УДК 616.514-036.12-02:616.8-008.615.1]-036.864

Introduction. Skin is the largest human organ. Its main functions are protective, excretory, receptory, thermoregulatory, respiratory, etc. Any metabolic disorders in our body, infectious and autoimmune diseases, toxic lesions, chronic renal diseases and those of gastrointestinal tract, diseases of the blood, liver, gall bladder can manifest as skin lesions, for example, in the form of chronic urticaria (CU). Nervous system also plays a significant role in the development of urticaria.
Objectives. Studying the prevalence of urticaria in adult patients, main causes of increased skin itching and rash, effect of stress on the frequency and severity of urticaria exacerbations and treatment effectiveness.
Materials and methods. The article presents the results of instrumental and laboratory methods of examination of urticaria patients, as well as comparison of the treatment effectiveness depending on the obtained research findings and stress test results. The study included 75 patients aged 18 and over. Patients in both groups underwent laboratory and instrumental examinations, stress testing (The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)), and the UAS7-test for urticaria control. The main study included 63 patients with urticaria, who were divided into three groups (depending on the results of the stress test).
Conclusions. Nowadays CU is an important global problem. Due to constant itching, sleep disturbances, decrease in performance, cosmetic discomfort, the patients’ quality of life is getting worse. Timely diagnosis and prescription of treatment improves patients’ well-being and social adaptation. The research shows that stress exacerbates the course of CU. Patients with high and medium level of stress noticed expressed reduction in rash and itching when treatment included sedative medications.