The Horrible Hives
It must have itched terribly, because within five minutes her arm was completely red and covered in bumps. These are only a couple of examples. I could go on; but no doubt we have all known someone with hives or experienced it ourselves.
If you can figure out what is causing your outbreak, you can usually successfully treat urticaria. Therefore, the logical treatment prescribed for hives is avoidance of the trigger factor inducing the reaction. However, because hives is an allergic reaction, over-the-counter antihistamines can minimize the itching and inflammation. Atarax, a prescription medication, might also be prescribed for the same reason. Epinephrine is used if swelling and wheezing are associated with the urticaria.
Treating chronic idiopathic urticaria is difficult to say the least, but some therapies have been successful. For example, I found, at http://www.planetoid.org/urticaria/index... , a reference to an arthritis medication treating chronic idiopathic urticaria. Also, medications connected with lupus, (probably similar in origin to the arthritis medication), have proven successful in treating chronic hives. Some other non-traditional medications for chronic hives, including antacid pills, are listed in an article at http://www.allergyweb.com. UV light treatment can also be therapeutic.
For more information on the urticaria, view http://allallergy.com/search.htm . Search their articles at "Search for word in article" with the keyword, urticaria. They have a multitude of articles related to this subject. Also, I found two organizations that specifically deal with hives cases- Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center at http://www.rpslmc.edu/patients/allergy/i... , and the National Allergy, Asthma, and Urticaria Centers of Charleston, PA at http://www.allergycenters.com . Please give me feedback, so that I can know how to best meet your needs. Also, start a chat about this subject to learn from each other and gain support. God Bless and Good Health!
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