Causes and Risk Factors of Urticaria (Hives)

An allergy is not the only possible cause

Urticaria, or hives, is a common type of rash characterized by the formation of raised, red, itchy bumps on the skin. The cause and severity of hives can vary from one person to the next. While urticaria is commonly associated with an allergy to food, medications, and other irritants, it can also have non-allergic causes such as stress, infection, autoimmune disease, and even food poisoning. Other cases are idiopathic, meaning that the cause is unknown.

Urticaria can affect anyone irrespective of age, gender, and race. It is estimated that between 15 percent and 23 percent of the adults will experience at least one bout of urticaria in their lifetime. 

acute urticaria (hives) causes
 © Verywell, 2018

Allergic

Allergy is a common cause of urticaria. It is caused when the immune system responds abnormally to an otherwise harmless substance and floods the body with an inflammatory chemical known as histamine.

While the release of histamine can often trigger allergic rhinitis and other respiratory or gastric symptoms, there are others times when it will cause capillaries to swell excessively and release interstitial fluid into surrounding tissues. When this happens, the localized swelling of the dermis will lead to a well-defined rash we recognize as a hive.

There are two allergies frequently associated with urticaria:

  • Food allergies, most commonly nuts, shellfish, milk, eggs, wheat, and soy
  • Drug allergies, including those triggered by certain antibiotics (like cefaclor), anticonvulsants, antifungals (like clotrimazole), ibuprofen, or sulfonamides,

Less commonly, hives may be caused by such common allergens as pollen, pet dander, insect bites, and latex. Even less commonly, scombroid food poisoning may be the cause. This occurs when an individual consumes fish that has begun to spoil. The high concentration of histamine in the decaying flesh triggers a food "pseudoallergy" with symptoms such as diarrhea, cramps, dizziness, and widespread hives.

Most of these allergy-induced hives will resolve on their own when the allergy trigger (allergen) is removed.

2:24

Click Play to Learn About the Symptoms of Urticaria or Hives

This video has been medically reviewed by Corinne Savides Happel, MD

Physical

Physical urticaria is a subset of hives in which the skin rash is provoked by specific environmental or physical stimuli such as cold, heat, pressure, vibration, friction, and sunlight.

While the cause of physical urticaria is unknown, it is believed to be an autoimmune response in which the body's cells attack otherwise normal tissues.

While this can trigger the same inflammatory response seen with allergic hives, the appearance of the hives is often quite different. In some cases, they will only develop in areas of skin exposed to the environmental stimuli. In others, a widespread eruption can lead to a rapid drop in blood pressure and symptoms such as headaches, flushing, blurry vision, and fainting.

Because physical urticaria is believed to be related to autoimmunity (rather than induced by an external trigger), the condition is most often chronic and can last for years.

Among some the familiar (and less familiar) types of physical urticaria:

  • Aquagenic urticaria is a rare form of hives caused by contact with water.
  • Cold urticaria is an uncommon form caused by exposure to cold.
  • Cholinergic urticaria, also known as heat rash, is caused by excessive sweating and elevated skin temperatures.
  • Dermographism urticaria is caused by friction or the firm stroking of skin.
  • Pressure urticaria is caused when excessive pressure is exerted on the skin (such as when you carry a heavy bag on your shoulder).
  • Solar urticaria is caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.
  • Vibratory urticaria is caused by any form of vibration (including mowing the lawn or clapping).
A close up of urticaria from heat (heat rash)

Reproduced with permission from © DermNet and © Te Whatu Ora Waikato www.dermnetnz.org 2023.

Stress

In addition to physical stimuli, stress is commonly associated with the development or worsening of chronic hives. Again, the exact cause is unknown, but it is believed that the release of stress hormones such as cortisol may have a knock-on effect in which the underlying cause of hive is activated.

As such, stress may not directly "cause" hives but rather switch on or amplify the autoimmune response.

One such example is cholinergic urticaria in which stress-related perspiration may instigate the development of heat rash.

Exercise

In food-dependent exercise induced urticaria, a person will have symptoms only when both eating a particular food (e.g. wheat) and then exercising shortly after; in this disorder neither exercise alone nor specific food ingestion alone will trigger the symptoms. In some cases, this can lead to a potentially life-threatening exercise-induced anaphylaxis.

Infections and Diseases

There are certain infections and diseases for which urticaria is common.

This is especially true for young children in whom 80 percent of hives are caused by a viral infection. The activation of the immune response may be triggered by something as simple as a cold. The hives tend to develop within a week of infection and usually resolve in a week or two without treatment.

Other illnesses are commonly associated with hives, many of which are autoimmune and others of which are related to an infection or malignancy. They include:

Hives associated with these diseases can be chronic or acute.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What causes hives?

    Allergy is a common cause of hives. During the allergic response, mast cells in the skin will break open and release a pro-inflammatory compound called histamine. This, in turn, causes capillaries near the surface of the skin to dilate and release fluid into surrounding tissues, leading to the formation of raised, itchy hives.  

  • Are there non-allergic causes of hives?

    Yes. In fact, chronic urticaria (daily or episodic hives lasting for longer than six weeks) is more likely due to non-allergic causes. Non-allergic forms of hives include:

  • Can an infection cause hives?

    Yes. In fact, viral infections are the main cause of acute hives in young children. The hives will begin as the immune system starts to clear the infection, triggering mast cells to break open and release histamine. Even the common cold can trigger such a response.

  • What causes facial hives?

    They may be due to contact urticarria, in which you have an allergic reaction to something that has either touched or been applied to your face. Facial hives may coexist with angioedema, in which there is swelling of the lips, cheeks, and eyes. Like urticaria, angioedema has both allergic and non-allergic triggers.

  • What causes hives to get itchier at night?

    Hives often seem worse at night because of a condition called nocturnal pruritus, thought to be related to the circadian rhythm and changes in the level of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol levels drop at night, reducing inflammation but increasing the sensation of itch. Changes in body temperature and the loss of water in the skin may also contribute.

10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Daniel More, MD

By Daniel More, MD
Daniel More, MD, is a board-certified allergist and clinical immunologist. He is an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine and formerly practiced at Central Coast Allergy and Asthma in Salinas, California.