Allergic urticaria: symptoms, causes, treatment

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Rash is one of the main signs of an allergy. With allergic urticaria on the skin, rashes appear, which in appearance resemble a nettle burn. The disease is quite common, every person sometimes has unpleasant symptoms.

Allergic urticaria - what is it?

Allergic urticaria is a protective reaction of the body to external or internal stimuli, manifested as blisters, itching. At the initial stage of rashes a little, they are at some distance from each other, gradually increase, unite - there is a large inflamed area. The disease is not transmitted from person to person.

Allergens penetrate the body during respiration, food intake, direct contact with skin. The disease can manifest itself in acute and chronic form.

Acute allergic urticaria is manifested by numerous rashes on the skin, severe itching. Symptoms appear immediately after contact with the stimulus, go through 3-4 hours, sometimes slightly increases the temperature.

Chronic allergic urticaria can last several months, characterized by alternating periods of remission and exacerbation. For pathology is characterized by a deterioration in the quality of sleep, increased sweating. Women face the problem more often than men.

Important! If the allergic reaction to the type of urticaria covers very large areas of the skin, then there may be fever, problems with the work of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.

What is the difference between hives and allergies? The main symptom of urticaria - blisters and rashes of various shades of red, which is accompanied by severe burning, can appear on any part of the body, but it has a symmetrical character.

The ICD-10 code is L50, the disease has 9 subsections depending on the species.

Species and Symptoms of Allergic Urticaria

In acute urticaria, fever may rise sharply, vomiting sometimes occurs, syncope may occur. During the disease, the permeability of the vessel walls is impaired, which leads to a strong swelling of the tissues.

Allergic( immune) form of urticaria - in the inflammatory process involved the organs of the immune system, which leads to the active formation of antibodies, increases the level of histamine. It can occur against a background of digestive system disorders.

Some foods, such as potatoes, chocolate, citrus fruits, eggs can provoke the appearance of allergic urticaria. Eruptions often appear after taking antibiotics, vitamins of group B. Allergy can be caused by dust, animal hair, dandruff, poison of insects.

Pseudoallergic( non-immune) urticaria - in the course of the disease, the immune system is not affected. Often occurs against a background of severe intoxication - after mushroom poisoning, dysentery, malaria. It can be a consequence of helminthic invasion, or hypersensitivity to certain medicines.

Types of non-allergic urticaria:

1. Cold - irritation on the skin appears under the influence of low temperatures, cold drinks and food. In open areas there are blisters, puffiness, the symptoms increase with warming. The condition stabilizes within an hour, sometimes it can last 6-7 days.
2. Cholinergic - occurs when exposed to high temperatures. Provoke it can intense physical activity, hot drinks, water procedures. It appears in the form of pink blisters, severe itching. The causes of the disease are not thoroughly studied, but more often it is found in people infected with parasites, in the presence of an anamnesis of pathologies of the digestive system and thyroid gland.
3. Nervous - appears as a consequence of nervous overexertion, fright, stress.

Pseudoallergic urticaria sometimes occurs when intolerance of sunlight, water, sometimes the cause of the disease is mechanical damage to the skin.

Any kind of urticaria is accompanied by spots, swelling and blisters, itching is not always present. The rash is not accompanied by pain, except for Quincke's edema. After a few hours, the rashes should disappear, if this did not happen, there was peeling, pigmented spots, then it may be signs of urticaria vasculitis.

What causes an allergic urticaria

Various factors may provoke the appearance of an allergy on the skin, but experts identify several main causes of allergic urticaria. The main cause of urticaria is increased hypersensitivity, for some substances the body reacts inadequately, stimuli can be external and internal. To reduce the concentration of harmful substances, the body increases the production of histamine - the walls of the capillaries become less dense, the liquid from the blood penetrates into the tissues, there is swelling and rashes.

Causes of pathology:

• is a hereditary factor;
• urticaria often develops against a background of exudative diathesis;
• dysbacteriosis, helminthic invasion;
• chronic foci of infection in the form of caries, inflammation of the tonsils.

