Great Well Being

If you are wondering whether stress can cause hives, you will be disappointed to know it can. This is primarily because stress alters internal chemistry in our bodies giving rise to very many conditions like hives. Also, another reason for the hives is that the skin is very large and more vulnerable to hives because of its sensitivity. Hives are itchy conditions that manifest themselves on skin with the ability to go away within a very short time as they appeared. They are usually sore and they can affect any part of the skin in the body. There are other things that cause hives like insect bites, allergies to foods like nuts and milk, environmental causes like sunlight, cold and water. Hives also go by another name which is urticaria.

You also need to know that there are two different kinds of hives and the first one is ordinary hives and the other one is physical hives. Ordinary hives and the most common ones appear for no reason and last for a very short time. If you have hives that last for months, they are called chronic hives. Stress is definitely associated with hives and there are people who have dealt with their stress issues and managed to eradicate the annoying hives. The other types of hives come when the skin is stimulated by the external factors I had mentioned earlier. There are many other triggers of hives apart from stress and the factors are mentioned above.

The triggers include perfume or deodorant, pets, bacteria, fungi or any other form of disease. Therefore, when you suspect that your hives are caused by stress, you have to deal with the stress first so that you can eliminate this underlying factor. There are so many ways of eradicating stress and the first thing you need to do is to find out what your cause of stress is. The causes are called stressors and they may include external or internal factors. You are best placed to identify the problem and when you have, it is time to deal with it. If it is a problem that you can remove or move away from, you need to do exactly that. If the cause is there and there is nothing you can do about it, you need to adapt to the problem and form special skills that will enable you go on with confidence despite of the problem.

Other things you can do to cure stress are to visit a specialist for professional help, keeping optimism and positivity nearby, eating a healthy diet, engaging in physical exercises and so many more. When you have done all this, you will start getting better. Eventually you will have solved the problem of hives. You might also be cured from stress and not manage to eliminate hives on you. Do not worry because this means that the cause of hives in your body is not stress. Therefore, you need to know how to treat hives in general. A doctor will administer a steroid to relive symptoms and hives eventually go away on their own.

Allergies can cause hives, itchy red splotches on your skin that come and go, but being evaluated for allergies as a cause of chronic hives (urticaria) is almost always a waste of time and money.

We know that allergies to foods and drugs can cause hives, but almost always hives caused by foods or drugs stop by themselves within a few days or weeks. Chronic hives continue to break out for more than a couple of weeks and are evaluated with blood tests, X rays and MRIs. Usually doctors can’t find a cause, but when they do, they find a hidden infection, tumor or an autoimmune disease.

When hives are caused by helicobacter, the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, they can be cured by taking antibiotics. Infectious mononucleosis can start as hives that last for several weeks before the actual symptoms of disease start. Exciting new research shows that most people with chronic hives have antibodies against their own white blood cells which can be diagnosed when they have huge red swelling at the site where their blood is injected into their skin and they can be successfully treated with immune suppressants such as cyclosporin and intravenous gamma globulin. Hives caused by touching cold objects are often caused by infection and often stop after a person takes antibiotics.

Doctors usually recommend avoiding aspirin, the most common drug cause of hives. They prescribe antihistamines first. However, sometimes, antihistamines do not control itching and your doctor may have to prescribe cortisone-type medications such as prednisone. Sometimes chronic hives are the first sign of a tumor that may not show up for many years.

Medical Treatments for Hives

Description

Hives are a sudden eruption of red and white bumps on the skin. While hives are usually itchy, and therefore bothersome, they are generally not dangerous-except in cases of bee or insect stings, when hives indicate a true medical emergency. A case of hives may last for less than 30 minutes or as long as a week.

When the body comes into contact with a substance it considers dangerous, it floods the skin with histamine to combat the problematic substance. Hives result when there is excess buildup of histamine on a particular area of skin. Substances that cause this histamine release differ from person to person, though common irritants include animal dander, pollen, aspirin, penicillin, insect bites, and foods to which the person is allergic.

Signs and Symptoms

A batch of raised, red or white bumps on a localized area of skin

Bumps may appear and disappear suddenly

The affected area may be mildly or severely itchy

Conventional Medical Treatment

Hives often do not usually require medical treatment, but if the hives remain for an extended period of time, see your doctor. After taking your medical history, your physician may ask about your exposure within the last two weeks to any possible irritants. Unfortunately, hives can be caused by such a wide range of irritants that your physician may not be able to identify the exact cause. If the cause is identified, you will be urged to avoid the substance that caused the outbreak. In severe cases, your doctor may prescribe a medication, usually an antihistamine, to treat the condition.

If the hives are accompanied by shortness of breath, fever, nausea, or abdominal cramps, immediately seek medical help. You could be suffering from anaphylactic shock.

Aromatherapy

German chamomile oil can help bring relief from itching. Simply place a drop directly on the itchy skin and massage in.

Ayurvedic Medicine

Hives come from excessive heat in the body, say Ayurvedic practitioners. To cool the heat and soothe the maddening itch, they favor eating watermelon as well as drinking coriander milk or cilantro.