associated with general medical conditions

Last reviewed 01/2018

General medical conditions in which urticaria may be a prominent features:

  • systemic lupus erythematous - in early stages, urticaria may be the only clinical abnormality, with wheals persisting for an unusually long time - 2-4 days
  • viral hepatitis - may begin with urticaria
  • Still's disease
  • rheumatic fever
  • hyperthyroidism
  • leukaemia, lymphoma
  • infection e.g. dental abscess, sinusitis, streptococcal pharyngitis
  • contact urticaria - in atopic individuals - lesions develop only on the actual sites of contact eg. with dog hair or saliva, or on the lips when ingesting food
  • hereditary angio-oedema - an autosomal dominant inheritance - lack the enzyme C1 esterase inhibitor. Affected individuals suffer attacks of wheals accompanied by abdominal colic and glottic oedema