Sea Hospital Centre of reference for the diagnosis and treatment of hives caused by the cold.

– at this time, many people suffer hives which is not located the cause and that every year are repeated cyclically. You could try a urticaria caused by cold

-cases may be very mild itching and redness in areas exposed to very severe with severe immune reactions that could even putting at risk the lives of those affected

Barcelona, February 2012.- the hives caused by cold or “Frigore”, as they are called, are more common than it seems. The dermatology service of the Hospital of the sea has a specific unit for its study and has numerous cases identified. Although each year, when it starts cold, they begin to appear the first cases, it is difficult to estimate to what population really affects, as there are very notable of this type of urticaria underdiagnosis. It’s a very unknown problem for patients and professionals so that, at times, it takes years to make a diagnosis. It is not very common but potentially grave and that makes it necessary to consider this option before a hives that does not have an obvious cause.

“This year, with the delay in the arrival of cold weather, the first cases have started to see around Christmas, but now with this Siberian cold snap we are convinced that more cases may be detected and known patients continue to appropriate measures of protection.” However, there are still many people who, even though they are aware that they have a hives, her have unrelated to cold. “It is difficult to identify the causal process, but when it detects it is very grateful to treat,” explains Dr. Ana Giménez-Arnau, responsible for the unity of hives for the Hospital of the sea and an expert of the European study of this pathology group.

Urticaria urticaria or frigore starts its symptoms within minutes of exposure to cold temperatures start and they can persist for up to 2 hours. Most often is to appear red welts on the skin areas exposed to the cold. “the cold urticaria can appear at any age, but most often is that it affects young adults and, more often, women”, says Dr. Giménez-Arnau and continues: “when he starts before more complications there are: can be accompanied by other symptoms of a general nature, be more severe and last more years.” It can also be mild, only affecting the skin bare areas and exposure to cold, moderate, producing a generalized urticaria, or serious. “Where more serious, appears urticaria widespread severe that can lead to anaphylactic shock or what is the same, an immune reaction widespread and exaggerated by the agency that is accompanied by severe hypotension and respiratory distress.

The diagnosis can be made with a test of provocation (exposing patients to low temperatures in a controlled manner) and defining thresholds, from which, it triggers a reaction. We must also take into account that more than one type of urticaria can appear simultaneously and that makes difficult the diagnosis.

The dermatology service of the Hospital of the sea has the technology needed to make the diagnosis in a safe and controlled and is one of the three centres has a specialized unit and the possibility of using temp test ® diagnostic. This test not only identifies people who have hives cold, but it determines the threshold in a very careful manner. I.e., what temperature and inside of which rank these people develop hives. “Not for all the cold is defined by the same temperatures.” “There are people who can begin to develop reactions grouped at low temperatures from 17 or 18 ºc, while for others the threshold may be below 10 ° C, is highly variable,” explains Dr. Giménez-Arnau. Knowing this also is important for the measures taken and, above all, e.g. for the immersions in water (bathing in rivers, sea and cold-water Spa, …) that can commit to the body in a massive way and that could could produce an anaphylactic shock and endanger the patient’s life.