Hives (urticaria) are red, itchy welts that result from a skin reaction. The welts vary in size and appear and fade repeatedly as the reaction runs its course.
The condition is considered chronic hives if the welts appear for more than six weeks and recur frequently over months or years.
Chronic hives can be very uncomfortable and interfere with sleep and daily activities. For many people, antihistamines and anti-itch medications provide relief.
Symptoms
- Batches of red or skin-colored welts (wheals), which can appear anywhere on the body
- Welts that vary in size, change shape, and appear and fade repeatedly as the reaction runs its course
- Itching, which may be severe
- Painful swelling (angioedema) of the lips, eyelids and inside the throat
- A tendency for signs and symptoms to flare with triggers such as heat, exercise and stress
- A tendency for signs and symptoms to persist for more than six weeks and to recur frequently and unpredictably, sometimes for months or years
Causes
The skin reaction may be triggered by:
- Pain medications
- Insects or parasites
- Infection
- Scratching
- Heat or cold
- Stress
- Sunlight
- Exercise
- Alcohol or food
- Pressure on the skin, as from a tight waistband
In some cases, chronic hives may be related to an underlying illness, such as a thyroid disease or, rarely, cancer.
Complications
Chronic hives don’t put you at any sudden risk of a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). But if you do experience hives as part of a serious allergic reaction, seek emergency care. Signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis include dizziness, trouble breathing, and swelling of your lips, eyelids and tongue.
Types of Urticaria (Hives):
- Acute Urticaria: Hives lasting less than six weeks. The most common causes are certain foods, medications, or infections. Insect bites and internal disease may also be responsible.
- Chronic Urticaria: Hives lasting more than six weeks. The cause of this type of hives is usually more difficult to identify than those causing acute Urticaria. For most people with chronic Urticaria, the cause is impossible to determine. In some cases, though, the cause may be thyroid disease, hepatitis, infection, or cancer.
- Drug-induced Urticaria: It has been known to result in severe cardiorespiratory failure. The anti-diabetic Sulfonylurea glimepiride, in particular, has been documented to induce allergic reactions manifesting as urticarial.
How Homeopathy helps to cure an Urticaria?
Homeopathy treatment of Hives or Urticaria, it has shown consistently good results over the ages and that too all over the world. This has been the experience of patients all over the world and at the hands of Homeopathic doctors all over the world. Even in the most severe and chronic cases, the results have been most encouraging. Homeopathy treats the person as a whole.
It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic remedies for Urticaria are selected after a full individualizing examination and case analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution etc. A miasmatic tendency is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions.
Commonly indicated Homeopathic remedies:
- Apis: This is one of the best homeopathic medicines for Urticaria. In fact, it is the most commonly prescribed one when it comes to the treatment of Urticaria. The characteristic symptoms of this medicine happen to be the burning and stinging that accompanies the eruptions. There is redness and swelling as from the sting of a honey bee. Heat is intolerable most of the time.
- Dulcamara: When the problem is triggered by exposure to cold air or dampness or wet weather, Dulcamara is the best Homeopathic medicine for Urticaria. Indiscretion in diet or taking sour food can also trigger the eruptions. There is redness and itching of the skin, though the skin is often dry. In females, the hives may be aggravated around the menstrual periods.
- Natrum Mur: This is one of the most frequently used natural homeopathic medicines for Urticaria. The eruptions are red and oedematous in character. There is intense itching of the skin. Exposure to sun can easily trigger the itching and eruptions. Another factor tha t can cause the eruptions is exercise or any sort of exertion. The skin is usually oily or greasy.
- Urtica urens: Itching and burning of the skin as if scorched, raised red blotches, fine stinging points; pale rash requiring constant rubbing; consequences of suppressed Urticaria. Eruption and itching disappears as soon as the patient lies down and reappears immediately after rising. There is oedema of the face, chest and limbs without inflammation.
