Coping with chronic idiopathic urticaria

Chronic idiopathic urticaria, also more commonly known as hives, is an allergic reaction to one or more allergens that may never manifest themselves, hence the word idiopathic (reason unknown).

Urticaria-A Quick Overview

Symptoms of the condition vary in appearance and size, for example, hives may be round and resemble small bumps or nettle rash, or manifest as rings or large patches that may resemble the ringworm. These bumps or rings often grow larger and swollen together; in many cases, the swelling can grow especially in the head area; this is usually a more serious secondary condition called angioedema (angioedema is swelling deeper in the dermis or skin). Hives can occur over most of the body and in several cases throughout the body; however, hives usually do not affect the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet. The exception to that is pressure or vibration urticaria.

The term chronic describes the variation of the skin condition that has become continuous or recurrent and is generally classified as chronic after being apparent over a period of two to six weeks. Many chronic urticaria sufferers suffer from the disease for years with daily flare-ups, myself included.

Simple allergy or life-changing condition

It’s fair to say that traditional medicine is lagging behind any sustainable relief for chronic idiopathic urticaria sufferers, and I guess that’s because most people view the condition as nothing more than an allergy.

It is true that simple acute cases of hives (urticaria) are in fact a simple allergic reaction, studies indicate that most people at some point in their life will experience symptoms of hives and, in such cases, a short dose of antihistamine or a quick dose of cortisone is usually sufficient, but not for those with chronic hives.

A lifetime of daily antihistamine is not the answer

Taking non-sedating antihistamines, including Allegra, Claritin, Clarinex, and Zyrtec, is fine for acute symptoms of hives, but, as explained, they offer little or only short-term relief for those with chronic idiopathic disease. Having suffered from long term hives looks high and low for effective relief and for any of you in the same position, you may find some of the following natural methods helpful to alleviate your hives symptoms:

8 natural tips to treat chronic idiopathic urticaria

• Take a high dose of vitamin D (use d2), this is the nutrient that the skin absorbs through sunlight, the dose should be left to the individual, but as a suggestion I use a fairly high dose.
• Reduce swelling by using cold compresses or ice packs (if you took them straight from the freezer, wrap them in a towel before placing them on the skin.
• Calamine lotion applied to the area will help some, this tends to be more affective for smaller common hives, mine tend to be rings and deeper swelling so calamine doesn’t work as well for me .
• Cats Claw (not a real cat’s claw), is it actually a grass or a root or something? Anyway, you can get it in supplement form, and it reduces swelling or at least speeds everything up.
• Herbal teas can be good, even if you use them in place of your regular tea or coffee when you experience an attack of hives. I think the reason is that they contain natural antioxidants. Green tea is also used to reduce swelling (inflammation).
• Vitamin C is often said to offer relief to those suffering from hives, I can’t be sure if that’s the case, but I take it anyway as it can only be a good thing.
• Aloe vera gel, peanut oils or vitamin E are also widely used to offer some relief, if memory serves you are supposed to apply your chosen liquid twice a day.
• Keeping a diet sheet is something you should consider, although it is not technically a remedy for hives, it can help you distinguish specific allergens that may be the cause of the trigger for your chronic hives. Just keep a list of the foods and drinks you consume over a period that could end in an episode, then you can check back and see which items may be at fault. Try cutting one thing at a time to see if it helps and reduces the frequency of hives.

How to stop getting hives outbreaks

Obviously this is just a small list of natural methods to tackle chronic idiopathic urticaria, hands down the best outcome for all of us is not having the constant breakouts in the first place … But how.