Cold Urticaria

Description

Cold Urticaria (ur-tih-KAR-e-uh) is a reaction that appears within minutes after the skin is exposed to the cold. Itchy welts, also called urticaria, arise in the affected skin.

Symptoms in people with cold urticaria can vary from mild to severe. For some people with this condition, swimming in cold water could lead to low blood pressure, fainting, or shock.

Cold Urticaria occurs most frequently in young adults. If you think that you have this condition, consult with your healthcare professional Iam. Generally, treatment includes measures to maintain the cold urticaria happen, such as taking antihistamines and stay away from cold air and water.

Symptoms

Cold Urticaria symptoms may include:

  • Temporary itchy welts, also called urticaria, in the area of skin exposed to the cold.
  • A response that gets worse as the skin heats up.
  • Swelling of the hands, while holding cold objects.
  • Swelling of the lips from eating cold foods or drinking cold drinks.

Serious responses may include:

  • A whole-body reaction, also known as anaphyl- axis. This can cause fainting, palpitations, swelling of the extremities or trunk, and shock.
  • Swelling of the tongue, and throat. This can make it hard to breathe.

Cold Urticaria symptoms begin shortly after the skin is exposed to a sudden drop in the temperature of the air, or cold water. Wet and windy conditions can cause symptoms of exacerbation. Each episode of the symptoms can last for about two hours.

The worst of the reactions usually occur when the skin is exposed to the cold, such as when swimming in cold water. These reactions can lead to unconsciousness and drowning.

When to see a doctor

If you have skin reactions after exposure to cold, see your healthcare professional. Even if the reactions are mild, your healthcare provider will want to rule out other conditions that may be causing the symptoms.

Seek emergency medical attention if your whole body is affected, or you find it hard to breathe suddenly after being exposed to the cold.

Causes

No one knows what causes cold urticaria. You may have the sensitive skin of the cells due to a virus or illness or a trait passed down in your genes. In the most common forms of this condition, the cold causes the release of histamine and other chemicals into the blood. These chemicals cause itching, and sometimes affect the entire body.

Risk factors

You're more likely to have cold urticaria if:

  • You are a young adult. The most common type — primary acquired cold urticaria — occurs most frequently in young adults.
  • You have another health problem. A less common type is secondary acquired cold urticaria. A condition such as hepatitis or cancer can cause.
  • You have certain character traits. Rarely, cold urticaria is transmitted in the genes. This kind of causes painful welts and flu-like symptoms after exposure to the cold.

Complications

The main possible complication of cold urticaria is a serious response that occurs after large areas of the skin exposed to the cold, such as when swimming in cold water.

Prevention

These tips can help stop the cold urticaria occurs:

  • Take an antihistamine available witha prescription as indicated before being exposed to the cold.
  • Protect your skin from the cold and the sudden changes of temperature. If you are going to swim, put your hand in the water to see if your skin responds.
  • Stay away from ice-cold drinks and fflooding to keep your throat swelling.
  • If your healthcare provider has prescribed an auto-injector of epinephrine, keep it with you to help stop the serious responses of the happening.
  • If you are scheduled for surgery, talk with your surgeon about his or cold urticaria. The surgical team can take steps to help keep the symptoms caused by the cold weather that happen in the operating room.

Cold urticaria

Diagnosis

An ice cube is placed on the skin for five minutes to diagnose cold urticaria. If you have cold hives, a bulge, also called a hive, a couple of minutes after that the ice cube is removed. This is called the bucket of ice or cold contact test.

In some cases, in other conditions, such as infection or cancer, causes cold urticaria. This condition affects your immune system. If your healthcare provider thinks that you have another condition that could be the cause of cold urticaria, you may need other tests.

Treatment

In some people, cold urticaria goes away by itself after some weeks or months. In otherrs, that lasts longer. Although there is no cure for the disease, treatment and take measures to prevent the cold urticaria can help.

Your health care professional may recommend that you try to keep the symptoms from happening, or reduce the symptoms using home remedies. These resources include antihistamines are available without a prescription and keep away from the cold. If these treatments do not help, you may need prescription medicines.

Medicines used to treat cold urticaria include:

  • Nondrowsy antihistamines. If you know you're going to be exposed to the cold, take an antihistamine before time to help keep a response to occur. Examples include loratadine (Claritin, Alavert, others), cetirizine (Zyrtec Allergy, Zerviate, others), and desloratadine (Clarinex, Clarinex D 12-Hour, others). Some of these medications are available without a prescription, while others require recipes.
  • Omalizumab (Xolair). This prescription medication, that is typically for people with asthma, has been successfully used to treat cold urticaria who do not respond to other medicines.

If you have cold urticaria due to another condition, you may need medications or treatments for that condition. If you have a history of responses that affect your whole body, your healthcare provider may prescribe an auto-injector of epinephrine (EpiPen, Auvi-Q, others) that you need to carry with you.

Self-care

Antihistamines block the release of histamine which causes the symptoms. These medications may be used to treat mild symptoms of cold urticaria, or to maintain a response to occur. Medications available without a prescription include forms of loratadine and cetirizine.

Preparing for your appointment

It is likely that you see your primary care professional first. You may also need to see a health professional who specializes in diseases of the skin known as a dermatologist. Or you may need to see an allergy specialist, called an allergist-immunologist.

Prepare a list of questions to ask the health care professional will help you to make the most of your time together. For cold urticaria, some questions are:

  • What is most likely causing my symptoms?
  • What are other possible causes for my symsymptoms?
  • How long does the rash last?
  • What kinds of tests do I need? How do I prepare for these tests?
  • What treatments are recommended?
  • Do these treatments have side effects?
  • Is there a generic alternative to the medicine you're prescribing?
  • It is recommended treatments affect the other conditions I have?
  • Do you have any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What sites do you recommend?

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider will likely ask questionssuch as:

  • When did you begin to have symptoms?
  • Have you been sick recently?
  • Do other members of your family have similar symptoms?
  • Have you taken any new medications recently?
  • Have you tried any of the new food?
  • Have you traveled to new places?
  • Does anything seem to make your symptoms better or worse?

Preparing and hoping questions will help you make the most of your time.

What you can do in the meantime

If you are having mild hives, these tips may help relieve your symptoms:

  • Protect the affected areas to prevent irritation.
  • Stay away from what you think may have caused the response, as opposed to a cold wind, or swimming in cold water.
  • Reduce strenuous activity, which can irritate the skin even more.
  • The use of antihistamines that are available without a prescription to help with the itching.
Symptoms and treatment of Cold urticaria