Many patients go to big hospitals to look for big experts. Most of them want to find a "root-cutting treatment" method, hoping that there will be no recurrence after treatment, which is what is called "cure" in medicine. However, you must know that the cause of chronic urticaria is complex and vague, and many factors are involved in the occurrence and development of the disease. In most cases, it is difficult to find a clear cause or inducement. Therefore, there is a lack of treatment methods targeting the cause, and obviously it cannot be "rooted". Many hospitals carry out allergen and other tests. The results of these tests are only of certain significance to rule out allergic factors, but the positive results are not important. What is important is whether these positive results are closely related to the disease. In fact, the vast majority of them are Not relevant. According to foreign research and my personal clinical experience, it is obviously difficult to use allergens to explain the cause of chronic urticaria. Others, such as infections and drugs, also lack very reliable evidence to prove that they are definitely related to the onset of a certain patient. In fact, if a patient with chronic urticaria is absolutely sure of the cause, it is often not urticaria. Therefore, at least at present, there is a lack of treatments that clearly and effectively target the cause of the disease, so it is difficult to pursue "root-breaking" treatment, that is, a cure.
2. The course of chronic urticaria is self-limiting
The absence of reliable "root-breaking" treatment does not mean that the disease will be troubled for a lifetime. Large-sample studies from abroad and ours have confirmed that chronic urticaria can resolve on its own and even not relapse, that is, it can heal itself. Different types of urticaria, as well as different conditions of urticaria, have different time to disappear on their own (that is, what our medicine calls the course of the disease). For example, patients with skin scratch syndrome, positive autologous serum test (a special autoimmune method used to detect chronic urticaria, which is carried out in many hospitals including Southwest Hospital), and patients with severe illness usually have a longer course of disease, and most of them start within 1 month. -2 years, or even 2-10 years, approximately 1 in 1 patient may have an episode lasting more than 10 years. Therefore, many patients will get better on their own after 1-2 years. This situation cannot be changed by drugs. At least so far, no treatment is guaranteed to shorten the course of the disease.
3. The use of antihistamines is a realistic treatment for chronic urticaria
The cause of chronic urticaria is very difficult to treat, and symptomatic treatment is basically the main approach. So-called "desensitization" treatments or immunotherapies are not clearly effective, and treatment is based on antihistamines. Patients often worry about the side effects of drugs. In fact, second-generation antihistamines (the drugs usually chosen by clinicians) are very safe. The side effects of these drugs are much smaller than those of antihypertensive drugs, antidiabetic drugs, etc., and It usually only needs to be taken for 3-6 months, rarely longer. Antihypertensive drugs or antidiabetic drugs are usually taken for life, and the more the drugs are taken, the more the drugs are taken. However, antihistamines can usually be reduced in variety or dosage after they take effect. Why do many patients worry about the side effects of antihistamines? Obviously it's not necessary. Therefore, patients should think about it with their doctors. The current status of treatment is to choose antihistamines as a realistic treatment for chronic urticaria, follow the doctor's instructions, and insist on taking the medicine regularly. By the way, hormonal drugs should not be used lightly for chronic urticaria. They have serious side effects, are more likely to relapse and are more difficult to treat after stopping the drugs.
In short, chronic urticaria can heal on its own, but it is not curable. Don't blindly seek medical treatment everywhere. Reasonable and regular use of antihistamines is a realistic treatment.