The skin condition called urticaria, or hives, is a sudden outbreak of raised, itchy, red patches on the skin. They may occur on any part of the body, including face, arms, back or lips and throat, and vary from small bumps to large areas that fuse into larger welts. It's known by most as an allergic reaction, but there's a little more to the story.
Urticaria may be acute, which is a few hours to weeks, typically caused by an identifiable food, medication, or insect bite. Or it can become chronic, persisting for over 6 weeks, and sometimes on no discernible cause. Chronic cases are the ones that get people the most angry because they often recur erratically, and cannot always be treated for long periods of antihistamines.
When it comes to urticaria treatment in Pune, treating the itch isn't the most important part of treatment, especially in patients with recurrent urticaria for which no medication is working. This is also a popular search as hives treatment in Pune because both of the search terms refer to the same condition.
Symptoms Urticaria (Hives)
Although the symptoms of hives may vary slightly from person to person, it is generally accepted that these symptoms include:
- Sneezing, itchy, raised, pink or red skin spots that can suddenly appear.
- Patches that change shape or move to a different part of the body within hours.
- Burning or stinging, along with the itch, in some cases.
- Swelling around the eyes, lips or throat (angioedema), which requires immediate attention if it happens to the eyes, lips or throat and interferes with breathing.
- Welts that fade after 24 hours, only to form new welts elsewhere.
- A flare up is associated with heat, stress, a tight fit on the skin or certain food items, in many patients.
If your hives have been present for more than 6 weeks or if they keep coming back every few weeks despite taking medications, then you have chronic urticaria and typically require a more fundamental change in lifestyle or treatment than the short term use of antihistamines.
Common causes and risk factors:
In chronic cases, there is frequently no one obvious cause, and modern medicine fails to clearly identify a cause. In Ayurvedic terms, urticaria is closely associated with the blood tissue (Rakta Dhatu) and is caused by the imbalance of Pitta and Vata in the blood tissue.
Some triggers and risk factors include:
- Some foods combined together: incompatible food combinations (Viruddha Aahar in Ayurveda), dairy, nuts, shellfish, fermented foods.
- Weather extremes: sudden exposure to heat, cold or humidity.
- Recurring hives are commonly associated with poor digestion, hyperacidity and sluggish digestion.
- The stress and lack of sleep, which can be a big aggravation to an outbreak.
- Synthetic clothing and skin contact irritants.
- People with chronic hives are more likely to have underlying conditions such as thyroid problems and other autoimmune diseases.
- Often forgotten too is worm infestations or gut imbalance, which happens in Ayurvedic practice.
- Certain medications, including painkillers and antibiotics, in sensitive individuals.
Prevention of Urticaria
Although it is not always possible to predict a flare-up, it is possible to minimise its frequency and severity:
- Track your triggers: Maintain a simple flare-up food, weather, and stress diary—patterns often emerge in just a few weeks.
- Solve and treat your digestion first: People often think that lighter, easily digestible food will do more harm than good because of hyperacidity, but this is not the case as regular meal timings will help more.
- Stay away from irritants such as tight synthetic clothes, harsh soap, and strong detergents.
- Take charge of stress, as stress has been known to trigger chronic hives.
- Take new food or medicines with caution if you've had an allergic reaction to it before.
- Avoid using antihistamines as long-term treatment, as they treat symptoms but do not cure the problem.
About Dr. Rajeev Keloth Nambiar
When you visit a clinic for urticaria treatment in Pune, most of the patients will have tried different antihistamines for months if not years and hives will reappear as soon as they are no longer taking the medication. Dr. Rajeev Keloth Nambiar (BAMS, MD), from Dr. Nambiar's Advanced Ayurveda, considers urticaria as a condition to be treated from the skin to the gut, as a very large number of urticaria cases can be traced back to the dietary imbalance and aggravated Pitta-Vata in the Rakta Dhatu (blood tissue).
Usually the first step in treatment is to rectify digestion and hyperacidity, as when digestion is calm, so is skin. This is combined with Ayurvedic blood purifiers and where suitable, Panchakarma treatments such as Virechana to remove the underlying imbalance, not just suppress the outbreak. In this instance, diet correction is more important than patients realize; there are a number of everyday food combinations that are common triggers.
Dr. Nambiar has extensive experience treating chronic urticaria patients who have been suffering from the disease for years and many of whom had not found a lasting relief from existing treatment; these patients gradually improved in both the number and severity of urticaria over years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's):
Yes, the terms urticaria and hives are synonymous. It's just the more common, layman's term for "hives.
Acute cases typically clear up completely when the cause is identified and eliminated. Chronic urticaria lasts longer but for many people long term improvements can be achieved after treatment of the underlying imbalance rather than the symptoms themselves.
Common triggers are dairy, nuts, shellfish, fermented foods and combinations of foods that don't mix. It's also important to watch for your own flare-ups as the culprit can be different for each person.
Yes. Emotional stress is a known trigger and can be an important component of treatment for patients with chronic urticaria.
Allergic rashes typically follow a clear exposure to an allergen and go away when the allergen is eliminated. Often, the cause of urticaria is unknown and requires a more holistic approach if it is to be effectively treated, particularly if the urticaria is chronic.
Yes. By addressing digestion, blood tissue imbalance, and lifestyle triggers together, Ayurvedic treatment often helps where long-term antihistamine use hasn't given lasting relief.