Urticaria : diagnosis and management

Abstract

Urticaria is a common and characteristic skin condition presenting with wheals and/or angioedema. It may be acute or chronic and has various causes and triggers. Patients with urticaria are often referred to allergy clinics to find out ‘what they are allergic to’. Urticaria may impact significantly on a patient’s quality of life. Its management involves identifying and removing causes or triggers, together with oral antihistamines as first line treatment for symptomatic control. Omalizumab is a recently licensed expensive treatment option for patients with urticaria resistant to oral antihistamines, and has shown a high success rate and good safety profile.