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Causes of urticaria in children
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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The etiological factors of urticaria and angioedema are very diverse.
- Immune forms cause:
- all groups of allergens;
- hereditary or acquired deficiency of Cql-inactivator;
- autoimmune diseases.
- Non-immune forms cause:
- substances capable of activating mast cells without the participation of immune mechanisms, the entry of substances containing histamine into the body;
- physical factors;
- emotional stress;
- viral infections, infectious mononucleosis, hepatitis;
- helminthiasis;
- cryoglobulinemia;
- mastocytosis.
In most cases, the cause of urticaria remains unclear.
Pathogenesis of urticaria
There is no single concept that unites all forms of urticaria. The central mediator role of histamine in the pathogenesis of the disease is confirmed by a characteristic skin reaction, the effectiveness of antihistamines, and an increase in the concentration of histamine in the blood plasma in most forms of urticaria.
Some forms of chronic urticaria are associated with the effects of eosinophil granule proteins, platelet-activating factor, tryptase, and chymase.
In the immune form of the disease, the primary mediators of immediate-type allergy (histamine, MRS-A, chemotactic factors of eosinophils and neutrophils, basophilic kallikrein factor), released from mast cells and basophils, lead to the activation of secondary mediators - kinins, complement, the release of prostaglandins, serotonin. There is an increase in the permeability of the vascular wall and the appearance of characteristic skin elements.