Over-the-counter medications, which don’t require a prescription, should be your go-to for getting rid of hives, says Chris Adigun, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Over-the-counter antihistamines, which reduce or block histamines (or chemicals in your body that trigger hives), include:
- loratadine (Claritin)
- cetirizine (Zyrtec)
- fexofenadine (Allegra)
- diphenhydramine (Benadryl)
- desloratadine (like Clarinex)
While oral antihistamines are the ones that actually make the hives stop from the source, some ointments and creams can provide temporary but quick-acting results to relieve your itchiness, Adigun says.
She points to creams with ingredients such as:
Adigun says your drugstore should carry several ointments that contain these itch-relieving ingredients and topical anesthetics. Some may even be formulated with several of these ingredients at once, such as calamine lotion that contains pramoxine.
“You can even put these in the refrigerator so that when you apply them, there’s more of a dramatic cooling effect,” she says.
These OTC remedies are the best solution for acute hives, which means you have sporadic hives breakouts that tend to disappear within a few days, especially after you use antihistamines. If you have chronic hives, which means they linger for at least six weeks, you may be prescribed medications, including anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that suppress the immune system, and drugs that reduce pain and swelling from hives.
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