Hives is also commonly called as weals. It is a symptom of urticaria. These are red bumps that are seen on the skin and is a type of allergic reaction mainly to drugs or food. These allergic reactions cause the body to generate chemicals that can make the skin to swell up in hives. Hives I caused because of friction, pressure, temperature extremes, exercise, sunlight, infections and stress. Acute viral infection is another common cause of urticaria. It is also noticed that hives are more common in people with fair skin. Hives can occur at any part of the body and any skin surface, but usually they are more common on the palms and soles of the feet.
However there are several other reasons for occurrence of hives as well. Hives are very common among people. They usually tend to go away on their own with time, however in serious and severe cases, medication is needed. Any person can be affected by hives irrespective of the race at any age and in any season of the year. It occurs in up to 20% of the population. Hives are classified as acute or chronic depending on the length of the episode. In acute urticaria, hives last less than six weeks and are usually the result of an allergic trigger while in chronic urticaria; hives last longer than six weeks and are rarely due to an allergic reaction. The majority of patients with chronic hives do not know the cause. In rare cases, allergic reactions can cause a dangerous swelling in the airways, blocking it and making it hard to breathe thereby making it a medical emergency. People who have other allergies are more likely to get hives than other people.
The in depth study of hives has shown that it is caused from dilation of capillaries allowing body fluid to move out into the surrounding tissue, the epidermis. The hives disappear when the body absorbs this fluid. The border of a hive is made up of many circles like structure that show up or disappears as fluid leaks out or gets absorbed. Treatment is not needed for mild hives and also tends to go away with time, however there is no guaranteed cure or treatment to control hives attacks. Also with continuous treatment and medication, some sub-populations tend to become resistant losing their effectiveness and then requiring new medications to control attacks. Chronic urticaria can be difficult to treat. The most effective treatment plan for curing urticaria is awareness. If one is aware of the triggers that can cause hives then it can be controlled, but if a person is suffering from different forms of urticaria then it can be difficult to find out the actual causative agent. The treatment can be very crucial if hives are itchy. Hives are itchy as it mainly causes swelling in the epidermis where many nerve endings are present that are sensitive. The severity of the itching varies from person to person and case to case. Hives hould be treated in a timely fashion.
