Hives are red, swollen, raised, itchy bumps that develop on the surface of your skin all of a sudden, when you least expect them to. Hives or urticaria, as they are scientifically called, do not have any particular causes. They usually last for about 6 or 12 hours before they fade away the next day.

Hives appear in various sizes and in some cases, you will see small sized hives coming together and forming a big area of bumps, called plaques.

Often the hives are caused by some allergens that act as triggers, and your body reacts by forming rashes all over the body. Hives can appear anywhere on your body from your lips, ears to your face, shoulders, chest, and back.

The characteristic about hives is that they sting, burn and cause discomfort. For many people, it is embarrassing and frustrating to develop hives as there is very little that they can do to hide it when they are in front of their peers and relatives.

To find a solution to prevent or cure hives, the first thing to do is to be thorough with the potential causes and risk factors of hives.

These are some of the causes of hives that you must be well acquainted with:

• External allergens
  It is found that hives appear when the skin cells in your blood vessels release histamine. Though it is difficult to figure out the specific cause of your case, there is a possibility that the hives were caused by external allergens. These allergens can be anything from dust particles, pollens from flowers, to animal dander. It is observed that insect sting or bite can also lead to you developing hives.
• Food allergies
  In many cases, a certain type of food or food item might cause hive. For many people, artificial food colors or flavors might cause an allergic reaction. Some of the common food items that act as allergens are chocolates, nuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, and berries. Some people only develop an allergic reaction if they eat the trigger food while in some cases the allergy is more severe, and they might get an allergy by simply coming in contact with these food items.
• Infection
  Viral hives are another common type of hives that you must know of. They are caused by bacteria or virus that come in contact with your body. Usually, viral hives are accompanied by fever, and they appear just before you fall sick and stay at home for few days.
• What you wear
  Tight clothes are considered to be one of the risk factors that might lead to hives. It is important to always wear light, loose, comfortable clothes, especially in summers. Tight clothes might cause unnecessary friction on the skin and cause rashes or make your condition worse.
• Medication
  If you are allergic to any of the regular drugs like antibiotics, aspirin or penicillin, you might suffer from hives.
• Stress and anxiety
  Stress and anxiety too are risk factors that are responsible for making your skin condition worse. Stress hives develop when you are chronically stressed in your life.
• Sun
  There is a condition known as solar urticaria or sun hives. People who suffer from sun hives experience a case of red, itchy hive when they are directly exposed to sunlight. These people suffer from it extensively as even applying any amounts of sunblock does not help them much.
• Exposure to heat or cold
  Yes, it is true that you can develop heat hives or cold hives. As the names suggest, people who suffer from heat hives have a skin type that is hypersensitive to heat while cold hives appear on your skin if you are sensitive to extremely cold temperature, be it regarding air or water.
• Sweating
  When you exercise, work out or sweat after a brisk morning walk, your body produces a chemical called acetylcholine. In some people’s case, the acetylcholine disrupts skin cells and might cause a hive breakout. Some researchers believe that sweating in itself is not a cause, but the excess of overheating that the body experiences after work out is the cause. For some people, even a hot shower can cause a hive breakout.
• Other medical conditions
  If you have a chronic case of hives, then it is a perfect time to get your overall health checked. Hives is a symptom for lupus, thyroid, hepatitis and many such serious ailments. See a doctor immediately if you suspect that your hive is a warning for something grave.

Note that in most cases, no serious medical treatment is needed to treat hives. Hives appear on your skin for few hours or a day, and they disappear leaving back no trace of their occurrence.