Hives when the weather turns cold and warnings

Dr. Do Thi Thu Hien, Head of the Department of Science and Technology, Central Dermatology Hospital, said that urticaria (hives) is a common skin disease, caused by many different reasons, but it is very difficult to find the exact cause such as genetics, allergies to drugs, food, chemicals, insect bites, infections, weather allergies...

According to a study in Hanoi in 2008, the rate of urticaria and angioedema in the population was 6.4%, of which the cause was due to weather changes 73.5%, food 5.8%, animal hair 6.1%, medicine 2.7%, cosmetics 13.6%, insect bites 30.4%, and unknown cause 14.1%.

There are two types of urticaria: recurrent urticaria (frequency less than 2 times/week) and chronic urticaria (accounting for 1% of the population, lasting more than 6 weeks and more than 2 times/week without any treatment).

The disease occurs year-round, but in many cases it only appears in the fall and winter. According to Dr. Hien, in these cases, the main cause of hives is dry skin.

The main symptoms of the disease are burning, redness, and swelling. The disease will usually appear on its own and disappear completely within one or a few hours, but no more than 24 hours.

According to the explanation, the outermost layer of skin contains natural oils and dead skin cells that help the skin retain water. When the weather is cold, low humidity and strong winds will cause the natural oil layer to disappear, causing dry skin, which is a risk factor for hives.

In winter, people with eczema, rosacea, dermatitis, allergies, asthma... are at higher risk of hives than others.

Do not drink leaves or apply medicine without permission.

Since hives have many causes, to treat them thoroughly, it is necessary to determine the exact cause. Experts recommend that when people have hives, they should not arbitrarily buy oral or topical medications. Overuse of drugs containing corticosteroids or antihistamines can cause dermatitis.

Especially with corticosteroids, if used in high doses for a long time without supportive treatment measures to reduce the toxicity of the drug, corticosteroids can cause many dangerous complications such as adrenal insufficiency, gastrointestinal bleeding, osteoporosis, vertebral collapse, scoliosis, hyperglycemia, hypertension, muscle atrophy, mental disorders, depression... In particular, corticosteroid abuse in children can slow down intellectual and mental development.

In addition to using Western medicine, many people with hives also tell each other about familiar plants such as star fruit, perilla... take the leaves to rub and boil to drink. However, people's physician, senior doctor Nguyen Xuan Huong, former President of the Vietnam Oriental Medicine Association, said that any medicine, including Western or Oriental medicine, does not have a general prescription for everyone.

“Each person has different yin and yang and cold and heat, which means that in order to have a standard prescription, a doctor must carefully examine the patient before prescribing, and the prescription must be based on each person's constitution,” Dr. Huong emphasized.

As for star fruit leaves, Dr. Huong noted that this type of leaf should not be used to drink to treat hives. Instead, people can wrap star fruit leaves in cloth, heat them up, and apply them to hives to reduce itching and help the rash disappear quickly.

When having hives, limit scratching to avoid infection; avoid contact with toxic chemicals; keep the body warm when the weather changes; limit foods with high risk of allergies.

In cases of hives in winter, you need to apply moisturizer all over your body. A simpler way is to use coconut oil and olive oil.

When having hives, you can use milk to dab on the blisters or soak your whole body in a tub of warm water with fresh milk for 10 minutes.

Most cases of winter hives will improve with lifestyle changes and home remedies, without the need for prescription treatment.