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Urticaria

Basics

Hives, or urticaria, occur when the body reacts to allergens, stress, infections, or other triggers by releasing chemicals that cause the skin to swell, itch, and form red bumps. While hives typically resolve on their own, some individuals experience chronic outbreaks, known as chronic urticaria.

Chinese Medicine Diagnosis Patterns

In Chinese Medicine, urticaria often arises due to constitutional insufficiency, pathogenic wind, or pathogenic heat. External wind can invade the body during sweating, leading to skin and blood reactions. Pathogenic heat may accumulate in the spleen and stomach when improper diet impairs their transformative and descending functions. Common patterns include wind invading the blood, heat accumulating in the spleen and stomach, or blood deficiency leading to wind dryness.

A study by Hu (2014) compared acupuncture combined with bloodletting to antihistamine treatment in 162 cases of chronic urticaria. The treatment group received acupuncture at points such as Quchi (LI 11), Neiguan (PC 6), Xuehai (SP 10), and Sanyinjiao (SP 6), along with bloodletting at Feishu (BL13) and Geshu (BL17). The control group was treated with loratadine. The acupuncture-bloodletting group experienced no adverse effects, suggesting that acupuncture with bloodletting is a safe and effective method for managing chronic urticaria.