Urticaria: a threat to betel consumers
Keywords:
Chronic urticaria, betelAbstract
Background Chronic urticaria is a common dermatosis with a multifactorial etiologyincluding ingestants. The incidence of chronic urticaria has doubled during the last decade.Chewing of betel is common in Hyderabad.Objective To determine the relationship of betel to chronic urticaria as an underlying cause inthe local population.Patients and methods During one year, patients of chronic urticaria at our department wereinvestigated to find out the underlying cause.Results Out of 2625 total cases of urticaria, 943 (35.9%) were found to be habitual betel nut(supari) and pan (betel leaf) and gutka (betel leaf and lime) chewers. Ninety two of 95volunteers got relief of their signs and symptoms on abstinence from betel. Eighty five ofthem reported relapse of the disease rechallenge with the suspicious substance confirming thecause-effect relationshipConclusion The observations suggest that intake of betel in the form of sweetened supari andpan masala and gutka correlates with chronic urticaria.References
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