What Kind Of Treatment Is Available For Urticaria?

December 17, 2020     

If you’ve had red-coloured skin bumps that appear and go away quickly, it’s unlikely that they are common bug bites. The rash can be itchy, and the itching from hives can range from mild to severe. Hives, also called urticaria, affects about 20 per cent of people at some point in their life. Alcohol, scratching, exercise, and emotional stress can make itching worse. If you think you have urticaria, it’s best to talk to a Dermatologist for the best treatment.

Treatment options are primary prevention by avoiding aggravating factors; taking Antihistamines provided by doctors; Leukotriene receptor antagonists, and many immunosuppressants such as methotrexate, omalizumab, and others. Let us see this article provided by Cosmosure Clinic gives information about What kind of treatment is available for urticaria.

What is urticaria?

Urticaria – also known as hives, welts, weals, is a raised itchy rash that appears on the skin. It can appear in one part of the body or spread over a large area. The rash is usually very itchy and ranges from a few millimetres to the size of a hand.

Although the affected area can change shape within 24 hours, the rash usually goes away within a few days. Doctors can refer urticaria like this:

• Acute urticaria: if the rash has disappeared entirely within six weeks
• Chronic urticaria: in rare cases where the rash lasts or comes and goes for more than six weeks, often for years

A much rarer type of urticaria known as urticaria vasculitis can cause inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin. In this case, the hives last more than 24 hours, is more painful and can leave a bruise.

What causes urticaria?

Urticaria occurs when higher levels of chemical messengers and histamines are released into the skin. This substance causes the blood vessels in the affected skin area to open up (often causing redness or redness) and become fluid. The extra fluid in this tissue causes swelling and itching. Histamine is released for a variety of reasons, including:

• Allergic reactions: Such as food allergies or reactions to insect bites or stings
• Exposed to cold or heat
• Infections: such as a cold
• Some medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or antibiotics

However, in most cases of urticaria, no exact cause is found.

Some long-term urticaria cases can be caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking healthy tissue. However, it isn’t easy to diagnose, and the treatment options are the same. Some triggers can also make symptoms worse. They include:

• Drink alcohol or caffeine
• Emotional stress
• Warm temperature

Kinds of treatment available for urticaria

Your doctor will likely recommend that you manage your symptoms with home remedies, and with some over-the-counter antihistamines. If self-care measures don’t help, talk to your doctor about finding a prescription medication or drug combination that works best for you. Effective treatments can usually be found.

Antihistamines: Taking a non-drowsy antihistamine for every day will help block the release of histamine, which causes symptoms. They have few side effects. Examples include:

• Fexofenadine (Allegra)
• Desloratadine (Clarinex)
• Cetirizine (Zyrtec)
• Loratadine (Claritin)

If an antihistamine doesn’t help, your doctor may increase your dose or try the type that usually makes you sleepy and take it before bed. Examples include hydroxyzine pamoate (Vistaril) and Doxepin (Zonalon).

Talk to your doctor before taking this medication if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a chronic disease or are taking other medications.

Other medications:

If taking antihistamines alone that don’t relieve your symptoms, other medications can help, and the combination of both can also help. As an example:

• Histamine (H-2) inhibitor: These medicines, also called H-2 receptor antagonists, are either injected or taken orally. Examples are cimetidine (Tagamet HB) and famotidine (Pepcid).
• Anti-inflammatory drugs: If antihistamines don’t relieve or cause severe side effects, even at higher doses, your doctor may decide to treat you with corticosteroids to reduce swelling and itching quickly. Oral corticosteroids such as prednisone can reduce redness, swelling, and itching. 

This type of drugs is usually used to treat severe itching or angioedema in the short term, as use of long-term can cause serious side effects. Corticosteroids can suppress the immune system as a whole. Regardless of whether the cause is allergic or autoimmune (both immune systems mediated), this drug can “clog” symptoms when other drugs can’t.

• Antidepressants: The tricyclic antidepressant Doxepin, which is taken in the form of ointments, can help relieve itching. This medicine may cause dizziness and drowsiness.
• Leukotriene Modifiers medication with antihistamines:  Leukotriene modifiers prevent the release of leukotriene, a substance that not only causes the airways to narrow but also stimulates inflammation. Medicines that interfere with the action of the leukotriene-converting can be useful when used with antihistamines. Examples are Montelukast (Singulair) and Zafirlukast (Accolate).
• Man-made (monoclonal) antibodies: Monoclonal antibody blocks a protein known as immunoglobulin E (IgE), which is central to allergies and some types of urticaria and dermatitis. Omalizumab (Xolair) is very effective against a type of chronic hives that is difficult to treat. This is an injectable drug usually given once a month.  
• Immunosuppressants: They suppress rejection and make them less strong to autoimmune processes, such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral) and tacrolimus (Astagraf XL, Prograf, Protopic).

If your reactions include swelling of your tongue or lips, or if you have trouble breathing, your doctor may prescribe an adrenaline auto-injector which is always available. This can be an early symptom of anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction that affects breathing and can lead to shock.

The only treatment for anaphylaxis is adrenaline epinephrine injections. If you develop urticaria and your injectors aren’t there, or if using an auto-injector doesn’t improve your symptoms immediately, go to the clinic right away. Emergency services in clinics carry adrenaline and can provide appropriate care. 

Conclusion:

For so many possible reasons, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The good news is that treatment can control hives. Sometimes it just takes time to find the right treatment for you.

Treatment for urticaria can vary from case to case some require short-term treatment while others require long-term treatment. The duration of treatment depends on various factors such as the severity, duration and extent of the disease, the same type of treatment and the general health of the patient.

Meet Cosmosure Clinic experts today to learn more about urticaria treatment and how you too can live pain-free after treatment. Call at Cosmosure Clinic 040 4953 0404 and book your appointment.