12 Home Remedies To Treat Hives

Hives are a skin rash that appears as swollen, red, and itchy bumps. They can appear in one place, appear in another, and the patterns in which they appear often changes. Hives are rarely ever dangerous or come with a serious condition.

It is common for the hives to change the size and appear in different parts of the body. Sometimes the hives can cause swelling to occur under the skin, or the hands and feet can swell as well.

Hives are caused by the release of a few different compounds. The compounds are being released from the blood vessels by where the hives are, since the hives are build ups of the compounds.

Sometimes, the release of these compounds is caused by allergic reactions to different things, whether it’s food allergies, air pollution, or something in within the environment. Some people believe that hives are caused by stress, but that is untrue.

# Allergy Pills

While this is not the most natural cure for hives, it is an effective one. There are a lot of different medications that can help. Benadryl is the most popular one, though it can leave you feeling a bit drowsy. You could also try Claritin, Zantac, Allegra, and third party allergy pill brands.

# Ice

Wrapping the affected area in something cold help to limit the swelling and hives because the coldness can slow down the rate at which the compounds are released from your blood vessels. So, place a towel in the freezer for a while and wrap it around the hives, get some ice in a little bag, some frozen veggies.

# Mind the Soap

Different kinds of soaps or fabric softeners/detergents are known for being skin irritants. If your find that a certain kind of soap bothers your skin, get a different soap and see if you know someone how can use the soap without it bothering them. There are also kinds of soaps and fabric cleaners that are labeled to be good on sensitive skin.

# Witch Hazel

Witch hazel is used to help calm skin irritation because of the tannis held within it. There’s a skin mask you can make with the witch hazel and a few other things that you should apply a couple times a day, for twenty minutes before rinsing off, each time.

Here is what you need and how you make it: you need to grind up five to ten grams of the bark from witch hazel in a cup of water; bring the mashed bark and water to a boil; strain it; let it cool so you won’t burn yourself, and then apply it.

# Don’t Scratch

As annoying as hives can be, one of the easiest things you can do is not pick and scratch at the hives. The hives can be irritated even more and get worse. So be careful and do scratch, though it may be tempting.

# Bathe in Oatmeal

Oatmeal has salicylic acid that helps to calm irritation of the skin. To prepare the oatmeal bath, you can put one to two cups of uncooked oats in a cheesecloth or a stocking and secure them in the cloth with a hair tie or rubber band so the oats will not escape into the water. Let the makeshift bag of oats soak in the water while the tub fills. Soak in this bath until your hives shrink and are no longer itchy.

# Stay Calm

There are debates over if stress causes hives or if hives cause stress. In this case, there is the saying: better safe than sorry. So even if stress does not cause hives, stress is not a fun thing to deal with and can affect your body in a different way.

Drink some lavender and/or chamomile tea, take a soak in a bath, or watch your favorite movie in a pillow fort. Do whatever you do to get calm and enjoy.

# Baking Soda

Making a paste with equal parts baking soda and cold water and then applying to the affected area and letting it dry before removing it is one of the fastest ways you can get rid of hives. It will not get rid of hives immediately, but it can stop the itching.

# Coconut Oil

A quick note: you do not want to use refined coconut oil because it can cause the hives to get worse. Coconut oil is an anti-bacterial that will also calm the itchiness that come with the hives. To use the coconut oil to your advantage, you simply rub it into the skin of the affected area like a lotion and let it sit for a few hours. You can use this gentle oil as often as you need to throughout the day.

# Aloe Vera

It should be no surprise to see this plant on this list. Aloe vera is oftenly a go to with skin problems. The aloe is soothing, will lessen the itching and the inflammation of the hives. Using this is simple enough. You take the aloe either from a leaf of a plant or from a bottle and message it into the affected skin and let it sit for twenty minutes to half an hour before gently rinsing it off.

# Devil’s Claw

This herb is typically used for treating allergic reactions. All you have to do is take a 500gm capsule of this herb and your symptoms should lessen.

# Turmeric

Drinking a mixture of a teaspoon of powdered turmeric and a glance can really help you with the inflammation of the hives. If you dislike the taste of the turmeric water, you can make a paste that apply to the hives. Whether you use the paste or drink the water, you use either twice a day.