Therapy of urticaria: German language version of the international S3-guideline

Persisting urticaria has a profound impact on the quality of life. Therefore, where causal factors cannot be eliminated, effective symptomatic treatment is required. The recommended first line treatment is the administration of new generation, nonsedating H1-antihistamines. If standard dosing is not sufficiently effective, increasing the dosage up to four-fold is recom mended. For patients who do not respond to such a treatment, it is recommended that second-line therapeutics should be administered in addition to the antihistamines. In this case, both their benefit-risk-profiles and their costs should be considered. Corticosteroids are not recommended for long-term treatment due to their unavoidable severe adverse effects. This German language guideline was prepared on the basis of the international English language guideline, particularly taking into account medical conditions in the German language area. This guideline, together with the guideline on the classification and diagnosis of urticaria, is the result of a consensus reached during a panel discussion at the 3rd International Consensus Meeting on Urticaria, \\\\\\"Urticaria 2008\\\\\\". \\\\\\"Urticaria 2008\\\\\\" was a joint initiative of the Dermatology Section of the EAACI (European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology), the EU-funded network of excellence GA(2)LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network), the EDF (European Dermatology Forum) and the WAO (World Allergy Organization). The authors of the German language version joined the Consensus Meeting.