Large area of ​​skin itching and lumps

Our skin is often exposed to the outside world and is exposed to various external stimuli. If we do not take good care of our skin, it will cause many symptoms. Many people experience urticaria, which is a severe itching on the skin surface and large patches of lumps can be seen. Some people even experience abdominal pain or diarrhea. There are several different types of urticaria.

Symptoms of urticaria

Skin scratch disease, also known as artificial urticaria.

After scratching the skin with your hands or scratching it with a blunt object, strip-like raised areas will appear along the scratches, accompanied by itching, which will soon subside. It may occur alone or in combination with urticaria. This allergic urticaria symptom occurs frequently in life and generally does not require treatment.

Angioedema, also known as giant urticaria.

It mainly occurs in areas with loose tissue, such as eyelids, lips, and external genitalia. Most of them are single, occasionally occurring in two or more places. The lesion is a sudden localized swelling involving the subcutaneous tissue, with unclear boundaries, and the surface skin color is light red or normal and shiny, and it feels elastic to the touch. It lasts for 1 to 3 days and then disappears on its own, but it may recur in the same area. If it occurs in the laryngeal mucosa, it can cause breathing difficulties or even suffocation and death.

Cold urticaria can be divided into two types: one is familial, which is autosomal dominant and is relatively rare. The disease occurs shortly after birth or in early years and recurs throughout life.

In addition to wheals when exposed to cold, there may also be symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, and joint pain. There is neutrophilia during attacks. Passive transfer test was negative. The other type is acquired, which is more common in young women. When the temperature drops suddenly and they are exposed to cold wind, cold water or cold objects, wheals or plaque edema will occur in the exposed or contacted parts, lasting for half an hour or even 3 to 4 hours. In severe cases, there may be numbness of hands and lips, shortness of breath, palpitations, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fainting and even shock, and occasionally death from drowning.

Cold urticaria may be one of the symptoms of certain diseases, such as cryoglobulinemia (myeloma, macroglobulinemia, systemic lupus erythematosus), paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (syphilis), cold fibrinogenemia, cold hemolysis, etc.

Cholinergic urticaria is a type of papular urticaria.

It is more common in young people, and occurs due to factors such as exercise, heat, emotional stress, and drinking hot or alcoholic beverages, which trigger acetylcholine to act on mast cells. The wheal appears within minutes after being stimulated, with a diameter of about 2 to 3 mm and a large red halo around it. It often spreads to the upper trunk and upper limbs, does not merge with each other, and disappears within half an hour to an hour. Conscious itching. Sometimes there is only severe itching without a rash. Occasionally, it is accompanied by systemic reactions of acetylcholine, such as salivation, headache, bradypumping, pupil constriction, spasmodic abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms. In severe cases, it may cause fainting. The course of the disease generally improves gradually after several years. A skin test or scratch test with 1:5000 acetylcholine can produce a positive result.

Solar urticaria is less common.

Wheals occur on skin exposed to sunlight and cause itching and tingling, and are sometimes triggered by sunlight shining through glass. In severe cases, there may be systemic reactions such as chills, fatigue, syncope, and spasmodic abdominal pain. The sensitivity to ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of around 300 nanometers is the strongest. People who are allergic to ultraviolet rays at 285-320 nanometers may contain certain globulin antibodies (possibly IgE) in their serum, which can make the passive transfer test positive.