be extremely itchy and painful, therefore  prompt treatment is required.

Most people would tell you to just ignore the symptoms, but it is because they have not experienced the pain. Mild and less itchy hives can be treated with certain home remedies e.g. applying calamine lotion or Aloe Vera gel, however, if the wheals are not going away, immediately visit a hives specialist.

The most common and renowned drugs for hive treatment are the oral antihistamines, especially in case of an autoimmune cause.

Besides antihistamines herbal medicine, Chinese therapies and lotions are also frequently used.

Non-sedating antihistamines including Loratadine, Fexofenadine, Cetirizine, Levocetirizine and Desloratadine should be the first choice, but if symptoms persist, take sedating antihistamines including Hydroxyzine, Diphenhydramine and Chlorpheniramine.

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

These medicine are proven for hives treatment, on the other hand there are drugs which can cause hives which I will be talking about in the next blog post.