Treatment for hives

If your symptoms are mild, you may not need to receive treatment for your hives. Mild symptoms usually go away on their own. However, treatments can offer relief for chronic hives and serious itching or discomfort.

Hives medication

Your healthcare provider may prescribe the following medications to treat your hives.

Most of the prescription drugs used to treat hives include:

• Anti-itch drugs: Non-drowsy antihistamines are the standard treatment for hives. These medications are available by prescription or over-the-counter. They can help soothe itching and swelling.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs: If you have severe hives or angioedema, your provider might prescribe an oral corticosteroid to reduce inflammation.
• Immune modulators: Your provider might prescribe a drug to calm an overactive immune system.

A severe attack of hives or angioedema may be related to a serious allergic reaction, which can be treated through an emergency epinephrine injection. To prepare for such emergency reactions, your provider might have you carry an epinephrine auto-injector. If you have mild hives or angioedema, there are a few things you can do to help relieve your symptoms:

• Avoid triggers such as certain foods, pollen, medications, pet dander, latex, or insect stings.
• Use an over-the-counter anti-itch drug such as loratadine (Claritin), cetirizine (Zyrtec Allergy), or diphenhydramine (Benadryl Allergy, others).
• Use a cold washcloth to cover affected areas. This can help soothe itching and prevent you from scratching.
• Take a cool bath to help relieve itching.
• Wear loose, smooth clothing and avoid rough, scratchy materials to help prevent further skin irritation.
• Avoid the sun when outdoors and stay under the shade to help relieve discomfort.
• Change your clothes and wash your hands after being outside (especially during peak allergy seasons) or touching animals to avoid continued exposure to any triggers such as pollen or animal dander.

To keep track of symptoms for a healthcare provider discussion:

• Describe your signs and symptoms, when they occurred, and how long they lasted.
• List any medications you're taking, including vitamins, herbs, and supplements. Even better, bring the original bottles and a list of the doses and directions with you.
• List the questions you want to ask your provider.

For hives and angioedema, questions you may want to ask include:

• What is likely causing my symptoms?
• Do I need any tests to confirm the diagnosis?
• What are other possible causes for my symptoms?
• Is my condition likely temporary or chronic?
• What is the best course of action?
• What are the alternatives to the primary approach that you're suggesting?
• Do I need to take prescription medication, or can I use over-the-counter medications to treat the condition?
• What results can I expect?
• Can I wait to see if the condition goes away on its own?

Your provider is likely to ask you several questions, such as:

• When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
• What did your skin reaction look like when it first appeared?
• Have your symptoms changed over time?
• Have you noticed anything that makes your symptoms worse or better?
• Do your skin lesions mainly itch, or do they burn or sting?
• Do your skin lesions go away completely without leaving a bruise or a mark?
• Do you have any known allergies?
• Have you ever had a similar skin reaction before?
• Have you tried a new food for the first time, changed laundry products or adopted a new pet?
• What prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and supplements are you taking?
• Have you started taking any new medications or started a new course of medication you've taken before?
• Has your overall health changed recently? Have you had any fevers or lost weight?
• Has anyone else in your family ever had this kind of skin reaction? Do other family members have any known allergies?
• What at-home treatments have you used?

Ways to prevent hives

To lower your likelihood of experiencing hives or angioedema, take the following precautions:

• Avoid known triggers: If you know what triggered your hives, try to avoid that substance.
• Bathe and change your clothes: If pollen or animal contact has triggered your hives in the past, take a bath or shower and change your clothes if you're exposed to pollen or animals.