Understanding Hives: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments

Hives are a skin reaction causing red, itchy welts, often triggered by allergies or stress.
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Skin Health | Allergies | Immunology | Urticaria | Skin Reaction | Itchy Welts | Allergy-induced Hives
Prepared by Lee Cheng, reviewed by Dr. Helena Rodriguez

Hives FAQ


Image credit: verywellhealth.com

What is hives & urticaria?

After 7 years in this role and a further year working as a drug safety officer in the pharmaceutical industry, Bhupesh joined Holland & Barrett as a Senior Regulatory Affairs Associate in 2019. Also called urticaria, hives is a bumpy red rash that’s typically caused by an immune response.

What do hives look like?

Hives look different depending on the person and the situation. They can show up anywhere on your body. Signs of acute hives include: Raised welts or bumps on your skin. The bumps may look reddish on lighter-colored skin. Hives blanch (the center of the hive becomes pale when pressed). Itchy skin.

What causes hives?

You get hives when something causes high levels of histamine and other chemicals to be released in your skin. This is known as a trigger. scratching or pressing on your skin, such as wearing itchy or tight clothing Try to find out what triggers hives for you, so you can avoid those triggers, if possible. This may help prevent an episode of hives.

Where do hives usually occur?

The hives usually occur right where the skin was stimulated and rarely appear elsewhere. Most of the hives appear within 1 hour. Dermatographism. This is a common form of physical urticaria where hives form after firmly stroking or scratching the skin.

What is hives (urticaria)?

By clicking ‘Join now’ you agree to our and . Hives (Urticaria) is an itchy rash caused by tiny amounts of fluid that leak from blood vessels under the skin. It is triggered by a number of different causes.

What are chronic hives?

Hives — also called urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-e-uh) — is a skin reaction that causes itchy welts. Chronic hives are welts that last for more than six weeks and return often over months or years. Often, the cause of chronic hives isn't clear. The welts often start as itchy patches that turn into swollen welts that vary in size.

Are hives a rash?

A rash is a skin condition that involves something out of the ordinary, like spots, swelling, itchiness or redness. Hives is an example of a rash, but not all rashes are hives. Who is affected by hives?

How do you know if you have hives (urticaria)?

An itchy rash is the main symptom of hives (urticaria). The rash can appear anywhere on the body. Small raised areas called weals develop on the skin. The weals look like mild blisters and are itchy. Each weal is white or red and is usually surrounded by a small red area of skin which is called a flare.

Hives References

If you want to know more about Hives, consider exploring links below:

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