A survey shows that urticaria is one of the most prevalent of allergic skin diseases, and among these, winter onset accounts for about one-third of the population. Therefore, winter is a high incidence season for hives.
A. Why is it easy to get hives in winter?
1, winter temperature drops, the air is dry, the sky is cold, everything is dormant. The reproduction of bacteria and fungi in nature is reduced, but respiratory viral infections are not reduced, so urticaria induced or aggravated by viruses is still occurring frequently.
2, it is now winter, the temperature is low, the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor is large, whenever from the cold outdoor suddenly into the warm indoor or undress to sleep, the skin may immediately appear flakes of red bumps, and accompanied by severe itching symptoms, scratching will make it even into pieces, and finally lead to the aggravation of hives symptoms;.
3. It has a certain degree of family heredity. In cold urticaria, “familial cold urticaria” is a chromosomal dominant disease with a family history of onset from infancy and often lasts a lifetime.
Second, the clinical manifestations of urticaria and harm
1.Clinical manifestations
Pruritus and wind clumps appear in areas exposed to cold conditions. The lesions can be confined to exposed areas in cold conditions or areas in contact with cold objects, or can be generalized and can involve the oral mucosa, or even manifest as headache, chills, diarrhea and tachycardia.
Urticaria usually resolves or disappears when the environment is warm, usually within 1 to 3 hours, but not more than 24 hours, and leaves no trace after it subsides. If there is further contact with the allergen, the attack will recur.
2.Disease hazards
(1) Affects life and work
Hives repeatedly more than six weeks will become chronic urticaria, one of the hazards of chronic urticaria is that it affects life and work, which can make patients very headache. If the early onset of chronic urticaria is not resolved, its course will be very long, can be extended for months or even years, morning or before going to bed are accompanied by increased itching, seriously affecting the normal life and psychological state of patients. Therefore, chronic urticaria must be detected and treated early, rather than left to chance.
(2) Causes other complications
If left untreated, urticaria may lead to other complications, and the treatment of these complications can be quite complicated and troublesome. For example, the onset of chronic urticaria is usually accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain gastrointestinal dysfunction, accompanied by ulcerative colitis, etc. The main cause of the disease is immune dysfunction. Therefore, it can induce internal diseases such as autoimmune hyperthyroidism, and even lead to cellular malignancy. Pregnant women with urticaria can also lead to immune infertility and miscarriage.
(3) Severe cases can be life-threatening
Many people do not take hives seriously, but in fact, severe hives can cause life-threatening conditions. If the location of the hives is in a vital area, such as the larynx and bronchi of the respiratory tract, it can lead to recurrent episodes of laryngeal edema, throat blockage, shortness of breath, chest tightness, breathing difficulties, accompanied by panic, irritability, nausea, etc. In severe cases, breathing difficulties can lead to asphyxia and shock, which can be life-threatening if not rescued immediately.
Third, life, we change how to prevent and control urticaria?
1, for cold urticaria, we need to avoid contact with the cold, in winter should pay attention to keep warm, add clothing at the right time, in order to reduce the cold wind and cold air into the body, try to wear scarves, masks and gloves when going out, do not eat ice cream and other cold food.
2, in the diet avoid eating allergic and spicy stimulating, hair food, such as beef and mutton, mushrooms, apricots, peaches, chicken, eggs, bamboo shoots, etc.; need to eat more fresh vegetables and fruits and foods rich in vitamin B6, such as grapes, barley, apples, bananas, etc., such foods can effectively control the onset of hives.
3, to actively participate in physical exercise, improve the body’s ability to adapt to weather changes, especially to pay attention to the skin’s cold exercise, and actively prevent cold urticaria.
4, the water temperature should not be too hot when bathing, do not use strong alkaline soap, and other cleaning agents should not be used too often, so as not to cause excessive loss of sebum. It is advisable to wear soft, loose cotton fabrics inside clothing, to quit smoking and alcohol, so as not to induce itchy skin.
5, should try to avoid scratching, so as not to cause increased skin lesions, itching increased. The main reason is that when scratching locally, it makes the local temperature increase instead, making the blood release more histamine (allergen) and making the lesions further deteriorate.
If you suffer from urticaria seriously, you must seek medical attention and go to a regular dermatology specialist hospital for early treatment to avoid aggravating your condition.