About Urticaria

Those who are unfortunate enough to contract urticaria/hives/nettle rash know how difficult it is to get information on this problematic life-altering disease. We have been informing you about facts you need to know about this disorder under www.urtikaria.net, giving you tips and answering questions of the patients. The interest is tremendous and new questions and reports on experience gained reach us daily. We therefore revised the most important advice given and information in the form of a manageable guide in 2005. You now have the second, revised and updated edition of this guide in your hands. You will see and find out that it is our particular concern to provide you with practice-oriented and up-to-date information.

The authors of the contributions, all of them urticaria specialists at German University Dermatology Clinics, are aware, thanks to their many years of experience, what is “of burning importance” to urticaria patients: All the important issues are dealt with - from the basics of the underlying disorder to the development of urticaria with its various sub-forms, the frequent triggers and causes of urticaria (and how these can be detected) and the treatment possibilities. You find an exposition of various urticaria diets, addresses of self-help groups and counselling centres, a commented list with relevant literature and a lot of further information in the extensive appendix.

One in four of us suffer from urticaria in the course of our lives. In Germany alone over one million patients are afflicted with the chronic form of urticaria. Good news: In the past years understanding this disease has improved considerably and new possibilities are at disposal to detect and to treat them. This guide explains these innovations and we hope that it will become a helpful companion for many affected persons and their family members.

Berlin and Mainz in September 2014
Marcus Maurer and Petra Staubach