National Science and Technology Workers' Day | Itchy, itchy, scratch, scratch, what should I do if I have urticaria?

One night, a child came to the emergency room of the hospital with difficulty breathing, facial edema, cyanosis of lips, rash and itching on the back of both hands. It turned out that the child suddenly became ill at night, which frightened the parents. The doctor diagnosed the child with acute urticaria. After the doctor's treatment, the child's symptoms were quickly relieved. After detailed inquiries, it was learned that the child was playing with other children downstairs in the afternoon and touched the neighbor's puppy. The allergen test results showed that the child was allergic to animal hair.

Love playing "flash mob" on the skin

Urticaria, commonly known as "ghost wind bumps" and "urticaria", is a common allergic skin disease in children. It often recurs and causes obvious itching, but it is not contagious.

The skin manifestations of urticaria are really like a gust of wind, coming fast and going fast. It often starts with itching, followed by erythema or red wheals. The erythema and wheals usually disappear on their own after a few minutes or hours (no more than 24 hours), leaving no traces after disappearing, just like a skin "flash".

However, it is very troublesome and often recurs. If the digestive tract mucosa is affected, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea may occur; if the respiratory tract mucosa is affected, bronchial and throat symptoms such as chest tightness, discomfort, throat congestion, or difficulty breathing may also occur.

Urticaria can be divided into chronic urticaria and acute urticaria according to the duration of the disease. Chronic urticaria refers to a disease course of more than 6 weeks and more than two attacks per week. Acute urticaria refers to urticaria that appears in a short period of time and can be completely cured in a short period of time. Acute urticaria is the most common in children.

Mostly caused by allergies

Acute urticaria in children is mainly caused by the following reasons:

1. Contact with allergens: Most acute urticaria in children is caused by contact with allergens, such as food, pollen, insects, animal hair and certain chemicals. Among them, food-triggered allergies are the most common. Babies may be allergic to seafood (fish, shrimp and shellfish), milk, eggs, peanuts, wheat, nuts, etc.

2. Infection: Bacterial infection, viral infection, fungal infection and parasitic infection in the body can cause urticaria.

3. Drug factors: Many drugs can cause urticaria, the most common ones are serum products and certain vaccines, as well as antibacterial drugs (such as penicillins), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen), sedatives and sleeping pills, etc.

4. Other factors: physical and mechanical stimulation such as hot and cold stimulation, sunlight, friction and pressure can cause urticaria.

Find the root cause and solve it in one fell swoop

How should I treat my baby if he has urticaria?

The first thing to do is to give your baby a "cold compress". You can rinse the towel with cold water and apply it to the affected area, or you can put the wet towel in the refrigerator for a few minutes and then take it out and apply it to the affected area. This can temporarily relieve the cold compress.

You can take common anti-allergic drugs such as cetirizine drops, loratadine syrup, and chlorpheniramine orally to eliminate or reduce the itching symptoms of urticaria; you can also apply calamine lotion on the skin surface to relieve itching.

It should be noted that whether it is cold compress, taking medicine or external lotion, it can only relieve symptoms, not cure the root cause. Parents must understand the cause of their children's allergies - what kind of allergens did they come into contact with? What foods did they eat that caused allergies? Has they been exposed to sunlight for a long time? Only by clearly understanding the allergens can we avoid letting the baby come into contact with allergens in the future and stay away from urticaria fundamentally.

If your baby has urticaria, what should you pay attention to in daily life?

①Keep away from allergens and avoid sunlight. When your baby develops urticaria, parents should pay attention to the allergens that cause urticaria and avoid contact with suspected allergens again. When taking your baby out, you must protect your baby from the sun.

②Help your baby cut his nails short. Cut your baby's nails short to prevent him from scratching his skin and causing infection. You can also use other methods to distract the child's attention and not let him pay attention to the itchy skin all the time.

③Keep the skin clean. Keep the baby's skin clean and dry to prevent secondary infection.

④ Change clothes frequently. Dress your child in pure cotton underwear. While keeping warm, do not dress too much. Overheating will aggravate urticaria. Wear loose and breathable clothes as much as possible to avoid irritation to the itchy area. Underwear should be changed and washed frequently and exposed to the sun.

⑤ Strengthen physical exercise. Babies should strengthen physical exercise and participate in various sports that are beneficial to health.

⑥ Eat a light diet and avoid fish, shrimp, crab, mutton and other irritating foods, as well as spicy condiments such as chili, curry, and garlic.

⑦ Maintain a regular life, keep your baby in a good spirit, and actively treat gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases.

Author: Li Lu, Chief Pharmacist, First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University

Reviewer: Yang Shilei, Chief Pharmacist, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University

Wei Guoyi, Chief Pharmacist, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University