What illness can cause hives?
Sarah Smith
Published Jan 07, 2026
The most common autoimmune conditions seen with hives include thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes. You can also experience hives if you have lupus, vasculitis, and liver diseases. If you have an autoimmune condition, you usually have other symptoms in addition to hives.
Can hives indicate something serious?
While hives can be a general annoyance, it's rarely a sign of something serious and is simply a temporary reaction to an allergy. However, allergic reactions can be life-threatening, and hives may accompany more serious reactions like anaphylaxis.
What viral infections cause hives?
Some infections that can cause hives in children include respiratory viruses (common cold), strep throat, urinary tract infections, hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis (mono) and many other viral infections.
Are hives a symptom of something?
Illness: Again, most hives are nothing to worry about. However, hives can be a sign of a more serious illness in some cases. Conditions like thyroid disease, lupus, HIV, and certain cancers may cause chronic hives as a symptom. Infections and viruses like the common cold may also lead to a hives outbreak.
What suddenly causes hives?
Urticaria, also known as hives, is an outbreak of pale red bumps or welts on the skin that appear suddenly. The swelling that often comes with hives is called angioedema. Allergic reactions, chemicals in certain foods, insect stings, sunlight, and medications can cause hives.
18 related questions foundWhat does stress hives look like?
Stress hives often look oval, round, or ring-like but also can take on irregular shapes. Hives are very itchy. You may feel a tingling or burning sensation as if you've been bitten by mosquitos. In addition, some welts may disappear only to be replaced by new ones within a few hours.
When should I be concerned about hives?
If you think your hives or angioedema was caused by a known allergy to food or a medication, your symptoms may be an early sign of an anaphylactic reaction. Seek emergency care if you feel your tongue, lips, mouth or throat swelling or if you're having trouble breathing.
What cancers cause hives?
Several cases of malignant tumors have been reported in association with urticaria, including leukemias and lymphomas,17,18 myeloma,19 testicular cancer,20 ovarian carcinoma,21 lung cancer,22 colon cancer,23 and thyroid carcinoma.
Does Benadryl help with hives?
Doctors usually prescribe antihistamines as a first course of treatment for hives. Acute cases can generally be treated with over-the-counter antihistamines like Benadryl, Claritin (loratadine), Allegra (fexofenadine), and Zyrtec (cetirizine).
Can autoimmune cause hives?
The most common autoimmune conditions seen with hives include thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes. You can also experience hives if you have lupus, vasculitis, and liver diseases. If you have an autoimmune condition, you usually have other symptoms in addition to hives.
What bacterial infections cause hives?
Hives that last longer than six weeks or with recurring outbreaks over a six-week period are most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infections like Helicobacter pylori (bacteria in the stomach), hepatitis or a dental infection. Autoimmune diseases like lupus and Hashimoto disease can also cause hives.
What does a hepatitis rash look like?
These red or purple blotches can be as small as a pinhead or as big as half an inch. They can hurt or itch. For people with hepatitis C, the rash is usually a symptom of cryoglobulinemia. It's a blood vessel problem that happens when proteins in your blood stick together in cold weather.
What is the most common cause of hives?
The most common cause of hives is infections. Foods such as eggs, nuts and shellfish are common causes of urticaria. Medications such as aspirin and antibiotics (especially penicillin and sulfa) also are common causes of hives. Infections causing hives include the common cold, and other viral infections.
What gets rid of hives fast?
Wear loose-fitting, cotton clothes. Apply a cold compress, such as ice cubes wrapped in a washcloth, to the itchy skin several times a day—unless cold triggers your hives. Use anti-itch medication that you can buy without a prescription, such as an antihistamine or calamine lotion.
Can kidney problems cause hives?
Other illnesses are commonly associated with hives, many of which are autoimmune and others of which are related to an infection or malignancy. They include: Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
Is Zyrtec or Benadryl better for hives?
Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) is often better than other antihistamines at treating allergy symptoms and hives. It can provide quick relief of allergy symptoms for both kids and adults.
What cream should I put on hives?
Anti-Itch Creams and Lotions
You can use over-the-counter topical treatments like calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream, too. However, some people can be sensitive to certain topical medications. Children may have a bad reaction to corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone cream.
Will Zyrtec help with hives?
Uses. Zyrtec is approved for the treatment of: Urticaria (hives) Allergic rhinitis (hayfever): Antihistamines can decrease the symptoms of watery, itchy eyes, sneezing, itchy nose, and itchy eyes.
What does a leukemia rash look like?
One symptom that some people with leukemia might notice is tiny red spots on their skin. These pinpoints of blood are called petechiae. On fair and light skin tones, these may appear as red dots. On darker skin tones, they may be darker than the surrounding skin and less noticeable.
What does Hodgkin's lymphoma rash look like?
When a rash caused by skin lymphoma (also referred to as cutaneous lymphoma) is in its early stages, it often presents as small patches of dry, red skin on the torso, buttocks or another area of the body. At this stage, the rash often resembles dermatitis, eczema or psoriasis.
Can lymphoma cause hives?
Rash and itching
Rashes are most commonly seen in lymphomas of the skin. They may appear as reddish or purple scaly areas. These rashes often occur in skin folds and can be easily confused with other conditions like eczema. They can spread as the lymphoma progresses.
Can adults get hives from a virus?
A variety of viruses can cause hives (even routine cold viruses). The hives seem to appear as the immune system begins to clear the infection, sometimes one week or more after the illness begins. The hives usually persist for one week or two and then disappear.
Why do hives get worse at night?
Getting hives at night could mean you're coming into contact with a trigger close to bedtime. Maybe it's in response to something you ate for dinner, a medication you normally take before bed, or the fabric of your pajamas or your sheets.
Do scabies look like hives?
Rash: Many people get the scabies rash. This rash causes little bumps that often form a line. The bumps can look like hives, tiny bites, knots under the skin, or pimples. Some people develop scaly patches that look like eczema.
What is it called when you break out in hives for no reason?
If you have hives that keep coming and going for weeks on end, and you don't know what's causing them, see a doctor. You could have what is called chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) or chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). CIU is when a person has these breakouts almost daily for at least 6 weeks, with no known cause.