What are the symptoms of chronic urticaria?

Symptoms of chronic idiopathic urticaria include:

• raised or swollen welts on your skin (hives or wheals) that appear and reappear over the course of 6 weeks.
• itching that is sometimes severe.
• swelling of the lips, eyelids, or throat (angioedema)

How is urticaria diagnosed?

Complete blood count, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein are important investigations for diagnosis of infections in urticaria. Autologous serum skin test is a simple office procedure for diagnosis of auto reactive urticaria. Closed ball point pen tip is a simple test to diagnose dermographism.

What is the hallmark of urticaria?

Urticaria (also called hives, wheals, or nettle rash) is characterized by pruritic, erythematous, and edematous wheals [1-10]. The hallmark of urticaria is that individual lesions wax and wane rapidly, usually lasting less than 4 hours [8, 9].

What is the first line treatment for urticaria?

Nonsedating antihistamines are the first-line treatment of urticaria and may be titrated to two to four times their normal dose, if necessary. These are recommended over older antihistamines because of their adverse effect profiles. All histamine H1 blockers appear to be effective.

What are the main causes of urticaria?

What causes urticaria?

• an allergic reaction – like a food allergy or a reaction to an insect bite or sting.
• cold or heat exposure.
• infection – such as a cold.
• certain medications – like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or antibiotics.

Which is the best treatment for urticaria?

Antihistamines. Antihistamines are the best, first-line treatment for hives, both acute and chronic. 1 They work by suppressing histamine, a chemical produced by the immune system that triggers allergy symptoms. Newer antihistamines are non-drowsy and their effects may last for as long as 24 hours.

Is urticaria completely curable?

Right now, the management of chronic urticaria is to stop the histamine release but there is no permanent cure and it may return after months or years. Medical science is constantly evolving.

Which medicine is best for urticaria?

Most cases of acute urticaria can be treated with OTC drugs that dampen the allergic response. This mainly involves antihistamines, but can also include a class of drugs called H2 blockers….These drugs include:

• Allegra (fexofenadine)
• Claritin (loratadine)
• Xyzal (levocetirizine dihydrochloride)
• Zyrtec (cetirizine)