Hives (patient fact sheet)

Please note that this guidance is currently undergoing review by Safer Care Victoria to ensure  the content is up to date. In the meantime, we recommend that you also refer to more contemporaneous evidence where possible.

Download our fact sheet to provide your patients with easy to follow guidance on gives.

This fact sheet has the #withconsumers tick from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia

Hives or welts (medically termed ‘urticaria’) are a red, itchy, raised skin rash that can look like a group of mosquito bites.

Hives are a common allergic reaction, which is the body’s response to an allergen or ‘trigger’. They are usually harmless to most people. Hives can occur anywhere on the body and can affect people of all ages. The rash can quickly change shape and come and go over a matter of minutes or hours. The rash may last for days.