Hives look like raised red bumps similar to mosquito bites. Similar to an allergic reaction, they cause excessive itching and annoyance, appearing suddenly for seemingly no reason.

What Can you Do?

Many factors can cause hives, so you’ll first need to pinpoint what’s causing the hives so you’ll know what to avoid. To prevent excessive itching you can apply calamine lotion or a cold compress to the affected area. If your condition isn’t serious, you’ll see the hives disappear after only a few hours. If you have a more serious case, get some oral antihistamine, which you’ll find at most over-the-counter pharmacy. If your hives persist for a few days, call us for an appointment.

What is our Solution?

During your appointment, we determine if your condition is chronic, in which case we prescribe a course of antihistamines. If those don’t work, we prescribe oral corticosteroids, but only for extremely severe situations when our patient is suffocating or experiencing other complications. If your hives are caused by cold, you might respond well to ultraviolet light treatments. If you have the subsurface welts of angioedema, you may require hospitalization.