10 Incredible Hives Home Remedies You Should Know

10 Incredible Hives Home Remedies You Should Know

Here you will find the most common home remedies for hives. Even if it is sometimes difficult to find the right home remedy, sometimes it is not that far away. You already have most of the home remedies in your household, as the name suggests.

If you've never dealt with hives before, you might be alarmed if your face and décolleté develop red or flesh-colored welts or if your child comes home from school with an itchy hives all over their body. So what are you doing? Call the doctor (or text a friend, or search the Internet) to find out how to get rid of hives – fast!

So what is the best hives treatment? And are there natural remedies for hives?

Hives, also called urticaria (ur-tih-CARE-ee-uh), is a raised skin rash that typically lasts a few hours or days. Sometimes it takes up to six weeks for new bumps to appear and old ones to disappear. Cases that persist for more than six weeks are considered chronic hives.

Hives can be caused by an allergy to foods, medications, insect bites, animal hair, pollen, certain plants, or latex. Some people get hives when they are stressed. In children, the itchy rash may be due to a viral infection. Sometimes a physical stimulus – such as heat, cold, sunlight, movement, or friction or pressure on the skin – can trigger an outbreak of hives.

The body's immune system responds to each of these threats with a chemical attack. The raised spots that appear on your skin occur when histamine and other chemicals cause small blood vessels in the skin to leak blood plasma (a watery, straw-colored fluid).

In most cases, you can get rid of hives quickly with over-the-counter antihistamines. Depending on the severity, duration and cause, doctors may also prescribe other medicines.

As for home remedies? They don't stop hives but can "have a calming effect," said Luz Fonacier, MD, a spokesman for the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

Hives are usually not serious. But if someone has hives with wheezing, shortness of breath, tongue swelling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or lightheadedness, seek emergency medical attention. These could be signs of a life-threatening allergic reaction.

If hives are the only problem, follow these basic strategies to get rid of the rash and calm the itching.

Use a cold compress

A cooling cloth or cold pack may be just the thing you need to relieve the warming and swelling of hives. Ice can also numb the skin to temporarily stop itching.

If necessary, apply a cold pack for 5 to 10 minutes at a time. Do not apply ice or ice packs directly to the skin as this could cause further skin irritation. Instead, use a cloth towel as a barrier.

However, if you suspect your hives were triggered by cold exposure, skip the cold compress. People with “cold urticaria” should avoid situations that worsen their symptoms, such as cold water, cold weather, and using cold packs.

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Take a bath or shower

Water therapy in the form of a bath or shower can help temporarily relieve itching. The question is, at what temperature?

Whether cool water is more soothing than warm depends on your sensory perception of itching, explained Walter Ryan III, DO, an allergy and immunology specialist at the Florida Center for Allergy and Asthma Care in Boca Raton, Florida, and a fellow at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Cold provides numbing relief, he says, while heat can sometimes distract your brain from itching.

Opt for cooling relief if you think you may be suffering from “cholinergic urticaria,” a type of hives thought to be caused by, for example, sweating from exercise, fever, or hot baths or showers.

Soothe your skin with oatmeal

Oatmeal has long been considered a natural calming and anti-inflammatory agent.

Colloidal oatmeal—oats that are ground, cooked, and ground into a fine powder—can be found in many body washes, bath products, and moisturizers on the market. Or you can add colloidal oatmeal powder directly to your tub for a soothing bath.

According to a study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, colloidal oatmeal works to soothe itchy skin by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines.

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Avoid tight clothing and other irritants

If you have hives, your skin is already inflamed - so be kind to it. Avoid harsh soaps and other skin irritants as itching and scratching can make hives worse. Drinking alcohol can also make your hives worse.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing, especially if you have “physical urticaria,” a type of hives caused by a stimulus such as squeezing or rubbing.

“Just the pressure in their clothes makes them sweat,” said Dr. Fonacier, professor of medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and chief of the allergy division at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola, New York.

Take an over-the-counter antihistamine

Antihistamines, which you buy at the pharmacy, are the drugs of choice if you really want to get rid of hives.

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) helps by blocking the production of histamine. It works great, but can make you sleepy, so it's best to take it before bed. The same applies to Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine), another older antihistamine.

Fortunately, newer, second-generation antihistamines such as Allegra (fexofenadine), Claritin (loratadine), Clarinex (desloratadine), Xyzal (levocetirizine), and Zyrtec (cetirizine) are non-sedating and “all of them are equally effective.” said Dr. Fonacier.

Try aloe vera

The gel-like substance from the leaves of the aloe vera plant (and found in many skin care products) is often used as a remedy for burns and other skin conditions .

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says that applying aloe to the skin may also help with rashes.

Like many other natural remedies, "it calms; it takes away the itching," said Dr. Fonacier. But it doesn't make the hives go away.

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Apply witch hazel

This topical astringent is derived from the leaves and bark of the witch hazel bush. It is rich in tannins (which reduce swelling) and polyphenols (antioxidant-rich compounds).

Dabbing witch hazel on hives can provide temporary relief while you wait for your antihistamine to take effect.

It will “contract the skin for soothing purposes – not relieve hives,” Dr. said.
Calamine is the bubblegum pink liquid your grandma dabbed on your bug bites as a child. As a hives remedy, it can also temporarily relieve itching.

Calamine contains zinc oxide that relieves itching. Caladryl, a similar product, combines calamine and pramoxine, a topical anesthetic. But these lotions are messy, especially if you have hives all over your body.

"It's probably still more effective for you to just get in the car and buy an antihistamine," Dr. Ryan.

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Contact your allergist

If over-the-counter antihistamines fail to clear up hives, consult an allergist who can evaluate your triggers and prescribe other treatment regimens.

One option might be to increase your dose of over-the-counter medications, Dr. Fonacier. “Sometimes we have them on Zyrtec, for example two tablets twice a day.”

Or your doctor may prescribe oral or injectable steroids (such as prednisone); an antibiotic called dapsone; or an injectable medication called Xolair (omalizumab).

Triggers that make seasonal allergies worse

Reduce stress

Could your hives outbreak be stress-related? Emotional stress is a known non-allergic cause of hives.

It has been shown that people can develop “stress hives,” for example, in connection with a particularly stressful life event.

According to a study published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics, stress hormones like cortisol can lead to skin inflammation and hives.

Staying stressed can make your hives even worse. Relaxation techniques like meditation or muscle relaxation may be just what you need to relax and heal your skin.

The following articles may also help you as they look at the same topic from a different light:

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