hives rash

Tag: hives rash

What is Hives Rash?

What is hives rash? Hives rash is often referred to as urticaria, or just hives. Hives are typically dark red patches of raised skin that are very itchy and often have a stinging and burning sensation as well. They are known to be triggered by allergic or non-allergic factors.

Basically, there are two types of urticaria, acute and chronic. By definition, acute urticaria is any case of hives that lasts less than six weeks; chronic urticaria is any case that lasts more than six weeks, or is very frequent. According to Hives.org, urticaria are curable in 95% of cases with the right hives rash treatment.

Hives or Rash?

When symptoms occur, sometimes it is hard to tell if the symptoms are of a rash or hives. Health.msn.com explains the difference, stating “‘Rash’ is a catch-all layman’s term, defined broadly as any inflammation of the skin.” The article continues on saying “Hives (urticaria) result from a build-up of fluid underneath the top layer of skin.” In other words, hives are always a rash, but a skin rash may not necessarily be hives.

If you are wonder about a certain rash you should see a dermatologist for a complete diagnosis. However, if you are not sure if it is hives or just rash symptoms you are having you can find hives and rash pictures at Dermatology.about.com and Web.md.com. You can find more hives and rash information on these websites as well. This should help you determine if it is just a skin rash or hives.

Hives Skin Rash

Skin rash and hives symptoms may vary from person to person depending on the causes. Many people think that the allergen that triggered the reaction is the cause. This is not true. Most of the time hives, or urticaria, cases are found to be idiopathic. This means the cause is unknown.

Hives usually have another medical condition as an underlying cause. They are namely, lupus, hepatitis, a thyroid dysfunction just to name a few. Most are linked to autoimmune system problems or over-active immunity conditions. It is, however, the triggers (not the cause) of these outbreaks that define the type that you have. Here are some basic types of urticaria: