The information in this section has been gathered from existing peer-reviewed and other literature and has been reviewed by an expert dermatologist on the CSPA Medical Advisory Board (November 2016)
Overview: What is Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU)?
CSU is an autoimmune disorder that is: chronic (long-lasting), spontaneous (we don’t know why or when it happens) and urticarial (presents with hives). There is no specific known trigger, the condition is defined by hives that last for 6 weeks or more. The hives usually disappear with time but they may return later.
“Rare diseases are still real diseases.”- It is estimated that 1% of the population is affected by CSU. Patients are usually between the ages of 20 and 40 and it affects twice as many women than men.
