Hives, Urticaria, and Angioedema: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• Causes
• Types
• Diagnosis
• Treatment
• 7 Simple Tips
• When Should I Call the Doctor?
• More

Hives are swollen, pale red bumps, patches, or welts on the skin that appear suddenly. On darker skin tones, they can appear skin-colored and can be more difficult to see. They can happen because of allergies or other reasons. Your doctor may call them urticaria.

Hives usually itch, but they may also burn or sting. They can show up anywhere on your body, including the face, lips, tongue, throat, and ears. Hives can change size rapidly and move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours. Hives can often appear and then clear up within a few hours. Some people have one flare-up and never get hives again. It’s also possible to have many flare-ups.

They range in size from a pencil eraser to a dinner plate and may join together to form larger areas known as plaques. They can last for hours, weeks, or even years.

Angioedema is different. The swelling happens under the skin, not on the surface. It’s marked by deep swelling around the eyes and lips and sometimes of the genitals, hands, and feet. It generally lasts longer than hives, but the swelling usually goes away in less than 24 hours. It’s rare, but angioedema of the throat, tongue, or lungs can block your airways, making it hard to breathe.

Allergic reactions, chemicals in foods, insect stings, sunlight, and medicines can make your body release a chemical called histamine. Histamine sometimes makes blood plasma leak out of small blood vessels in the skin, causing hives or angioedema.

Sometimes, doctors don’t know exactly why hives have formed.

Urticaria, also known as hives, is a skin rash of raised, itchy bumps. The welts may also burn or sting. They often last hours or days, can move around, and don’t leave lasting skin changes. Viral, bacterial, or fungal infections may trigger hives, and they frequently happen again.

Acute urticaria and/or angioedema: With these conditions, hives or swelling lasts less than 6 weeks. The most common causes are foods, medicines, latex, and infections. Insect bites or a disease may also be responsible.

The most common foods that cause hives are nuts, chocolate, fish, tomatoes, eggs, fresh berries, soy, wheat, and milk. Fresh foods cause hives more often than cooked foods. Certain food additives and preservatives may also be to blame.

Drugs that can cause hives and angioedema include aspirin and other NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen), high blood pressure medications (such as ACE inhibitors), and painkillers such as codeine.

Chronic urticaria and/or angioedema: Hives or swelling that lasts more than 6 weeks. The cause is usually harder to find than in acute cases. The causes can be similar to those of acute urticaria but can also include your immune system, chronic infections, hormonal disorders, and tumors.

Physical urticaria: Hives caused by direct physical stimulation of the skin – for example, cold, heat, sunlight, vibration, pressure, sweating, and exercise. They usually happen right where the skin was affected and rarely appear anywhere else. Most appear within 1 hour after exposure.

Dermatographism: Hives that form after firmly stroking or scratching the skin. You may also have other forms of hives.

Hereditary angioedema: Painful swelling under the skin. It runs in families.

Your doctor will ask you many questions to try to find the cause of hives or angioedema. You’ll also get a checkup.

Your doctor may give you skin tests to find out if you’re allergic to something. You may get blood tests, too.

The best treatment is to identify and remove the trigger. But that’s not always easy.

Your doctor may prescribe antihistamines to ease your symptoms or help prevent them.

If you have chronic hives, you may need antihistamines or a combination of medications, such as steroids or a biologic drug.

For severe hives or angioedema, you may need a shot of epinephrine or a steroid medication.

While you wait for the hives and swelling to disappear:

1. Avoid hot water. Use lukewarm water instead.
2. Use gentle, mild soap.
3. Apply cool compresses or wet cloths to the affected areas.
4. Try to work and sleep in a cool room.
5. Wear loose-fitting lightweight clothes.
6. Use anti-itch medication that you can get without a prescription, such as an antihistamine or calamine lotion.
7. Apply a fragrance-free moisturizer several times a day to keep your skin from getting dry.

If you have hives or angioedema and any of the following symptoms, call your doctor right away:

• Dizziness
• Wheezing
• Trouble breathing
• Tightness in the chest
• Swelling of the tongue, lips, or face

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Hives, Urticaria, and Angioedema: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

• Causes
• Types
• Diagnosis
• Treatment
• 7 Simple Tips
• When Should I Call the Doctor?
• More

Hives are swollen, pale red bumps, patches, or welts on the skin that appear suddenly. On darker skin tones, they can appear skin-colored and can be more difficult to see. They can happen because of allergies or other reasons. Your doctor may call them urticaria.

Hives usually itch, but they may also burn or sting. They can show up anywhere on your body, including the face, lips, tongue, throat, and ears. Hives can change size rapidly and move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours. Hives can often appear and then clear up within a few hours. Some people have one flare-up and never get hives again. It’s also possible to have many flare-ups.

They range in size from a pencil eraser to a dinner plate and may join together to form larger areas known as plaques. They can last for hours, weeks, or even years.

Angioedema is different. The swelling happens under the skin, not on the surface. It’s marked by deep swelling around the eyes and lips and sometimes of the genitals, hands, and feet. It generally lasts longer than hives, but the swelling usually goes away in less than 24 hours. It’s rare, but angioedema of the throat, tongue, or lungs can block your airways, making it hard to breathe.

Allergic reactions, chemicals in foods, insect stings, sunlight, and medicines can make your body release a chemical called histamine. Histamine sometimes makes blood plasma leak out of small blood vessels in the skin, causing hives or angioedema.

Sometimes, doctors don’t know exactly why hives have formed.

Urticaria, also known as hives, is a skin rash of raised, itchy bumps. The welts may also burn or sting. They often last hours or days, can move around, and don’t leave lasting skin changes. Viral, bacterial, or fungal infections may trigger hives, and they frequently happen again.

