Treatment and Prevention
Prevention is the best treatment for hives. If you or your doctor can discover what's causing the rash, you can avoid that trigger in the future. It may be something obvious, but it's possible that you'll never find out.
The itching of hives can usually be rapidly relieved with antihistamines like hydroxyzine or diphenhydramine. Other less sedating antihistamines such as desloratadine, cetirizine, loratadine, or fexofenadine may also be used. Severe hives or angioedema can be treated with adrenalin injections (sometimes called epinephrine). Adrenalin constricts blood vessels, reducing swelling. Corticosteroids may be given orally or topically in some cases for a short period of time.
These medications can treat the symptoms very effectively, but there's no actual cure. Urticaria usually clears within a week, but it can go on for 2 or more years. Even chronic hives usually clear up eventually.
*All medications have both common (generic) and brand names. The brand name is what a specific manufacturer calls the product (e.g., Tylenol®). The common name is the medical name for the medication (e.g., acetaminophen). A medication may have many brand names, but only one common name. This article lists medications by their common names. For more information on brand names, speak with your doctor or pharmacist.