Allergic Skin Diseases

A small number of people develop rashes after exposure to sunlight. There are a number of syndromes in which exposure to ultraviolet light, either outdoors or in a tanning salon, results in a rash. Some patients only experience rashes from sun exposure when they are taking an oral medication, such as an antibiotic.The rash often [...]

Treatment of irritant contact dermatitis usually involves the cessation of the aggravating activity, initiation of intensive therapy with moisturizers, and if necessary, a short course of topical steroids. Long-term prevention of the rash may be difficult, especially in individuals who repeatedly wash their hands during work, such as nurses and physicians. In these people, use [...]

Contact dermatitis is a broad term referring to an inflammatory condition of the skin caused by direct contact with an external substance. Irritant contact dermatitis is the most common type of contact dermatitis and involves inflammation resulting from contact with acids, alkaline materials (such as soaps and detergents), solvents, or other chemicals. People who wash [...]

My Child Has Rough, Dry Bumps That Don’t Itch On Her Upper Arms And Legs. Is This Eczema? Rashes that do not itch are not usually eczema. Rough, dry bumps that feel and look like sandpaper and that occur on the upper arms, legs, and faces of children are commonly due to  keratosis pilaris (KP). [...]

In any patient with atopic dermatitis, the first step is to moisturize the skin thoroughly. In the past, physicians routinely recommended avoidance of bathing, believing that it caused further drying of the skin. Most experts now believe that daily bathing is very helpful in restoring moisture to the skin. To help accomplish this, I encourage [...]

Allergic eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic itchy skin rash. Atopic dermatitis most often begins in infancy or early childhood and resolves or improves in most cases by age 10 years. In a minority of cases, it can continue into adulthood or may first appear later in life. This rash primarily involves [...]

It has been estimated that up to one-third of patients with chronic hives and/or angioedema have a sensitivity to aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In these patients, ingestion of these medications leads to acute worsening of their hives and/or angioedema. A small number of these patients will experience more serious systemic reactions following [...]

I’ve Had Hives For 6 Months, And My Doctor Has Not Been Able To Find Out What’s Causing Them. Will They Last For The Rest Of My Life? Fortunately, chronic idiopathic urticaria spontaneously resolves over time in the vast majority of patients. After 1 year, 80% of cases will spontaneously resolve; by 2 years, 90% [...]

Initial treatment of acute and chronic hives with or with-out angioedema relies upon oral H1 antihistamines. For many years, physicians believed that the older, sedating antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine and hydrox-yzine, were more effective for treating hives than the newer nonsedating medications. However, a great body of research has demonstrated that this is not the [...]

The evaluation of chronic hives should always begin with a thorough medical history and physical examination; however, in most cases a cause will not be identified. Most physicians will order a general blood panel, including a complete blood count and white cell differential, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, chemistry panel, thyroid panel, and urinalysis, in order to [...]

Hives and angioedema can be divided into two categories based upon the duration of symptoms: acute and chronic. Acute hives are defined as lesions that come and go for a period of 6 weeks or less, and frequently the outbreak may last for just a few hours or days. Hives that last for a few [...]

Hives, also called “urticaria,” is a type of skin rash that appears as a red, raised welt ranging in size from half an inch to 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Most of the time, hives are intensely itchy but occasionally there can be a burning quality. Typically, an individual hive lesion will last anywhere [...]