Acute urticaria and/or angioedema: With these conditions, hives or swelling lasts less than 6 weeks. The most common causes are foods, medicines, latex, and infections. Insect bites or a disease may also be responsible.

The most common foods that cause hives are nuts, chocolate, fish, tomatoes, eggs, fresh berries, soy, wheat, and milk. Fresh foods cause hives more often than cooked foods. Certain food additives and preservatives may also be to blame.

Drugs that can cause hives and angioedema include aspirin and other NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen), high blood pressure medications (such as ACE inhibitors), and painkillers such as codeine.

Chronic urticaria and/or angioedema: Hives or swelling that lasts more than 6 weeks. The cause is usually harder to find than in acute cases. The causes can be similar to those of acute urticaria but can also include your immune system, chronic infections, hormonal disorders, and tumors.

Physical urticaria: Hives caused by direct physical stimulation of the skin – for example, cold, heat, sunlight, vibration, pressure, sweating, and exercise. They usually happen right where the skin was affected and rarely appear anywhere else. Most appear within 1 hour after exposure.

Dermatographism: Hives that form after firmly stroking or scratching the skin. You may also have other forms of hives.

Hereditary angioedema: Painful swelling under the skin. It runs in families.

Your doctor will ask you many questions to try to find the cause of hives or angioedema. You’ll also get a checkup.

Your doctor may give you skin tests to find out if you’re allergic to something. You may get blood tests, too.

The best treatment is to identify and remove the trigger. But that’s not always easy.

Your doctor may prescribe antihistamines to ease your symptoms or help prevent them.

If you have chronic hives, you may need antihistamines or a combination of medications, such as steroids or a biologic drug.

For severe hives or angioedema, you may need a shot of epinephrine or a steroid medication.

While you wait for the hives and swelling to disappear:

1. Avoid hot water. Use lukewarm water instead.
2. Use gentle, mild soap.
3. Apply cool compresses or wet cloths to the affected areas.
4. Try to work and sleep in a cool room.
5. Wear loose-fitting lightweight clothes.
6. Use anti-itch medication that you can get without a prescription, such as an antihistamine or calamine lotion.
7. Apply a fragrance-free moisturizer several times a day to keep your skin from getting dry.

If you have hives or angioedema and any of the following symptoms, call your doctor right away:

• Dizziness
• Wheezing
• Trouble breathing
• Tightness in the chest
• Swelling of the tongue, lips, or face

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Internal dimensions of the hive

bee hive | Agricultural sector

Modern beekeeping began to develop with the invention of a collapsible frame hive. For the first time, a frame-type hive for bees was invented in 1814 by the beekeeper P.I. Prokopovich and he also organized the first beekeeping school for peasants in Russia. After the war years, it was decided to introduce uniform requirements for the manufacture of hives, which include:

1. Requirements for the hive as a home for bees.

– external temperature fluctuations should not drastically affect the temperature inside the hive. To achieve this requirement in the manufacture of hives, it is necessary to use materials with high thermal insulation, as well as to use the installation of double walls and filling voids with thermal insulation material.

– the hive should always be dry. In order to prevent dampness, there must be proper ventilation of the hive through tap-holes, a non-leaking roof, and proper insulation.

– the volume of the hive must be sufficient to accommodate a strong family in it during the period of its highest development and, if necessary, be able to expand.

2. Technical and economic requirements.

– the hive should be easy to use

– relatively inexpensive and durable

Basically, when choosing a hive, beekeepers choose two types of hives – single-hull (beds) and multi-hull hives (risers), which in turn differ in the type of construction.

Very convenient in beekeeping is the so-called hive bed. It is a rectangular box. Since hives are the easiest to use, they are recommended for beginner beekeepers. The main convenience lies in the fact that free access to any frame of the hive is provided without dismantling the entire nest, so it is much easier to carry out anti-swarm measures based on the temporary separation of the family. Family expansion occurs horizontally by installing new frames on the side of the nest; it is very convenient to use helper queens to strengthen and build up the family. Due to the convenience and accessibility of expanding the hive, this design allows you to grow a fairly strong family, thereby increasing the collection of marketable honey. A typical hive design is designed for 16-30 nesting frames. In the back and front walls of the hive there are deep internal folds for hanging nesting frames i.e. the principle of placing the frames is presented in the form of a cold skid (the frames are installed with the butt to the notch), which has its advantages during the main honey plant (it facilitates the movement of bees along the frames and provides the best ventilation of the hive)

No less common is a multi-hull hive for bees, which belong to the riser hives. They consist of a main body and additional vertical cases or magazine extensions. Root hives and Dadan-Blatt hives are considered typical risers. Up to 12 cell frames are placed in the hive bodies. It is believed that this design allows you to increase the productivity of the family by 10-20%

Dadan-Blatt hives are very popular in our country. It got its name as a result of the refinement of the Dadan hive by the Swiss beekeeper Blatt. He changed the frames for the hives. It was, the width was shortened by 40 mm, the height remained unchanged. Such frames for a hive measuring 435 mm by 300 mm were called Blatt’s, and the hives became known as the Dadan-Blatt hives. The dimensions of the multi-hull hive on the inside are 450×450 mm in width and 320-330 mm in height. The hives of Dadan-Blatt can accommodate 12 comb frames plus an insert board, if you remove it, you can install a 13 frame. During the main honey collection period, one or more stores are installed on the hive, which can accommodate 12 half-frames and can be installed, depending on the need, in half-frames along or across the main nest. The hive is equipped with a removable bottom for ease of maintenance. The principle of placing frames is presented in the form of a cold skid.

Having considered the two main types of hives, I would like to emphasize that the right choice of a hive for a particular type of beekeeping depends on convenience, both for bees and for the beekeeper and minimization of effort during work.