What is the Difference Between Aquagenic Urticaria and Aquagenic Pruritus

The key difference between aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus is that aquagenic urticaria is a skin condition that causes the rapid development of hives in the skin after it comes in contact with water, while aquagenic pruritus is a skin condition that causes the skin to itch when it comes into contact with water but without developing visible signs such as hives or rashes.

The skin is the largest organ of the body. There are several skin conditions that can affect the skin. Some of them are common, while others are very rare. Aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus are two types of rare skin conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Aquagenic Urticaria
3. What is Aquagenic Pruritus
4. Similarities – Aquagenic Urticaria and Aquagenic Pruritus
5. Aquagenic Urticaria vs Aquagenic Pruritus in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Aquagenic Urticaria vs Aquagenic Pruritus

What is Aquagenic Urticaria?

Aquagenic urticaria is a skin condition that causes the rapid development of hives in the skin when the skin comes into contact with water. This can make it difficult for some people to come into contact with water. Aquagenic urticaria is a type of physical urticaria. The hives are about 1 to 3 mm in size with clearly defined edges. These hives can occur anywhere in the body but are more commonly observed on the neck, the upper part of the torso, and the arms. Hives can start to develop within 30 minutes of contact with water.

Sometimes, other symptoms like itching, wheezing (breathing with a coarse or whistling sound), or difficulties in breathing can also be seen. Aquagenic urticaria is caused due to allergic reactions triggered by the materials dissolved in water or allergic reactions that may be triggered by the water coming into contact with a substance that is on the skin. Moreover, aquagenic urticaria can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, and water challenge tests. Furthermore, treatments for aquagenic urticaria include antihistamines, topical medication (oil-based emulsions), and phototherapy.

What is Aquagenic Pruritus?

Aquagenic pruritus is a skin condition that causes the skin to itch when it comes in contact with water without developing visible signs such as hives or rashes. It is also defined as intensive skin itching when water touches the skin. Aquagenic pruritus occurs without an apparent cause or as a symptom of another condition. Approximately two third of polycythemia vera patients have aquagenic pruritus. It may also occur with other medical conditions like chronic urticaria or hives, hypereosinophilic syndrome, myelodysplastic syndrome, and other blood cancers. The symptoms of this condition include severe itching, stinging, tingling, burning sensation after the water gets on the skin, and emotional stress.

Moreover, aquagenic pruritus can be diagnosed through family history and physical examination. Furthermore, the treatment options for aquagenic pruritus include medications like antihistamines, analgesics, beta-blockers, cholestyramine, naltrexone, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and therapies like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and ultraviolet therapy (phototherapy).

What are the Similarities Between Aquagenic Urticaria and Aquagenic Pruritus?

• Aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus are two skin conditions.
• Both are very rare medical conditions.
• They can be diagnosed through physical examination.
• Both skin conditions can be treated through phototherapy.

What is the Difference Between Aquagenic Urticaria and Aquagenic Pruritus?

Aquagenic urticaria is a skin condition that causes the rapid development of hives in the skin after it comes into contact with water, while aquagenic pruritus is a skin condition that causes the skin to itch when the skin comes into contact with water without developing visible signs such as hives or rashes. Thus, this is the key difference between aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus. Furthermore, aquagenic urticaria is caused due to allergic reactions triggered by the materials dissolved in the water or allergic reactions that may be triggered by the water coming in contact with a substance that is on the skin. On the other hand, aquagenic pruritus occurs without an apparent cause or as a symptom of other conditions such as polycythemia vera, chronic urticaria or hives, hypereosinophilic syndrome, and myelodysplastic syndrome and other blood cancers.

The below infographic presents the differences between aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Aquagenic Urticaria vs Aquagenic Pruritus

Aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus are two very rare skin conditions. Aquagenic urticaria causes the rapid development of hives in the skin when the skin comes into contact with water, regardless of the temperature of the water. Aquagenic pruritus causes the skin to itch when the skin comes in contact with water without developing visible signs such as hives or rashes. So, this is the difference between aquagenic urticaria and aquagenic pruritus.

Reference:

1. “Aquagenic Pruritus: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic
2. Lopez, Irene. “Aquagenic Urticaria, Symptoms, Treatments, and More.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Physical Urticaria” By JAguayo18 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia