10 Causes of Urticaria

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Urticaria is a medical term used to describe hives, a symptom that many of us are familiar with. Hives are bothersome welts that can show up anywhere on the human skin. These welts can often be itchy and they can vary tremendously in size—some are as small as a pinprick whereas others can grow to cover the entirety of someone’s torso. Some welts may overlap or connect to form the appearance of massive welts. Generally, a hive will disappear overnight; however, that doesn’t mean that the problem will be gone—quite the contrary. In fact, new hives tend to appear as old ones disappear for the duration that a person is struggling with a break out. An actual break out of hives can last a few hours to a few weeks.

There are two main types of hives: acute hives and chronic hives. Acute hives occur in outbreaks that last less than six weeks. Chronic hives will endure for more than 6 weeks. A more serious related condition referred to as angioedema occurs when fairly big welts happen a little bit deeper underneath the skin. If this happens as a result of regular hives, patients may notice that they experience swelling in the eyelids or lips. If this becomes apparent, you should seek medical treatment immediately.

Many people first experience hives as the result of an allergy, sometimes to pollen or to a bee sting. However, there are far more things that can cause hives than simply allergies. In this article, we’re going to discuss the ten most common causes of urticaria that you are likely to come across.

Cause #1: Allergies to Food

The most common cause of hives is an allergy. People can develop allergies to many different things and one of the most common things is food. Common foods that cause allergies are citrus fruits, milk, nuts, and shellfish.

If you experience hives in addition to symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing or coughing, watery eyes, or other respiratory problems, it might be safe to assume that you have an allergy. If this is the case, try to identify the allergen and avoid exposure to it.