Can urticaria be contagious?

Written by Li Ya Ping
Dermatology Department
Updated on October 29, 2024
00:00
00:00

Urticaria is not contagious.

Urticaria, also known as wheals or commonly referred to as hives, is caused by temporary increased vascular permeability in the skin and mucous membranes due to allergic factors, resulting in localized edema. Wheals generally subside quite quickly, typically within 24 hours. The causes of wheals, which are essentially urticaria, may include the food we eat, airborne inhalants, and skin contact with substances such as pollen, dust mites, mold mites, as well as animal dander, fur, etc.

Additionally, some cases may be related to infections, and some people may have a lethal factor due to suspicious medications. Moreover, the occurrence of urticaria can also be related to other factors such as cold, heat, ultraviolet light, and mechanical stresses such as friction or pressure. Furthermore, other factors including psychological and endocrine factors can also lead to the occurrence of urticaria.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Huang Ling Juan
Dermatology
1min 5sec home-news-image

How to treat chronic urticaria?

Chronic urticaria often utilizes antihistamine medications to control symptoms, combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and differential diagnosis and treatment. Treating chronic urticaria generally requires long-term use of antihistamines, sometimes for two or three months, or even up to six months, a year, or more. Typically, treatment involves the combination of two or more types of antihistamines. For cases of chronic urticaria where antihistamines are ineffective, immunosuppressants may be used to adjust the body’s immune state, thus controlling the outbreaks of chronic urticaria. Chronic urticaria is a long-term, slow process that cannot be resolved quickly, so it is important to try to identify the triggering factors of chronic urticaria, or to identify specific allergens. However, finding the allergen is usually challenging because many patients with chronic urticaria have conditions that are also related to their own immune status.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Shu Kun
Traditional Chinese Medicine
36sec home-news-image

Where to apply moxibustion for acute urticaria

In cases of acute urticaria, it is advised to promptly visit a hospital and undergo treatment under the guidance of a doctor. This is because moxibustion is a slow treatment method and is not very effective for acute urticaria. However, if urticaria occurs in normal circumstances, it can be slowly treated through moxibustion, which can achieve therapeutic purposes. Moxibustion mainly plays a supplementary role. Initially, moxibustion can be applied to acupoints such as Quchi, Dazhui, and Sanyinjiao to maintain health and achieve effective conditioning.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhu Zhu
Dermatology
38sec home-news-image

Is acute urticaria contagious?

Acute urticaria is not contagious. Clinically referred to as wheals, acute urticaria is an allergic reaction-related disease associated with the immune system. Its causes may be related to allergies, microbial infections, stimuli from extreme temperatures, psychogenetic factors, endocrine factors, etc. Acute urticaria is not infectious but is curable and can recur. After contracting acute urticaria, it is crucial to actively identify the triggering factors to timely prevent the recurrence of urticaria.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Qu Jing
Dermatology
1min 21sec home-news-image

Is urticaria contagious?

Urticaria, commonly known as hives, is not contagious. It is a localized edema of the skin and mucous membranes due to temporarily increased vascular permeability. Its pathological causes are not related to infection, thus it is not contagious. The specific cause of urticaria often remains unclear for many patients. Some cases are due to certain foods, such as animal proteins, seafood, fungi, and some food additives like tartrazine, balsam of Peru, and sulfites. Some cases are triggered by drugs such as penicillin and various vaccines. Others are caused by allergens inhaled through the respiratory tract or by contact with the skin; common examples include pollen, animal dander, dust, fungal spores, and dust mites, as well as some volatile cosmetics. Contact with certain items, such as insect bites, venomous insects, certain plants like nettles, or animal fur such as wool, can also trigger urticaria. Some cases may be related to physical factors such as exposure to cold, heat, sunlight, or pressure, all of which can potentially lead to the development of urticaria.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Xie Ming Feng
Dermatology
1min 7sec home-news-image

What should not be eaten with hives?

Patients with urticaria have individual differences in their physical constitutions, and not everyone is allergic to the same foods. However, some foods have a higher likelihood of causing allergies, such as seafood, shrimp, crabs, silkworm pupae, beef, lamb, dog meat, various exotic birds and game, fruits like mango, pineapple, durian, and lemon, as well as various food additives. Additionally, spicy and stimulating foods and alcoholic beverages can aggravate allergic reactions and should be avoided as much as possible. Patients who frequently suffer from urticaria may consider undergoing allergen testing to identify which foods trigger allergic reactions. However, the allergen doses used in tests are very small and many factors can affect the results, hence the test outcomes may not fully reflect the actual situation within the patient's body. Moreover, the variety of foods tested is limited, and foods not tested could still potentially trigger urticaria in patients.