Twice as common in women as in men

A press conference was held by the Dermatoimmunology and Allergy Society in collaboration with Novartis on the occasion of World Urticaria Day on 1 October to draw attention to urticaria disease and raise public awareness. The meeting, attended by Prof. Dr. Nilgün Atakan, Chair of the Dermatoimmunology and Allergy Society and Faculty Member at the Department of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases at Hacettepe University School of Medicine; Prof. Dr. Başak Yalçın, Faculty Member at the Department of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases at Yıldırım Beyazıt University School of Medicine; and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sibel Doğan Günaydın, Faculty Member at the Department of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases at Hacettepe University School of Medicine, addressed urticaria disease and treatment methods. At the meeting, which also included actress Asuman Dabak, a promotional video of the artist's performance titled "In Your Language" created especially for World Urticaria Day on 1 October was presented for the first time.

"Particularly in Women, It Occurs Twice as Frequently as in Men"

Urticaria, known colloquially as hives, is a common skin disease in the population characterized by itchy, swollen and edematous plaques. The most distinctive feature of these lesions is that, in addition to being highly itchy, they disappear spontaneously within less than 24 hours. Urticaria has two different clinical types: acute and chronic. Urticaria lasting up to six weeks is called acute; cases lasting longer than six weeks are called chronic urticaria. Prof. Dr. Nilgün Atakan stressed that acute urticaria is more common in children and often develops due to infections, medications, food and food additives, and noted that chronic urticaria occurs in young adults aged 20-40 and particularly in women at twice the rate of men. Noting that approximately one in five people experience an acute urticaria attack at some point in their lives, Prof. Dr. Atakan stated that Turkey has approximately 900,000 chronic urticaria patients.

"Proper Treatment and Medical Supervision Are Important"

Chronic urticaria is divided into two types: chronic spontaneous and chronic inducible. In chronic spontaneous urticaria, symptoms appear without a specific trigger, while in chronic inducible urticaria, various physical stimuli such as scratching the skin, applying pressure, exposure to cold or heat, sun exposure and exercise trigger the disease. Prof. Dr. Başak Yalçın noted that in chronic spontaneous urticaria an underlying cause is usually not found, stating: "Various medications, infections, certain hormonal disorders, stress and food additives can trigger or exacerbate the disease. Identifying and addressing these factors facilitates disease remission." Prof. Dr. Yalçın spoke about chronic urticaria treatment as follows: "The first-line drug treatment consists of H1 antihistamines. Although newer generation antihistamine medications are much safer than older generation antihistamines in terms of side effects such as drowsiness, somnolence and dry mouth, some patients do not respond to them. In such cases, we recommend Omalizumab, known as the urticaria vaccine." Noting that this treatment, which can be applied in patients aged 12 and over, is effective in more than 80 percent of patients, Prof. Dr. Başak Yalçın emphasized that the treatment must be applied for six months. Improvement usually begins one week after the first injection, but this period can extend to 4-8 weeks. Prof. Dr. Başak Yalçın, noting that chronic urticaria treatment is long-term, emphasized that determining the correct treatment and regular medical supervision are very important.

"Urticaria Patients Are Not Helpless"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sibel Doğan Günaydın emphasized that chronic spontaneous urticaria in particular significantly and negatively affects patient quality of life, noting that patients may develop sleep disturbances due to itching as well as attention deficits, fatigue, anxiety alongside reductions in social life and work performance. Expressing that urticaria patients are not helpless, she stated: "Urticaria patients face disturbing looks and behaviors in their work and social lives due to misunderstandings arising from lack of information about the disease. Breaking down prejudices about the disease and raising awareness among patients and society is an important step in combating the disease. I believe that on World Urticaria Day on 1 October, raising awareness and informing patients about new generation treatments is very important."

In Your Language Awareness Initiative

At the meeting, a promotional video of actress Asuman Dabak's performance titled "In Your Language" created to draw attention to World Urticaria Day on 1 October was shown for the first time. Expressing that she was very pleased to be part of the In Your Language Awareness Initiative organized to inform the public about urticaria disease and draw attention to the difficult journey that patients experience, Asuman Dabak emphasized that awareness-raising and information efforts regarding urticaria disease play a major role in breaking down prejudices against the disease and reintegrating urticaria patients into society.