What to do when hives strike

With mMaridadi

There is nothing more irritating to a man than a recurrent skin condition, such as hives. Hives are a kind of skin rash notable for raised, itchy bumps. Hives are mainly caused by allergic reactions to drugs such as penicillin, specific foods such as eggs, additives such as benzoate, contact with jewellery and inhaled allergens such as pollen. There are also many non-allergic causes.

However, few men are aware that allergies trigger hives. Many don’t know what they are allergic to.

This was the situation last Saturday when a fellow client, John, asked Ofafa, the barber, for a solution. John had noticed hives around his neck for two weeks. His attempts to clear the condition with all sorts of creams from the supermarket had been futile.

If anything, the hives were worse than ever and his wife was looking at him suspiciously.

Generally, hives should disappear after a few days if handled well. John is rather vain and was actually worried about his appearance more than the health of his skin. That the hives caused people to stare at him as "if I am an ogre" was more important to him than the fact that he was further damaging his skin when he scratched it vigorously.

Ofafa reminded John that health and beauty are two sides of the same coin and advised him to first find out what he was allergic to and avoid it. If that was not effective, he was to seek medical advice from a dermatologist.

John had reacted a ‘gold’ chain he bought in a back alley and had been wearing it every day to accessorise his flashy holiday clothes (he is on leave). The problem was solved by simply keeping the chain off and taking piriton (an antihistamine) as advised by his pharmacist for a couple of days.