Sometimes on the body of a child or an adult there are edematous dense bright pink blisters with a diameter of up to 15 cm of various shapes. Inflamed tubercles of the skin rise above the general surface of the skin, often turning pale closer to the center of the rash. A similar phenomenon can last from several minutes to hours, subsequently disappearing without a trace. Anyone who has observed such a picture should know that he has encountered an allergic disease known as “urticaria”. The causes of the disease should be identified without fail, since the further course of urticaria will depend on the precautions taken.
Allergic urticaria can be caused by a variety of reasons. In the question of how urticaria is treated, the causes of its occurrence play the most direct role. The causes of urticaria are divided into exogenous and endogenous. External factors causing this allergic disease include factors of physical exposure to temperature, chemicals, or mechanical action. Endogenous factors include various pathological processes occurring in the internal organs, as well as deviations in the activity of the nervous system. Cholinergic urticaria, for example, appears with nervous excitement leading to the release of acetylcholine in the tissues.
In the acute form of urticaria, a sudden and rapid onset with the appearance of skin itching, a burning sensation, as with a nettle burn and the appearance of numerous reddish rashes on the entire surface of the skin, including the mucous membrane of the mouth, lips, tongue, is characteristic.
When it comes to the acute course of the disease, urticaria, the reasons lie, as a rule, in the food or medicine taken by the sick person.
Of the most severe and dangerous forms, Quincke's edema is distinguished, which, having developed in the larynx, can lead to asphyxia and stenosis of the larynx. For Quincke edema, a characteristic phenomenon is sudden skin edema, which affects even subcutaneous fat. The skin becomes dense, white. Edema passes, usually after a few hours or days.
Special attention should be paid to chronic relapsing urticaria, the reasons for which are caused by a focus of chronic infection present in the body, as well as violations in the gastrointestinal tract and liver. The danger of the chronic form of urticaria lies in its unpredictability and swiftness. Relapses occur after an indefinite period of remission. Blisters appearing on the skin are accompanied in some cases by headaches and general weakness, possibly an increase in temperature and arthralgia. If the swelling process has affected the mucous membrane in the gastrointestinal tract, then a frequent additional symptom is nausea, indigestion, and vomiting. In view of the disturbing allergic itching that has occurred, the chronic form of urticaria may be accompanied by insomnia and neurotic disorders.
A type of photodermatosis is solar urticaria, the causes of which lie in various liver diseases, as well as impaired internal metabolism with simultaneous sensitization to ultraviolet light. Rashes are localized on limited parts of the body exposed to direct sunlight. Solar urticaria has seasonality; spring-summer is considered an active period for the development of urticaria. Occurs during a prolonged exposure to the sun, the development of problems with the respiratory system and cardiac activity, and even shock, is possible.
Having understood the reasons that led to the development of an allergic reaction, it will be easier to protect the patient in the future, without provoking the transformation of the acute form into a chronic one.