Hives are the worst; we know. The itching and swelling. The pain every time you move. Worrying about whether this time warrants a trip to the hospital and hospitals are expensive.
They’re medically known as “urticaria,” and they frequently appear in varying shapes and sizes. Most hives last anywhere from six hours to 12 hours, but many patients experience them moving around from place to place.
It can be challenging to find the exact cause of hives, making it frustrating to treat them. Unfortunately, most remedies are targeted towards relief instead of the underlying causes. Makes that trip to the hospital very frustrating, right?
If you want to get the most out of your treatment, you have to understand a few things. First, you aren’t necessarily going to treat the cause itself, only the symptoms. Second, you don’t need fancy drugs or medical intervention for most cases. Instead, you need to understand a few things about the skin.
In most cases, your skin will heal itself, sometimes in a matter of hours without intervention. If it doesn’t there are a few things you can do to make life more comfortable.
We’ve put together a list of remedies that treat hives and relieve the symptoms until they’re able to go away on their own. Let’s get you feeling better.
1. Be Patient
This is the best thing you can do. Patience keeps you calm. The worst thing you can do is to go overboard mixing and matching treatments until your skin is so irritated that you’re one large hive.
Hives aren’t usually associated with long-term complications or dangerous conditions. They can look pretty worrisome, but don’t panic. Since it’s so difficult to pin down the exact causes of irritation, it doesn’t do a lot of good to be anything other than patient. Most of the time, the condition resolves on its own.
Acute cases last fewer than six weeks on average although many cases are resolved within 24 hours. Some basic things you can do to prevent over-irritating sensitive skin are avoiding taking overly hot showers or wearing tight clothing.
Waiting a short time allows your hives to breathe and many times your skin will heal itself without any interventions. Although you may want immediate relief, jumping into the nuclear option will only irritate the hives.
Even if you went to the doctor, there’s a good chance you won’t have anything to show. Unless hives have made their way into your esophagus or are causing you serious pain, the best course of action is simply to wait.
2. Address The Allergies
Many hives are caused by some kind of allergen. It’s difficult to diagnose without extensive testing, and it can be hard to pinpoint what it is. If you suspect an allergic reaction is causing the irritation, it can be helpful to make a list of things you might have eaten that are out of the ordinary, or any new skincare products or soaps you might have used.
Eliminate all these things until the condition resolves. Slowly add each one back in one at a time to see if your hives return. If you still aren’t sure, it might be good to have your allergies tested by a medical professional.
3. Calm The Inflammation
While you’re eliminating things from your diet, you can also focus on removing things that might be irritating your skin externally. Remove any skincare products, fragrances, or laundry detergents with overly harsh smells or synthetic ingredients. Switch to natural, calming products such as aloe.
You can take cool showers to remove any external irritants, but be careful not to scrub the skin. Scrubbing can make irritation and sensitivity worse. Cool compresses on the itchiest parts can also be a nice relief.
Try as much as you can not to scratch your hives even if they’re itchy. This only prolongs your suffering.
4. Oatmeal Bath
Oatmeal is a well-known ingredient for soothing skin irritations. If your hives haven’t gone away after a few hours, you can begin to use treatments intended for lessening that irritation.
Making an oatmeal bath is simple. Take a few cups of uncooked oatmeal and put it in a cheesecloth or other think cloth. Place the cheesecloth under the tap as you run mildly warm water to fill the bath. Rest in the tub for about 20 minutes.
Oatmeal contains natural calming properties, such as salicylic acid, that help reduce inflammation and reduce itch. Makes sure that the water isn’t too hot or cold.
5. Stress Reduction
Stress is a known cause of hives. Chronic stress takes a toll on your immune system, releasing large amounts of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream. Your body tries to deal with this constant influx by sending out histamine.
Guess what histamine does? Yes, it causes an allergic response. Your body is allergic to stress.
If you’re experiencing chronic hives and can’t seem to figure out the cause, it might be stress related. Try to remove as much pressure from your life as you can. For the rest, learning healthy coping mechanisms to deal with stress can reduce the inflammation and histamine response.
6. Baking Soda
The sodium bicarbonate found in baking soda is another skin soother. You can make a paste using pure baking soda and water to help soothe existing hives and prevent new ones from forming.
Mix about a teaspoon of baking soda with cool water to make the paste. Rub it gently (keyword gently because baking soda can be highly irritating) over the affected area or the most irritated area if you’re covered.
Let it dry before you wash it off (again, gently). You can use this treatment a few times a day, and the results are typically pretty quick, particularly for the itching.
7. Witch Hazel
For particularly stubborn cases, Witch Hazel might also help. It has antioxidant and astringent properties. It gently cleanses the affected areas and promotes healing.
When your skin is irritated, dab a bit of witch hazel onto a cotton ball and gently rub the affected areas. You can use this remedy once or twice a day, but remember that Witch Hazel is drying in the long run.
You can also combine Witch Hazel with other naturally soothing ingredients such as lavender, aloe, oatmeal, or other skin-soothing ingredients. Together, the Witch Hazel helps calm the skin while the other ingredients replenish moisture and the natural moisture barrier of your skin. It can also help heal any tiny scrapes you might have from scratching.
8. Supplements
Maintaining your skin’s health is an essential step to heading off hives, too. Supplements that nurture the skin will have the most benefit.
You can add skin-loving supplements such as B-Complex, fish oil, and vitamin E keep the skin in balance and restore moisture from within. Other supplements like Evening Primrose Oil also help support the skin’s natural healing and suppleness.
You can also take natural histamine blockers such as Quercetin. In some preliminary studies, Quercetin was nearly as effective at blocking histamine as prescription medications.
The healthier your skin is, the better able you’ll be to fend off hives in the first place.
9. Acupuncture
Holistic health treatments can also help you reduce stress and ease skin tensions. Acupuncture is based on traditional Chinese medicine and uses the concept of energy points and meridians to unblock energy and release tension.
It attempts to get to the root cause of hives as well. It treats imbalances in the body and removes triggers. Common acupuncture points to treat hives are the spleen and large intestine. Your practitioner may identify a need for others as well.
Acupuncture is rarely a one-off. You may have to set up a few sessions before you see a reduction in your chronic hives. In the meantime, you can use other treatments on the list to help you get by.
