Sometimes the rash lasts for days or weeks and may require tests and further treatment. For most people, each attack of hives will become more severe. Avoiding the trigger is important. If you do not get better in 24 to 48 hours or you have any other concerns, see your local doctor.
To get relief until then, dermatologists recommend that you take a non-drowsy antihistamine and use these home remedies. It can be helpful to see a board-certified dermatologist if the hives: Last longer than a few days. Cover a large area of your body.
If you have hives along with fever, nausea, stomach cramps, shortness of breath, and a drop in blood pressure after a bee sting, insect bite, or drug injection, that can be a sign of a life-threatening allergy.
If you continue to get hives daily or almost every day for six weeks or longer, you have chronic hives. The medical term for this is “chronic urticaria."
If you get hives as part of a severe allergic reaction, seek emergency care. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include dizziness, trouble breathing, and swelling of the tongue, lips, mouth or throat.
The itching, swelling, and redness of hives can last hours to several weeks or months. In most cases the hives eventually go away without treatment, but taking drugs such as antihistamines or corticosteroids help the hives go away faster.
Hives can be a sign of several other medical or autoimmune conditions, including thyroid or liver diseases, chronic infections, or lupus. Most people with one of these conditions will have other symptoms apart from the hives.
For some, the hives may persist. If skin symptoms last 6 weeks or longer, it is known as chronic urticaria, or chronic hives. The condition affects more than 500,000 people in the United States. Some doctors believe the rates of chronic urticaria may be higher.
Hives are best treated with an over-the-counter antihistamine or topical creams like hydrocortisone or calamine lotion. Antihistamine medications suppress the histamine that is released from the body, causing your itchy reaction. Topical treatments work on your skin's cells to stop the histamine from being released.
The wheals generally appear in clusters, with one cluster getting worse as another gets better. Most wheals disappear without a trace within a few hours, only to be replaced by a new one elsewhere on the skin.
Hives usually are caused by other things besides infection, although it could be from a virus. It could be from an allergen, or some sort of an allergy that you have. It could be from a hormonal change. And it even could be emotional in some situations.
The standard treatment for hives and angioedema is antihistamines that don't make you drowsy. These medications reduce itching, swelling and other allergy symptoms. They're available in nonprescription and prescription formulations. Drugs that suppress the immune system.
Stress rashes often appear as raised red bumps called hives. They can affect any part of the body, but often a stress rash is on the face, neck, chest or arms. Hives may range from tiny dots to large welts and may form in clusters. They may be itchy or cause a burning or tingling sensation.
Hives are sometimes worse at night. Some evidence suggests that mast cells, the cells responsible for releasing histamine, are sensitive to circadian rhythms, which may explain it. 3 Allergens in bedding or temperature changes in the room could also be a factor.
Yes, the itch can drive you crazy, but scratching hives may cause them to spread and become even more inflamed, says Neeta Ogden, MD, an allergist in private practice in Englewood, New Jersey, and a spokesperson for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
If your symptoms last a while (chronic urticaria), a doctor may arrange for tests to help work out the cause. They'll also ask about anything that makes your symptoms worse.
"If you have a simple rash, and you're itching, you can probably go to urgent care. But if you have a rash and vomiting, you should go to the ER." An anaphylactic allergic reaction can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical treatment.
If you have a case of hives that lasts for more than a few days, it's time to call the doctor. Sometimes, but not always, hives occur as part of a more serious allergic reaction called anaphylactic shock. Seek medical attention right away if you experience hives along with: Dizziness.
Hives that last longer than six weeks or with recurring outbreaks over a six-week period are most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infections like Helicobacter pylori (bacteria in the stomach), hepatitis or a dental infection. Autoimmune diseases like lupus and Hashimoto disease can also cause hives.
Stress hives can look a little like bug bites: both are red, puffy, and itchy, and may appear initially as individual bumps, says Stevenson. However, hives are more often irregular in shape and can join together in larger patches, especially if you scratch them.
You may feel a tingling or burning sensation as if you've been bitten by mosquitos. In addition, some welts may disappear only to be replaced by new ones within a few hours. Stress can also provoke flare-ups, or a return of symptoms, if you already have another skin condition, such as: Eczema.
The immune system takes a big hit when the body is deprived of regenerating sleep, and Breus says this is a common cause of rashes and other skin-related problems.