Causes And Prevention Options For Hives

If you have ever had hives, you probably never want to get them again. After all, they are itchy, ugly and sometimes painful. You might also feel like you’re the only one on earth with the problem, but you aren’t. Many people get hives. The trick is learning why you have them, so that you can prevent them from returning in the future.

Recognizing Hives

To begin with, you need to know exactly what hives are. A case of hives is actually a series of wheals, or small, reddish, itchy bumps. The bumps look and feel a lot like mosquito bites. The difference is that they come in clusters and, of course, aren’t caused by anything biting you. Since there are so many of them, they feel a lot more uncomfortable than one or two mosquito bites, though.

As far as the size of the wheals, there’s no set size at all, which can be confusing. They can be as big as four inches across or as small as pin pricks or a tiny spider bite. So, the only guarantee about wheal sizes is that there are no guarantees.

Just as wheals aren’t always a single size, they aren’t always a single shape or color, either. So, don’t be confused if your wheals don’t all look alike. You might find yourself covered in tiny little red dots. You might, alternatively, find that you have giant red and white circles all over your body. You might even think you have a few large wheals, only to realize that they are tiny wheals that are so close together that they look like one. The possibilities are almost endless.

Duration of Hives

Hives aren’t predictable as far as shape and size, so it’s probably not surprising that they aren’t predictable as far as time goes, either. Some people get them for an entire day. Others are lucky enough to only have them for a few minutes. If you’re among the people that get them all the time or for longer than a day at a time, you need to seek medical help. Chronic hives don’t go away on their own.

Triggers of Hives

One cause of hives is an injury to your skin that allows other things to get under the skin’s surface, such as fungi and bacteria. If you are allergic to such materials, you might not show any reaction at all to them, until they get under the surface of your skin. Then, they might cause hives to appear.

Food allergies can also be a primary cause of hives. So, if your hives happen after you eat, that could be your problem. You might be able to identify the problem food or foods on your own, but it might not be that simple. You may need to get medical tests that can narrow down the field for you, if you want an exact diagnosis. Once you have that diagnosis, you can stop getting hives by simply not eating the foods you are allergic to.

Finally, general stress can cause you to develop hives, too. Stress changes your inner body chemistry. Anything that does that can cause a lot of unpleasant symptoms. So, if you are stressed out, you may get hives since you will be suffering from a chemical imbalance in your body.

Related posts:

1. Eczema Explained