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Hives - The Basics

Oh. It looks as if you have a typical case of urticaria! A case of what? Urticaria. You know, those raised, red itchy welts on your skin that seem to come and go at random. Oh, hives! Yes, indeed! It’s actually one part of what is a family of rashes.

In addition to hives, another member of the family is called angioedema. This causes larger welts than hives and they extend deeper under your skin. These appear more commonly in your eyes and lips. And another family member, also related to your common hives but more serious, is

hereditary angioedema (HAE). This particular version is a genetic disorder. It’s not extremely common, but it can cause sudden – and severe – swelling of your face, arms, legs, hands, feet, digestives, as well as your airways and your genitalia.

Hives, in some form, affects thousands of people every year. So if you’re itchy and trying hard to not to scratch your hives while you’re reading this, you’re not alone. Nearly 20 percent of the population has been affected with hives at one point or another.

For the majority of people, a case of hives is not a major medical issue. Hives are annoying, but they’re not life-threatening. They appear and then they disappear, leaving behind no clues that they ever existed. They don’t leave scars or any marks on your skin. Most individuals affected by hives, in fact, find that they need no treatment beyond an over-the-counter antihistamine medication.

If you have the hives, you have neither a disease nor a disorder. What you’re merely suffering with is a symptom – quite an explicit one at that! – that your entire body is experiencing a hypersensitivity or an allergic reaction.

In approximately 50 percent of the cases, it’s difficult to determine the exact cause of the hives. There are so many things that can trigger this rash like symptom, it’s hard to pinpoint it to just one.

If you’re waiting for science to eradicate hives . . . well, you’re probably going to have a long wait. Science probably will never fully get rid of them. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Hives actually are a valuable form of communication. It’s a way your body lets you know when you expose it to something that’s not in its best interest. We just need to get more adept at reading exactly what we exposed our system to.

Note: Some statements in this article may not be approved by the FDA. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional medical advice.

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