Can Kidney Problems Cause Urticaria?

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In this article, we try to cover urticaria's possible causes and risk factors and you will find your answer to whether kidney problems cause urticaria or not.

Possible Causes and Risk factors associated with Urticaria

Urticaria, also known as hives, is a simple form of rash in which the formation of raised, red, and itchy bumps may appear on your skin. The causes and severity of this problem vary from person to person. Urticaria may commonly occur due to allergy to food, medications, or other irritants. However, you may also have urticaria due to some non-allergic causes like stress, infection, autoimmune disease, and sometimes food poisoning. Some other causes of Urticaria are idiopathic, which means they are unknown.

Urticaria can affect people of any age group, gender, and race. It is assumed that around 15–23 percent of the adults will experience at least one round of urticaria in their life.

Allergic

Allergy is found to be responsible for the majority of cases of urticaria. It occurs when the immune system responds incorrectly to a non-harmless substance and may trigger excess production of an inflammatory chemical called histamine.

Histamine release may trigger allergic rhinitis and other respiratory or gastric symptoms. In some other cases, it can cause capillaries to swell excessively and release interstitial fluid into the surrounding tissue. In this condition, the localized swelling of the dermis will progress and form a rash and thus causes urticaria.

The two most common allergies associated with Urticaria are;

• Food allergies, most commonly caused by nuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, wheat, and soy, etc.
• Drug allergies may occur because of intake of antibiotics, antifungals, ibuprofen or sulfonamides, etc.

Rarely, hives may occur due to some common allergens like insect bites, pollen, pet dander, and latex, etc. Less commonly, scombroid food poisoning may also be the cause of hives. It may occur when a person intakes fish that has become rotten or spoiled. The excess histamine concentration in decaying flesh stimulates a food ‘pseudoallergy’ with symptoms like diarrhoea, dizziness, cramps, and severely spreading hives.

Most allergically-induced hives commonly get resolved on their own if the allergen is removed.

Physical

Physical Urticaria is a form of hives where the skin rash is provoked by specific environmental or physical factors, which mainly include heat, cold, pressure, vibration, friction, and sunlight, etc.

Physical urticaria cause is not known; it is found to be an autoimmune response where the body’s cells attack normal tissue.

It can cause stimulation of the same inflammatory response involved in allergic hives. When it comes to the appearance of the hives, it is quite different. In some cases, it is found that the rashes develop in areas of skin exposed to environmental stimuli. In other cases, a widespread eruption may occur, which can cause a rapid drop in blood pressure and causes symptoms like headaches, blur vision, fainting, etc.

It is assumed that physical urticaria is believed to be related to autoimmunity; the condition is mainly chronic thus can last for years.

The familiar types of physical urticaria are;

• Aquagenic urticaria is a rare kind of hive causing contact with water.
• Cold urticaria is an uncommon form that occurs due to exposure to cold.
• Cholinergic urticaria, also called heat rash, commonly happens due to excessive sweating and elevated skin temperatures.
• Dermographism urticaria is the result of friction or the firm stroking of the skin.
• Pressure urticaria is caused when there is excessive pressure exerted on the skin.
• Exposure to Ultraviolet (UV) light can cause Solar Urticaria.
• Vibratory Urticaria may occur due to any form of vibration like mowing the lawn or clapping, etc.

Stress

Stress is commonly linked to the progression or worsening of chronic hives. The exact cause is unknown; however, it is believed that the release of stress hormones like cortisol may have another consequence where an underlying cause of hives is formed or activated.

As stress may not directly cause hives rather, it affects the immune response, which can further cause hives. For instance, cholinergic urticaria where stress-related perspective may instigate the development of heat rash.

Exercise

In the case of food-dependent exercise-induced urticaria, a person may notice symptoms when he takes a particular food and exercises shortly after. In this problem, neither exercise solely nor specific food indigestion alone can trigger the symptoms. In some cases, it can take the form of potentially life-threatening exercise-induced anaphylaxis.

Infections and other medical conditions

Urticaria is common for certain infections and medical conditions or diseases.

In young children, it is found that 80 percent of hives are caused by a viral infection. Immune system activation may be triggered by simple things such as a cold. The hives caused by infection develop within a week and usually get resolved in one or a couple of weeks without treatment.

Other illnesses are also commonly associated with hives, most of them are autoimmune, and some others are related to an infection or malignancy. They also include;

• Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
• Dermatitis herpetiformis, an autoimmune skin disorder related to celiac disease
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune problem associated with low thyroid function
• Helicobacter pylori, a common stomach bacterial infection.
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Lupus
• Lymphoma, a kind of blood cancer
• Polycythemia vera, a gradually progressive cancer of the bone, marrow
• Parasitic gastrointestinal infections
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Type 1 diabetes
• Vasculitis, the inflammation of blood vessels that may occur due to autoimmune and non-autoimmune disease as well.
• Commonly, urticaria occurring due to these conditions can be chronic or acute.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the causes of hives?

Allergy is found to be the most common cause of hives. In case of allergic response, mast cells in the skin will break open and release a kind kidney of a pro-inflammatory compound called histamine. It results in capillaries close to the skin surface dilating and release fluid into surrounding tissues, which leads to the formation of raised, itchy hives.

Are there non-allergic causes of hives?

Yes, of course. In fact, chronic urticaria mostly occurs due to non-allergic causes. Non-allergic forms of hives include;

• Autoimmune urticaria, a general cause responsible for unprovoked hives
• Dematographic urticaria occurs due to skin scratching
• Cholinergic urticaria, exercises, stress or sweating, can be responsible
• Cold-induced urticaria occurs due to exposure to cold
• Pressure urticaria, caused by the pressure put on the skin
• Solar urticaria, exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the reason behind
• Vibratory urticaria occurs due to extreme vibration

Can an infection occur due to hives?

Yes, viral infections are the main cause of acute hives in young children. Hives begin when the immune system starts clearing infection, triggering mast cells to break open and secrete histamine. Even a common cold may cause this response to occur/trigger.

What are the causes of facial hives?

Facial hives may take place Contact urticaria where one has an allergic reaction to something that he has either touched or anything applied on his face. Facial hives may occur with angioedema, where one may have swelling of the lips, cheeks, and eyes. Angioedema also has allergic and non-allergic triggers, both as urticaria.

What makes hives get itchier at night?

Hives may often be worse at night. It may be because of a condition, nocturnal pruritus, which is estimated to be associated with the circadian rhythm and fluctuation in the level of cortisol, the main stress hormone.

Cortisol levels drop at night, which reduces inflammation but increases the sensation of itch. Body temperature drop and skin loss in urine may also be responsible for making hives itchier at night.

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