What Are Hives?

A Hives breakout can be caused by a number of factors but the physiological reason behind a hives break out can be traced to the body's reaction to an allergy, nerves or illness.

Hives are also known as Urticaria and occur suddenly without warning. Hives have the appearance of swollen, pale red bumps on the skin that appear suddenly.

Hives usually cause itching, but may also produce a burning or stinging sensation. They can appear anywhere on the body, even the face, lips, tongue, throat, and ears. Hives can vary in size from relatively small to quite large. Some hives may even join together to form larger effected areas known as plaques. A breakout can last for hours, or even up a one day before fading.

Hives can be quite painful and bothersome. Typically, Benadryl or any type of antihystimine should do the trick. If you are experiencing chronic breakouts you should visit your local Dallas Allergy doctor to get a diagnosis and treatment for the reaction.

What Happens During an Asthma Attack?

An asthma attack can be a scary situation for everyone involved. Having trouble breathing can leave you feeling powerless and frightened wondering when the attack will be over.

When you an experience an asthma attack, a sudden change occurs from your normal asthma symptoms. To treat this change, you will need medication or intervention to get you breathing regularly again. The asthma attack will cause your airways to constrict, making it more difficult to breathe.

During an attack, you will experience an increase in mucus as your airway becomes inflamed. When this occurs your cells will begin to secrete more mucus. This increase can be problematic because an increase in mucus could block the airways of your lungs. During an attack, your lungs and airways will become inflamed and irritated. Also, along with the inflammation and swelling you are likely to experience muscle contraction. The contraction of the muscle is what causes your airways to constrict.

The symptoms of a typical asthma attack include, chest tightness, coughing, wheezing and a shortness of breath and can be triggered from infections like a cold or other bacterial respiratory virus.