What are hives?

(Kindergarten through 2nd grade)

If you eat or drink a food that you are allergic to, your body might have an allergic reaction. Many people get hives (itchy, red bumps on their skin). The scientific name for hives is urticaria. To learn more about hives, complete the following project.

Project Directions

  1. Cut a flat sponge into fifteen 1x1-inch pieces. Think of the pieces of sponge as normal skin cells.
  2. Place the sponge pieces into a baking dish or cookie sheet with sides.
  3. Drizzle 1/4 cup water onto the sponges in the dish. The water represents a food allergen, such as milk.
  4. Observe the pieces of sponge. What do you see? Some of the sponge pieces got bigger and some stayed flat.

What You Learned

This is just like the reaction of hives in your body. Some of the skin cells remain normal and some get bigger, creating bumps known as hives on your skin.

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