Important! Urticaria often develops in people with a predisposition to allergies, in the presence of pathologies of the digestive system.

Allergic urticaria during pregnancy can occur against a background of increased levels of estrogen in the blood, gestosis, in the conflict between the fetus and mom. The disease does not pose a threat to life and development of the fetus, but some medications that use to eliminate symptoms can be dangerous.

How quickly does hives occur? All symptoms of an unstable form pass a maximum of 6 weeks, chronic - 2-3 months. In 20% of cases, the disease can last up to 5 years, each 9 patients need a full recovery more than 20 years.

Urticaria often causes swelling of the upper respiratory tract, choking begins. What to do in this case? Immediately call an ambulance. Before the arrival of doctors, you need to give the patient any antihistamine drug, valerian for normalizing breathing. Do not panic, you need to try to breathe calmly, superficially, evenly, if possible, you need to go out into the cold. With deep breaths, Quincke's swelling intensifies.

Important! Skin rashes can be a sign of infectious diseases, so do not self-medicate. A dermatologist and an allergist can accurately determine the cause of the rash, and prescribe adequate treatment.

How to treat

Treatment in adults and children begins with the detection and elimination of the allergen, for this purpose a number of different tests are carried out.

The basis of therapy is antihistamines:

1. Suprastin, Diazolin - first-generation drugs, act quickly, but have a short effect, not more than 8 hours. They are forbidden to take to people whose work requires increased concentration, because they act as a sedative and hypnotic. There is an addictive effect - if you take the pill for more than 3 weeks, their activity decreases.
2. Claritin, Lomilan - preparations of the II generation, do not affect mental and physical activity. You can not take people of old age, with cardiovascular pathologies.
3. Telfast, Zirtek - antiallergic drugs of a new generation. Medicines with minimal side effects, do not have a sedative effect, can be taken by the elderly.

In severe forms of the disease, injections of Dexamethasone, Prednisolone, are prescribed. To get rid of the itch help preparations for external use - Fenistil-gel, prednisolone ointment.

Urticaria in children in the clinical picture and the reasons do not differ from adults. For treatment, antihistamines are used - Hydroxysin, Cyproheptadine, Claritin. If the cause of the disease is stress, then prescribe cimetidine.

For the treatment of children, folk remedies can be used after preliminary consultation with a doctor. It is best to use herbs for baths - to mix in equal proportions a turn and a camomile, in a small bag of a thin natural fabric to cover 140 g of collection, to fill in 3 l of boiled water. After 6 hours, the infusion will be ready, it should be poured into the bath. The duration of the procedure is 15-20 minutes.

Can I wash myself with allergic urticaria? You can not only bathe, but you also need to, because on dirty skin all bacteria and microbes reproduce faster. Do not use hot water for water procedures, rub hard damaged areas.

Diet

Dietary nutrition is an integral part of the treatment of allergic urticaria. In a hospital, fasting can be prescribed for 3-5 days. The optimal menu is made by the doctor individually.

How to make the menu correctly:

• exclude dairy products, but sour-milk production can be consumed;
• not to consume exotic fruits, especially brightly colored, seafood;
• nuts, beekeeping products, dried fruits can cause allergies;
• vegetables and fish should be low-fat, they can be boiled, stewed, baked;
• to reduce the amount of spices to a minimum.

What can I eat with hives? Seasonal vegetables in raw, boiled, stewed, porridge from rice and buckwheat groats, hard fuddy cheese. Of fruits - green or yellow apples, pears, gooseberries, white currants. Instead of wheat bread, it is better to eat grain bread, bread, home-made crackers.

Allergic urticaria is not a fatal, but very unpleasant disease, can cause Quincke's edema, often goes into a chronic form. For prevention, it is necessary to strengthen the protective functions of the body, exclude from the diet allergen products, timely eliminate foci of infection, avoid stressful situations.