When people get hives, kidney disease is probably not the first thing that comes to mind as a cause. And while most people think of allergies as the most common cause of hives, a viral infection is at least as likely if not more so to be at the cause, especially for children with hives. Kidney disease or liver disease is certainly not rare though.

First Rule Out A Few Other Possible Causes Before Jumping To One Of The Metabolic Diseases

As a cause for hives, kidney disease should not be the first thing you look into. You should rule out some of these more common causes before you investigate a metabolic disease as the source of your hives outbreaks:

• As stated above, rule out viral infections first. Especially in children, be sure there is no recent illness like a urinary tract infection, strep throat, or even something as seemingly unrelated as athlete’s foot.
• Make sure there are not unusually high stress levels or chronic anxiety or depression problems. And don’t immediately rule it out. Most people’s hectic lives add more stress than they think. Stress is a common cause of both acute and chronic hives.
• Allergic reactions. Although only about five or ten percent of chronic hives are caused by allergies. And when they are, pet dander is a likely culprit.
• Chronic infections like hepatitis, bladder infections or stomach ulcers caused by bacteria can cause hives.

Metabolic Diseases Can In Fact Cause Hives, Kidney Disease and Liver Disease Chief among Them

A lot of patients worry that kidney or liver disease may be causing their hives. This is possible. Metabolic diseases are in fact a root cause of some cases of chronic hives. Thyroid function should also be checked.

But usually when a metabolic disease is suspected, it is eventually found to be an autoimmune disease instead. Autoimmune diseases or disorders happen when the immune system attacks a healthy organ or tissue thinking that it is foreign and unwelcome. There are over 75 different autoimmune disorders and if you have or suspect you have one of them you have likely found the cause of your chronic hives.

Medical science has identified a number of possible triggers for hives, and kidney disease, liver disease, thyroid disorders and other metabolic diseases are among them. Allergies have also been cited as possible triggers of hives, as have autoimmune diseases and bacterial and viral infections.

It is worth noting that there is some degree of overlap between the categories described above. For instance, hepatitis B is a liver disease that is caused by a virus. Other examples are thyroid disorders like Grave’s disease, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease, which are also autoimmune diseases.

Metabolic processes are essentially the wide range of chemical reactions that make life possible: they help the body to produce energy, to break down large molecules into smaller ones that can be used in other reactions, and they also synthesize molecules. Metabolic disorders affect many of these chemical reactions. A metabolic disorder that negatively impacts the synthesis of one enzyme could easily disrupt multiple chemical pathways. This could, in turn, provoke a number of conditions, among them hives and kidney disease.

Emphasizing the role that metabolic disorders play in triggering hives is a particularly useful way to think about hives. This is because the various factors that trigger hives tend to be associated with dysfunction in one or more bodily systems. All bodily systems are connected by complex metabolic processes. So it should not come as a surprise when a disorder or dysfunction in one organ triggers symptoms in a completely different organ. In fact, when one thinks of things in this way, it seems to follow that, under certain circumstances, hives and kidney disease would be associated with each other. Hives has actually been described as a cutaneous manifestation of various systemic diseases.

Treating Metabolic Disorders: Approaches to Hives and Kidney Disease

One of the suggestions made for treating metabolic disorders is to modify the diet to reduce the body’s intake of nutrients that it cannot metabolize appropriately. Another one is to supplement the diet with nutrients that will help enhance the affected enzyme systems. Enzyme replacement can also be helpful. These techniques could be helpful in treating both hives and kidney disease as these are both conditions that can fall under the rubric of metabolic disorders.

Severe chronic hives, kidney disease, liver disease and thyroid disorders all significantly decrease the quality of life experienced by patients. Hence, these patients would welcome the opportunity to address them effectively if such an opportunity was afforded by the forms of treatment mentioned above.