UNDERSTANDING URTICARIA & CSU

Hives rashes usually settle down within a few minutes to a few days. You can often treat hives yourself. They can be different sizes and shapes and appear anywhere on the body in both adults and children.

• Hives can appear as raised patches of skin.
• The rash can be red. Redness can be harder to see on darker skin.
• The rash can also be raised spots.
• The rash is often itchy and sometimes feels like it’s stinging or burning.

Acne is a common skin condition that affects most people at some point. It causes spots, oily skin and sometimes skin that’s hot or painful to touch. Acne most commonly develops on the face, back and chest.
There are 6 main types of spots caused by acne:

• blackheads – small black or yellowish bumps that develop on the skin; they’re not filled with dirt, but are black because the inner lining of the hair follicle produces colour
• whiteheads – have a similar appearance to blackheads, but may be firmer and will not empty when squeezed
• papules – small red bumps that may feel tender or sore
• pustules – similar to papules, but have a white tip in the centre, caused by a build-up of pus
• nodules – large hard lumps that build up beneath the surface of the skin and can be painful
• cysts – the most severe type of spot caused by acne; they’re large pus-filled lumps that look similar to boils and carry the greatest risk of causing permanent scarring

• Atopic eczema (atopic dermatitis) is the most common form of eczema, a condition that causes the skin to become itchy, dry and cracked.
• Atopic eczema causes the skin to become itchy, dry, cracked and sore.
• Some people only have small patches of dry skin, but others may experience widespread inflamed skin all over the body.
• Although atopic eczema can affect any part of the body, it most often affects the hands, insides of the elbows, backs of the knees and the face and scalp in children.
• People with atopic eczema usually have periods when symptoms are less noticeable, as well as periods when symptoms become more severe (flare-ups).
   

Actinic keratoses (also called solar keratoses) are dry scaly patches of skin that have been damaged by the sun.
The patches:

• can feel dry, rough and scaly, or like sandpaper
• are usually between 1cm to 2cm in size
• can be the same colour as your skin or range from pink to red to brown
• may feel itchy

Rosacea is a long-term skin condition that mainly affects the face. It’s more common in women and people with lighter skin, but symptoms can be worse in men. Treatment can help with symptoms.
As rosacea gets worse, your cheeks, nose, skin and forehead will be red all the time.
Tiny broken blood vessels that do not go away may appear on your skin.
You may get small pink or red bumps. Sometimes these become filled with a yellowish liquid.
Other symptoms can include:

• dry skin
• swelling, especially around the eyes
• yellow-orange patches on the skin
• sore eyelids or crusts around roots of eyelashes – this could be blepharitis
• thickened skin, mainly on the nose (usually appears after many years)

• Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales.
• These patches normally appear on your elbows, knees, scalp and lower back, but can appear anywhere on your body. 
• Most people are only affected with small patches. In some cases, the patches can be itchy or sore.

Cellulitis is a skin infection that’s treated with antibiotics. It can be serious if it’s not treated quickly.
Cellulitis makes your skin painful, hot and swollen. The area usually looks red, but this may be less obvious on darker skin tones.
Your skin may also be blistered, and you can also have swollen, painful glands.
You can get cellulitis on any part of your body, such as:

• Hands - causing swelling in your fingers or the back of your hand.
• Feet – sometimes near toes if you have athlete’s foot.
• Legs – usually the lower legs.
• Eyes – the white part of your eye may become red, but this does not always happen.

• Measles is an infection that spreads very easily and can cause serious problems in some people. 
• Measles usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth.
• A rash usually appears a few days after the cold-like symptoms.
• The spots of the measles rash are sometimes raised and join together to form blotchy patches. They’re not usually itchy.

• Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) usually appears as a small, shiny pink or pearly-white lump with a translucent or waxy appearance. It can also look like a red, scaly patch.
• There’s sometimes some brown or black pigment within the patch.
• The lump slowly gets bigger and may become crusty, bleed or develop into a painless ulcer.

• Lupus is a long-term condition that causes joint pain, skin rashes and tiredness. There’s no cure, but symptoms can improve if treatment starts early.
• Symptoms include inflammation of different parts of the body including the lungs, heart, liver, joints and kidneys.
• Lupus often flares up (relapses) and symptoms become worse for a few weeks, sometimes longer.
• Symptoms then settle down (remission). The reason why symptoms flare up or settle down is not known.
• Some people do not notice any difference and their symptoms are constant.

• Contact dermatitis is a type of eczema triggered by contact with a particular substance.
• Contact dermatitis causes the skin to become itchy, blistered, dry and cracked.
• Lighter skin can become red, and darker skin can become dark brown, purple or grey.
• This reaction usually occurs within a few hours or days of exposure to an irritant or allergen.
• Symptoms can affect any part of the body but most commonly the hands and face.

Keratosis pilaris is a very common harmless condition where small bumps appear on your skin. It can last for a long time, but there are treatments that may improve your skin.
Symptoms can include:

• Dry, rough skin
• Small, painless bumps on your skin

Impetigo is a skin infection that’s very contagious but not usually serious. Anyone can get it, but it’s very common in young children.
Impetigo starts with red sores or blisters, but the redness may be harder to see in darker skin tones.
The sores or blisters quickly burst and leave crusty, golden-brown patches.
The patches can:

• look a bit like cornflakes stuck to your skin
• get bigger
• spread to other parts of your body
• be itchy
• sometimes be painful