This itchy rash, which can drive sufferers to distraction, may have a wide variety of causes including medication, viruses, or even an after-work beer. It's usually referred to as nettle rash. This week's health tip knows how to recognise the symptoms and what to do about them.
Nutrition advice by phone by santé24
santé24's nutrition counselling service offers advice on matters such as nutrition for certain medical conditions or after surgery, advice on food intolerances and digestive system disorders. The nutrition counselling service makes recommendations for a healthy and balanced diet and provides support for weight loss and nutrition-related questions. The service is free of charge for SWICA customers. Find out more.
Symptoms
Doctors differentiate between two kinds of nettle rash, depending on how long the symptoms persist.
- In the case of acute nettle rash, the swellings develop suddenly and generally disappear after a few hours or days.
- In chronic nettle rash, the symptoms may persist for six weeks or more, but this period may include days or even weeks when there are no symptoms.
Causes
The commonest causes of acute nettle rash are bacterial and viral infections, adverse reactions to medication, and food allergies.
It is more difficult to pinpoint the causes of chronic nettle rash. External stimuli, such as major differences in temperature, in association with physical or mental stress are often responsible for the rash. Allergies are rarely the cause.
Treatment
With chronic nettle rash, treatment tends to focus on relieving the itch since the cause is difficult to pin down. Antihistamines therefore form the basis of the therapy which generally lasts for a number of weeks or months.
Tips
- If the nettle rash is due to a food allergy or intolerance, it makes good sense to change the diet. SWICA's experienced dietary assistants will be happy to help. SWICA provides generous contributions towards dietary analysis and advice. More information can be found here.
- If the nettle rash is triggered by physical or mental stress, relaxation techniques (e.g. autogenic training) can be useful.
For your health: santé24 and SWICA Benecura
Do you have a health question? Our physicians and healthcare professionals at santé24 are available 24/7 on +41 44 404 86 86 for SWICA customers. In addition to telephone health advice, patients whose conditions are appropriate for telemedicine can receive medical services such as diagnostics, treatment, and even e-prescriptions for prescription medications.
Do you feel ill? The SWICA Benecura medical app makes it easy to carry out a digital SymptomCheck. You will receive a personal recommendation about what to do next. Send your information in encrypted form to the santé24 online practice for your telephone consultation to significantly shorten the assessment.
