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Hives - Causes


Causes

In most instances the cause of hives is never discovered and this is called Idiopathic Urticaria in medical terms. However the two causes of hives include: –

a. Immunological cause - Hives caused by changes in the immune system. It is essentially an acute antigen-antibody reaction that causes release of histamine from mast cells that are present in the circulating blood cells of the body.

b. Non-immunological – Here too it is the histamine that is released without the antigen-antibody reaction and can be caused by exposure of certain chemicals.

The most common triggering factors that cause hives include:-

  • Medication such as antibiotics e.g. - penicillin or sulfa, codeine, anticonvulsant drugs, Phenobarbital, aspirin and many more
  • Foods (nuts, berries, shellfish, prawns, tomatoes, jelly fish eggs, soy, eggs, milk, fish, chocolate)
  • Food additives
  • Pollen
  • Animal dander
  • Plants
  • Insect bites (bee / wasp stings)
  • Parasitic worms/infections
  • Jewellery
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  • Irritation from tight clothes
  • Excessive sweating
  • Extreme temperature
  • Sunlight
  • Exercise
  • Viral/bacterial/fungal infections (Hepatitis-B common example)
  • Emotional stress
  • Autoimmune Diseases such as lupus
  • Illnesses such as leukemia

 Sometimes the cause of hives cannot be determined.

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