What Causes HIVES?

Chances are you have hives-red, raised. and itchy welts that appear and disappear on your skin, often for no apparent reason. Hives (urticaria) c be as small as a pencil to as large as a dinner plate Individual hives usually last less than 24 hours. But the outbreaks can persist for days, weeks-or in some cases-months or years.

Common Problem About 10 percent to 20 percent of people will experience hives that last six weeks or less (acute hives). Hives lasting longer than six weeks (chronic hives) can occur at any age, although they're more common in young adults Chronic lives are twice as common in women as they are in men.

Hives occur when cells lining the small blood vessels of your skin release certain chemicals One of these chemicals is histamine which is released into your bloodstream and skin Histamine is responsible for allergic reactions such as itchiness, ninny nose, and watery eyes Histamine dilates the walls of small blood vessels, allowing fluids to leak into surrounding tissue, causing swelling and itching.

Acute Hives

There are many possible triggers for acute hives. Causes include

-Foods Fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, nuts, and fresh berries are foods that can commonly cause hives. Fresh foods cause hives more often than do cooked foods Welts may appear within minutes or up to two hours after eating depending on how quickly the food is absorbed in the digestive tract.

-may be an interaction between your genetics, environment, and immune system. Sometimes. swelling of the face and tongue (angioedema) is involved.

Unfortunately, most of the time it's not possible to identify an underlying treatable cause of chronic hives. This means that most treatments used are targeted at controlling signs and symptoms.