Hives Glossary of Terms

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Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness that is of short duration, rapidly progressive, and in need of urgent care.
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Adjacent: Lying nearby. Related terms include superjacent, subjacent, and circumjacent. From ad-, near + the Latin jacere, to lie = to lie near.

Allergy : A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system , the body system of defense against foreign invaders, particularly pathogens (the agents of infection ). The allergic reaction is misguided in that these foreign substances are usually harmless. The substances that trigger allergy are called allergen. Examples include pollens , dust mite, molds , danders , and certain foods. People prone to allergies are said to be allergic or atopic .
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Anaphylaxis: Allergic reaction. In severe cases, this can include potentially deadly anaphylactic shock.

Angioedema: Like hives but affects deeper skin layer.

Antihistamines: Drugs that combat the histamine released during an allergic reaction by blocking the action of the histamine on the tissue. Antihistamines do not stop the formation of histamine nor do they stop the conflict between the IgE and antigen. Therefore, antihistamines do not stop the allergic reaction but protect tissues from some of its effects. Antihistamines frequently cause mouth dryness and sleepiness. Newer "non sedating" antihistamines are generally thought to be somewhat less effective. Antihistamine side effects that very occasionally occur include urine retention in males and fast heart rate.

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth or nose due to muscle contraction, and then exhaled due to muscle relaxation.

Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Clinical: 1. Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. 2. Applicable to patients. A laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients).
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Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following:

1. An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
4. As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning.

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Feet: The plural of foot, both an anatomic structure and a unit of measure.
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Histamine: Substance that plays a major role in many allergic reactions. Histamine dilates blood vessels and makes the vessel walls abnormally permeable.

Hives: A raised, itchy area of skin that is usually a sign of an allergic reaction. It can be rounded or flat-topped but is always elevated above the surrounding skin. It reflects circumscribed dermal edema (local swelling of the skin). The hives are usually well circumscribed but may be coalescent and will blanch with pressure. They typically last less than 4 hours but they may stay for days or weeks. Approximately 20% of the population has experienced a bout of hives.
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Immune: Protected against infection. The Latin immunis means free, exempt.

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on the skin or in the skin, and makes the person want to scratch the affected area.
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Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."
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Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the vagina. They are the labia majora (the larger outside pair) and the labia minora (the smaller inside pair). Together they form part of the vulva (the female external genitalia).

Mind: That which thinks, reasons, perceives, wills, and feels. The mind now appears in no way separate from the brain. In neuroscience, there is no duality between the mind and body. They are one.

Mucous: Pertaining to mucus, a thick fluid produced by the lining of some tissues of the body.
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Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.

Numb: Numb, or numbness is a loss of the sensation of feeling in an area of the body. Numbness results from damage to, or impaired function of, the nerves that supply the affected area. The function of the nerves may be impaired by numerous causes including some chronic diseases ( diabetes mellitus , thyroid disease, migraine ), trauma , toxins, decreased blood supply due to atherosclerosis or other conditions, electrolyte imbalances, and pressure on the spinal nerves from herniated discs or other diseases of the spine .
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Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis . There is always an onset to a disease but never to the return to good health. The default setting is good health.
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Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. A prescription has several parts. They include the superscription or heading with the symbol "R" or "Rx", which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign "s" standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container.

Range: In medicine and statistics, the difference between the lowest and highest numerical values. For example, if five premature infants are born weighing two, three, four, four, and five pounds respectively, the range of their birth weights is two to five pounds.

Rash : Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. Medically, a rash is referred to as an exanthem.
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Shock: In medicine, shock is a critical condition brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow through the body. There is failure of the circulatory system to maintain adequate blood flow. This sharply curtails the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to vital organs. It also compromises the kidney and so curtails the removal of wastes from the body. Shock can be due to a number of different mechanisms including not enough blood volume (hypovolemic shock) and not enough output of blood by the heart (cardiogenic shock). The signs and symptoms of shock include low blood pressure (hypotension), overbreathing (hyperventilation), a weak rapid pulse, cold clammy grayish-bluish (cyanotic) skin, decreased urine flow (oliguria), and mental changes (a sense of great anxiety and foreboding, confusion and, sometimes, combativeness).
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Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.

Steroid: A general class of chemical substances that are structurally related to one another and share the same chemical skeleton (a tetracyclic cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene skeleton).
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Topical: Pertaining to a particular surface area. A topical agent is applied to a certain area of the skin and is intended to affect only the area to which it is applied. Whether its effects are indeed limited to that area depends upon whether the agent stays where it is put or is absorbed into the blood stream.
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Urticaria: Another name for the hives . Raised, itchy areas of skin that are usually a sign of an allergic reaction. Hives can be rounded or flat-topped but are always elevated above the surrounding skin. They reflect circumscribed dermal edema (local swelling of the skin). The hives are usually well circumscribed but may be coalescent and will blanch with pressure.
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Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, "My daughter has a viral rash ."
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Welt: A red bump, ridge or swelling of unbroken skin raised by a stinging blow or by an allergic reaction to foods, drugs or insect bites, as in hives (urticaria).
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Skin Test For Allergy - Source:MedicineNet Rash - Learn about rash causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Common skin rashes include poison ivy, hives, shingles, eczema, contact dermatitis, ringworm, psoriasis and impetigo. Source:MedicineNet Eczema - Get information about eczema causes, skin symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Types include dyshidrotic, atopic dermatitis, nummular, varicose and seborrheic eczema. Source:MedicineNet Read 98 more Hives related articles ... Health Tip: Have Hives? Health Tip: Facts About Fleas Gloves Made From New Form of Latex Approved Health Tip: Symptoms of an Allergic Reaction New Ways to Fight Nut, Milk Allergies Sugar Intake Linked to Kids' Asthma? Pediatric ER Trips Tied to Cold Drugs