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Hives is pretty common and mild cases usually go away on its own.

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The goal of over the counter medications in the management of hives are

  • To stop the histamine that is being released.
  • Help with itching if any.
  • Soothe the skin if this hives is due to a dry skin.

With this in mind, see what is available over the counter for hives below.

A woman with hives on stomach


Antihistamine

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) is preferred. It will make you drowsy, however.

If drowsiness is a factor for you, loratadine (Claritin®) or cetirizine (Zyrtec®) will be a good choice.

Sometimes, it is better to combine 2 different types of antihistamines (H2 and H1 blockers). To this end, add famotidine (Pepcid) or ranitidine (Zantac) to the treatment regimen.

 

Anti-itch lotions

Calamine lotion

Sarna Sensitive

Aveeno anti-itch lotion.

 

Worth doing

Take diphenhydramine (Benadryl®) with famotidine (Pepcid®).

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 03/26/2018

 

 

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