Urticaria and mimickers of urticaria

Abstract

Urticaria is a common skin condition encountered across various specialties in medicine, especially in dermatology and allergy/immunology practice. It has a heterogeneous presentation hence it is unsurprising that many skin conditions may be confused with urticaria. Urticaria may present as acute or chronic urticaria, the latter can be further categorised into chronic spontaneous and chronic inducible. In this article, we explore, explain, and summarise various skin lesions that are considered mimickers of urticaria, to promote understanding of each of the conditions highlighted, improve recognition, and reduce misdiagnosis.

Adrenergic Urticaria: An Updated Review

“…To delineate how AU is different from other forms of urticaria, it is important to understand the urticarial groupings. Broadly, urticarial eruptions can be acute (flares <6 weeks) or chronic (recurrent flares >6 weeks) [ 10 ]. Acute urticaria can be caused by many different variables, including viral upper respiratory infections, drug allergies, food allergies, and insect sting allergies [ 10 ].…”

“…Broadly, urticarial eruptions can be acute (flares <6 weeks) or chronic (recurrent flares >6 weeks) [ 10 ]. Acute urticaria can be caused by many different variables, including viral upper respiratory infections, drug allergies, food allergies, and insect sting allergies [ 10 ]. For this review, chronic urticaria is the more relevant grouping, which includes the category of chronic spontaneous urticaria and its two subtypes: autoallergic (type 1 autoimmunity, IgE auto-antibody presence) and autoimmune (type IIb autoimmunity, IgG auto-antibody presence) [ 10 ].…”

“…Acute urticaria can be caused by many different variables, including viral upper respiratory infections, drug allergies, food allergies, and insect sting allergies [ 10 ]. For this review, chronic urticaria is the more relevant grouping, which includes the category of chronic spontaneous urticaria and its two subtypes: autoallergic (type 1 autoimmunity, IgE auto-antibody presence) and autoimmune (type IIb autoimmunity, IgG auto-antibody presence) [ 10 ]. Another known category is chronic inducible urticaria (physical urticaria), which includes subcategories based on its triggers: mechanical (which includes friction, pressure, and vibration urticaria), thermal (including cold and heat urticaria), and solar electromagnetic radiation (Figure 3 ) [ 1 , 10 - 11 ].…”

“…For this review, chronic urticaria is the more relevant grouping, which includes the category of chronic spontaneous urticaria and its two subtypes: autoallergic (type 1 autoimmunity, IgE auto-antibody presence) and autoimmune (type IIb autoimmunity, IgG auto-antibody presence) [ 10 ]. Another known category is chronic inducible urticaria (physical urticaria), which includes subcategories based on its triggers: mechanical (which includes friction, pressure, and vibration urticaria), thermal (including cold and heat urticaria), and solar electromagnetic radiation (Figure 3 ) [ 1 , 10 - 11 ]. Physical urticarial groupings can be alternatively broadly subdivided into common physical urticaria (including cholinergic, cold, delayed pressure, and dermatographism) and uncommon physical urticaria (including aquagenic, vibratory, solar, and adrenergic) (Figure 4 ) [ 1 ].…”