Find Lasting Relief With Hives Treatment From Middle Georgia’s Premier Allergists

Hives can develop after exposure to an allergen. If you are allergic to a particular substance and come in contact with it, your immune system may overreact in such a way that hives develop anywhere on the surface of your skin.

Common allergens that can cause hives include:

Airborne allergens, including:

• Pet dander
• Pollen

Food allergens, including:

• Eggs
• Fruits (especially citrus)
• Milk
• Peanuts
• Shellfish
• Tree nuts

Insect allergens, including:

• Ant venom
• Bee venom
• Wasp venom

Medication allergens, including:

• Antibiotics
• Over-the-counter pain relievers

Plant/plant substance allergens, including:

• Latex
• Poison ivy
• Poison oak
• Poison sumac

Your Langford Allergy specialist can conduct an allergy test to determine the allergens that agitate your immune system and cause hives to form on the skin. Once we identify your triggers, we can create an individualized treatment plan that helps you avoid your triggers and calm your skin.

Allergy-Related Hives and Anaphylaxis

Sometimes, hives are a symptom of anaphylaxis. If you ever experience allergy-induced hives along with breathing difficulties, a rapid heart rate, dizziness or fainting, and other signs of anaphylaxis, seek immediate medical attention.

Sometimes, a patient can experience such high levels of emotional stress that their body releases histamine in the skin, which causes hives to develop. If this is the case for you, you may not show any hive triggers in an allergy test. However, we can evaluate your condition and supply the medications or treatment options that will quickly soothe your skin and tackle the pain or itch.

Did you know heat can irritate your skin and cause you to develop hives anywhere on your body? Heat hives, or cholinergic urticaria, is the condition where your skin develops a rash when your body temperature rises.

Cholinergic urticaria can be triggered by several things, including:

• Exercise
• Excessive sweating
• Too much sun or heat exposure
• Hot showers
• Eating spicy foods

At Langford Allergy, we can determine if your hives flare-ups are actually heat hives and can create a treatment plan that stops the itch, reduces the swelling, and helps you regain calm skin.

For many patients, their hives show up and fade within 24 hours. Others can experience a flare-up that lasts for six weeks or longer, which is known as chronic hives.

Chronic hives, or chronic urticaria, cause rashes and welts to appear and fade regularly—at least twice weekly—and the cycle can occur continuously for weeks, months, or even years at a time.

Patients with autoimmune disorders, certain diseases, and other sensitivities are more commonly affected by chronic hives.

Conditions that can trigger chronic hives include:

• Asthma
• Celiac disease
• Dermatomyositis
• Diabetes
• Infections like HIV, hepatitis, and Helicobacter pylori
• Liver Disease
• Lupus
• Lymphoma
• Polymyositis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Sinusitis
• Thyroid disease
• Vasculitis
• Vitiligo

If you experience hives that won’t seem to go away, talk to Langford Allergy. Regardless of the cause of your hives, we can provide the treatment needed to help reduce the swelling, soothe the itch, and calm the skin. If asthma is at the root of your hives, we can also treat the underlying condition; if another condition is to blame, we can point you towards a specialist who can help.

Angioedema is an allergy symptom closely associated with hives. It’s caused by the same histamine release; however, it occurs below the surface of the skin rather than on top of the skin like hives. In many cases, angioedema and hives arise at the same time.

Angioedema is a symptom of allergies, and it can occur when exposed to any of your common allergy triggers.

Patients can develop angioedema after exposure to:

Airborne Allergens, including:

• Pet dander
• Pollen

Food Allergens, including:

• Eggs
• Fruits (especially citrus)
• Milk
• Peanuts
• Shellfish or fish
• Tree nuts

Insect Allergens, including:

• Ant venom
• Bee venom
• Wasp venom

Medication Allergens, including:

• Antibiotics
• Over-the-counter pain relievers

Plant/Plant Substance Allergens, including:

• Latex
• Poison ivy
• Poison oak

Like hives, angioedema can be triggered by stress, body temperature, exercise, certain disorders, and other causes. If you experience swelling below the surface and on your skin, talk to a Langford Allergy specialist. We can examine your condition and help you discover ways to reduce swelling and find relief.

Allergy-Related Angioedema and Anaphylaxis

Sometimes, angioedema is a symptom of anaphylaxis. If you ever experience allergy-induced angioedema along with breathing difficulties, a rapid heart rate, dizziness or fainting, and other signs of anaphylaxis, seek immediate medical attention.