You're happily living your life, when suddenly your face feels hot.
It also starts to itch.
When you look in the mirror you see that you have raised welts on your cheeks, and when you look at your arms you can see the welts are appearing there too.
You have hives; the medical term for the condition is urticaria.
There are two main forms of hives, acute urticaria and chronic urticaria.
In the acute form of hives, the cause is usually an allergy.
In adults, allergic hives are commonly caused by shellfish and nuts.
Children may be allergic to shellfish and nuts too, but they can also be allergic to eggs, wheat, and soy.
Although hives clearly have a physical cause -- they may even appear if you have a viral infection like the flu - stress can be a factor too.
When you go to your doctor, you'll usually be offered antihistamines in some form.
These may work, in as little as 24 hours, reducing the itching, and gradually your hives will fade.
If your doctor feels that you're suffering from stress, he may offer stress medication too.
Is There a Cure for Hives? Because hives have so many different causes there's no sure and certain "cure" which works for everyone.
In fact, if you're a chronic hives sufferer, your hives may be of an unknown origin: this is so in half of the chronic hives sufferers.
Natural hives remedies which you can try include certain essential oils, like lavender and geranium.
Pure essential oil of lavender, when a drop or two is applied to the welts neat, will often stop the itching.
(Dilute all essential oils with a carrier oil if using them on children.
) If you have a sudden hives flare up, an ice compress will help to relieve the swelling, and deadens the itch.
Homeopathic remedies can help too; these are usually sprayed under the tongue.