Spontaneous urticaria of unknown cause - case report

Urticaria is a common disease with symptoms that include rash and angioedema. The key role in urticarial processes is played by mediators released by mast cells and basophils, among those - mainly by histamine. Spontaneous urticaria, formerly "idiopathic urticaria" is one of the most common causes of urticaria. Detecting neither its cause nor its mechanism is a typical aspect of this disease. Thus, we should try at the beginning to look for main causes of urticaria and conduct many tests to confirm them or not, as well as detailed medical history is needed. Spontaneous urticaria can be either acute or chronic. It is impossible to cure the causes of this disease; thus, we try to cure its symptoms. The main drugs used for that purpose are: histamine antagonists, if they prove to be ineffective, appliance of corticosteroids is necessary. In this case report we present an 8-year-old boy with spontaneous urticaria. (C) 2015 Polish Society of Allergology. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.