Hives: The Right Treatment
Avoid the trigger
The treatment of a hives disease takes place in different steps. The first step should be to try to avoid the trigger of the hives. However, this is only possible if the cause of the hives is known: if it is caused by certain foods such as nuts  or spices, for example, these foods should no longer be eaten. With other triggers such as heat or cold, however, it is hardly possible to completely avoid the stimuli.
Antihistamines relieve symptoms
The second step in the treatment of hives is taking antihistamines  . They inhibit the release of histamine in the body and thereby alleviate the symptoms that occur. Because histamine is responsible for the water retention in the skin and the unpleasant itching . However, the cause of the hives is not treated by taking the antihistamines.
You should always clarify the exact dosage of the antihistamines – which is usually significantly higher than for hay fever  – with your doctor. In the case of chronic hives, the tablets often have to be taken for several months in order to achieve success.
Only take cortisone preparations for a short time
In order to achieve rapid relief from the symptoms, glucocorticoids such as cortisone can also  be taken in the third step after consultation with a doctor instead of antihistamines. Cortisone, like antihistamines, helps to suppress the symptoms of hives. However, cortisone preparations should only be taken in the case of severe disease progression and then only for a short time, as they can have serious side effects.
Find the cause of hives
In addition to treating the symptoms, hives therapy should primarily aim to find the trigger and cause of the disease. The first step here is a detailed discussion with the doctor treating you, in which the patient describes exactly the situations in which the typical hives symptoms occur.
Depending on the suspicion, the doctor treating you will then carry out a number of tests – for example an allergy test or a provocation test. If a disease is the cause of hives, treatment must aim to cure the underlying disease or improve the patient’s health.
If a physical stimulus is the trigger of hives, it often cannot be completely avoided in everyday life. That is why it is important for those affected to get to know the trigger as precisely as possible. If hives are triggered by pressure, for example, it must be found out whether and which parts of the body are particularly sensitive and how strong the pressure must be for the typical symptoms to appear.
Hives: avoid stress
Due to the many different causes of hives, it is not uncommon for the doctor and patient to be unable to identify the cause of the symptoms. Then it can be helpful to keep a hives diary over a longer period of time by noting the situations in which the disease occurs. You should also try  to avoid possible triggers such as stress or psychological pressure.
