Are There Any Effective Ways To Treat Hives Using Alternative Medicine?

Dr. Marc Riedl answers the question: 'Alternative Medicine For Hives?'

ByABC News
March 25, 2008, 3:00 PM

— -- Question: Are there any effective ways to treat hives using alternative medicine?

Answer: Hives can be a very difficult and troubling allergy problem, particularly when they become chronic and persistent. Often we aren't able to determine a specific cause for these hives, and that leads to a great deal of frustration and discomfort. Unfortunately there hasn't been a great deal of research looking at alternative treatments for hives. There has been some reports of certain alternative treatments being helpful in certain cases. But again, there's generally not been rigorous studies looking at the efficacy of these treatments.

The most commonly reported alternative treatment that may be helpful is acupuncture. This consists of a few case reports of acupuncture being helpful to certain individuals. But again, there really haven't been rigorous scientific studies looking at this particular treatment. Generally speaking there are medications that can be used safely, such as antihistamines, and these are quite effective at suppressing hives.

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