What are the causes of hives?

While the basic cause of hives involves the release of histamine from mast cells or basophils-white blood cells that play a key role in allergic reactions-what actually triggers this release can be a variety of factors, such as physical contact or pressure, heat (prickly heat rash), cold, water, autoimmune reactions, and allergies or sensitivities to drugs (especially antibiotics and aspirin), foods, food additives, and infectious organisms, such as hepatitis B, Candida albicans, and streptococcal bacteria. However, food allergy is the most common cause of hives, especially in chronic cases.

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