How to Prevent Hives
Hives
Just about anything can make you break out in hives: Foods such as peanuts or strawberries drugs such as penicillin or aspirin, vitamin supplement,heat,cold, sunlight, exercise,fever,stress,and even scratching or rubbing the skin are among some of the possibilities.
Some substances actually cause an allergic reaction that results in hives, while others have absolutely nothing at all to do with allergies. Strawberries, for example ,contain a chemical that can cause cells in your body to release histamine, a chemical also produced in allergies, which allows blood plasma to leak into the skin and form the hives, explains Philip C. Anderson, M.D., chairman of dermatology at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.
And sometimes only a tiny amount of the culprit is needed to set off a reaction .”You can be sensitive to fish and order something completely different in a restaurant. But it’s cooked in a pan that was previously used to fry fish, and you break out in hives,”explain Larry Borish ,M.D., staff physician at National Jewish Center for Immunology and RespiratoryMedicine in Denver.
Take an oral antihistamine.
The most recommended remedy is over-the-counter Benedryl but it may cause drowsiness. “That may not be so bad, since hives are generally worse at night, and the itch is more annoying then,” say Borish.
Don’t Scratch.
“it’s said that with hives, a million scratches are never enough and one is too many,” says Borish. Scratching can increase local inflammation and event cause more hives.
Wear gloves to bed.
If you think you’ll scratch in your sleep, gloves will help prevent damage.
Wrap up the affected area.
Wrap an elastic bandage around the area with hives or cover it with clothing so you can’t reach it with your fingernails.
Use a milk compress.
Wet a cloth with cold mail and lat it on affected are for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. “Don’t freeze the skin ,”warns judy Jordan, M.D., a dermatologist in San Antonio and a spokerperson for the American Academy of Dermatology.”Just cool it.”
Chill the itch.
Hold an ice pack or ice cubes in a thin towel on the skin for five minutes at a time three to four times a day.
Take a bath.
Put half a box baking soda or one cup of oatmeal in the water first, says jordan.
Try cortisone.
A one percent cortisone preparation, available without a prescription, may help.
Try to ferret out the cause.
“In the overwhelming number of patients, there’s no explanation found,” says Borish.” We only find the cause 20 to 30 percent of the time.” Do remember that hives generally show up within half an hour of eating “You don’t get hives the next day from something you ate the night before,” he says.
If hives turn into a chronic problem, they may be due to an infection . “You can have a tooth or yeast infection and not be aware of it,” points out Jordan. Consider these possibilities and have them checked out
Relieve the pressure.
Hives often form where clothing is tight, such as under bra straps or waisbands.
Use a moisturizer.
If dry skin contributes to the itch, apply a moisturizer to relieve it.
Don’t make the problem worse.
Nonprescription anti-itch lotion or cream can cause allergic reaction, if you react to topical Benadryl and topical products ending in “caine,” you’ll be in worse shape after using them . Calamine lotion that old standby for so many itches, doesn’t do much for hives either.
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