Urticaria, commonly known as hives, are red raised itchy welts on the skin. The term urticaria is  derived from Latin word urtica which means nettle. Nettle is a perennial plant with botanical name Urtica dioica. It bears stinging hair. When touched, the hair release several chemicals causing irritation. The itch in urticaria can be mild  or tense, of long or  short duration.

Urticaria, commonly known as hives, are red raised itchy welts on the skin. The term urticaria is  derived from Latin word urtica which means nettle. Nettle is a perennial plant with botanical name Urtica dioica. It bears stinging hair. When touched, the hair release several chemicals causing irritation. The itch in urticaria can be mild  or tense, of long or  short duration. The shape of lesion maybe round  on linear lines. The size may be from small pin head to a large serving plate. It may occur in clusters which tend to appear and clear in a few hours. Some people may have single flare up in their lifetime and others may have recurrence .There are a number of trigger factors causing this condition like cold water, pressure ,medical conditions or drugs. The risk factors include hay fever and asthma. Urticaria that lasts less than six weeks is acute and that which remains for more than six weeks is chronic . In chronic cases, the cause  is difficult to find and  the person may have hives every day for months or years.
These triggers result in the release of inflammatory chemicals including histamines from cutaneous mast cells which result in fluid leakage from superficial blood vessels in the skin. Diagnosis is typically based on the appearance. Patch test maybe helpful.
In modern science, there is vast use of antihistamines, steroids, leukotriene receptor antagonists and immuno suppressives to overcome the clinical features and control the situation. They have been proven very effective but good for acute cases only. To deal with chronic condition, an alternative approach is required as steroids have their own hazards if used for long duration.
  In Ayurveda, the disease is known as  sheetpitta. In it, the aggravated doshas relocate in the skin and vitiate the blood,  causing raised rash with intense itching. Ayurveda quotes that intake  of excess salt, exposure to cold air and contact with poisonous  insects, is responsible for the onset of disease. It advocates different practices to deal with this annoying disease. These include panchkaram in which sneha paan, vaman and virechan karam prove to be very effective in treating the ailment. Use of herbs like haldi, neem, shirish, gambhari, manjishtha and triphala is also very beneficial .
Home remedies
•    Mud bath
•    Oatmeal bath 
•    Mustard oil massage 
•    Use of neem leaves paste
•    Intake of triphala decoction
•    Tulsi leaves application.
Classical formulations 
Haridra Khand, Arogyavardhini Vati, Gandhak Rasayan, Sheetpitta Bhanjan Ras, Kaishore Guggul, Eladi Vati, Mahatiktam Kashaya and Patola katurohini Kashaya.
Principal,
Dayanand Ayurvedic College,  Jalandhar.
Mob.: 9814004142 drsanjeevsood@gmail.com