Home Remedies for Hives

Hives is a common non-life threatening skin allergy where they appear as raised red or pale colored welts. These welts are itchy also and may appear as clusters on the skin on legs, trunk, arms and even face and tongue.

The symptoms of hives are raised pale colored or red colored welts on the skin surface. This allergic reaction causes itching on the skin and in fact the clusters of hives which keep changing their shapes and even locations. Hives generally occur in legs, trunk, and arms and even on face and tongue. In such cases, the problem may aggravate as it may lead to obstruction of the food pipe as a result of swelling.

Most of the times, hives disappear after a day or so. There is a reason for slight alarm if the case of hives persists more than a week. You may attempt to treat hives with natural home remedies in mild allergic cases. While treating hives, you may be prescribed sedating anti-histamine drugs or even corticosteroids. If you wish to avoid stronger medications which may also have their own side-effects, you may consider some simpler home remedies for hives. These remedies can be easily prepared in the comforts of the home and are easy to administer.

Home remedies for hives

Bath therapy for hives: A cool refreshing bath always works wonders in case of hives. The best method is to add some tablespoons of cornstarch and few spoons of oatmeal. You may also substitute cornstarch with some sodium bicarbonate and take a cool bath. Of course, this therapy is not effective if you have hives in cold weather conditions.

Tea therapy for hives: Stress is also known to trigger the onset of hives in a person whose family has a predilection for it. If you suspect that emotional stress has triggered the condition of hives, then it is recommended to take soothing sips of herbal tea. Some doctors recommend tea made from passion flower or chamomile as good soothers that are known to reduce the condition of hives. Peppermint and catnip teas have sedating properties which would internally heal hives and also reduce the sensation of itching on the body. A similar tea made up of the bark and leaves of Red Alder plant are found to be very soothing and effective on hives. You can dab some amounts of that liquid on the hives and also consume some amounts of it internally. The astringent tannin in Red Alder has all the right elements which are effective in healing and treating hives. You may also boil the leaves of the Red Alder and wrap in a cloth. Now gently administer the poultice on the affected skin to get rid of the itching sensation of hives.

Take a handful of chickweed leaves and crush them well. Blend them with water and make a paste of it. Apply it on the effected area. Keep the mixture on for some time till the paste dries and falls down. This mixture is known to be very effective in dealing with the irritating itching sensation of hives. A similar paste of cream of tartar and water can also be applied on the skin till the mixture gets dried out and falls.

Acupressure for hives: Some patients have found acupressure to be extremely relieving in terms of getting rid of hives. Deep massaging and putting the right pressure the trapezius muscle between neck and shoulder till it actually hurts, is found to reduce the onset of hives.

Cool compressions: Compressing the hives affected area with cold compressions is again an effective way of getting rid of the problem. It is recommended to avoid taking hot water baths and even vigorous rubbing of the skin with towel. This might simply irritate the skin further. Rubbing the affected skin area with an ice cube also lessens the irritation and itching sensation to a large extent.

Calamine lotions or Benadryl are common anti-histamine drugs that are easily available in the home. It has been found that zinc oxide is an effective medicine to treat hives. Calamine lotions are rich in zinc and hence are found to have soothing effects on hives.

Milk of magnesia has all the right alkaline properties and is much thinner than calamine lotion. It is also easily absorbed by the skin and found effective in treating hives. You may reapply the solution of Milk of Magnesia on the area that is affected, once the skin gets dried.

Perhaps the best method of getting rid of hives is first to analyze the family history and diet to know what allergen might have triggered the onset of hives at all. Eliminating the allergen is an important factor that reduces the presence of histamines to a great extent. If the hives are persistent and keep emerging in various parts of the body, then you may have to undergo blood tests and allergy tests to confirm the causative factor of the allergic reaction.

It is advisable to take the prescription of your doctor if you have persistent hives which is lasting more than a month. This could be chronic hives which might result in anaphylactic shock in the patients. Hives in such cases causes swelling of the face which in turn results in obstruction of the food pipe. This may suffocate the person and he/she may become breathless and even collapse. Thus, one must try to seek proper medication in severe forms of hives.

During hives, if the patient suffers from nausea, vomiting and giddy feeling, then it is recommended not to rely on home remedies only. You must immediately rush the patient to the doctor who may administer anti-histamine drugs to him/her. Most of the anti-histamine drugs leave a patient drowsy and sleepy. You may inform the doctor regarding it and would be provided a substitute of the medicines. In very severe cases of hives, doctors are known to administer soluble epinephrine and even provide oral steroids and corticosteroids for complete hives treatment.