Can a Toddler's Hives Be Caused by Anxiety/stress??

It's definitely possible that his anxiety is causing the hives. It sounds like something is going on in his little world that is causing him to feel overwhelmed. I have seen reactions like that in my sister's kids. My sisters daughter when through a similar phase when she was 3 or 4. I'm not sure if you are interested in alternative medicine, if you are I would recommend a naturopathic doctor, an herbalist or someone who practices homeopathic medicine. My sister found someone who uses flower essences and essential oil therapy and had a lot of success in helping her daughter.

My daughter woke up one morning covered with bumps. I mean COVERED. I took her to the doctor and he said it was the worst case of chicken pox he'd ever seen. (She'd been exposed a couple of weeks before).
He said to give her benadryl and make a baking soda paste for the itching and get ready for the long haul.
The next morning, she didn't have a single mark on her.
It was hives.
She did it a few times after that, but benedryl always took care of it.
She was tested extensively for allergies. Nothing.
Stress? Highly possible given our situation at the time. We had a death in the family.

She outgrew it. It's the weirdest thing though. Covered head to toe and then nothing.
I'm glad it wasn't anything lasting, but it's perplexing to say the least.
She's 24 now and has never had it again.

Anxiety can cause it, I suppose. Something caused it in my daughter. Talk to the pediatrician and keep in mind that things adults don't believe have affects on children can.

My very best to you!

If you do a Google Search on "can hives be caused by stress" or "can hives be caused by stress in children" many articles will come up.

http://www.drgreene.com/azguide/hives
Here is one link for example.
Dr. Greene's website.

Yup. I've had both hives and asthma that were clearly linked to emotional upset. The lungs, the skin, the digestive system and the heart are the most likely to be affected by stress or emotion.

I will say one thing...if you yourself can't pin it down to a food, don't waste a lot of time and money on allergy tests, because they will come back inconclusive...my daughter's did (after a TON of tests). Think back, the few times it happened were directly after what I would call "anxious" social occurrences...so, I would say, yes.

Absolutely! Hives in youngsters can be caused by stress. Their stresses seem like such little things to us but of course we never really know how they are being affected. I do want to add that just because you haven't changed anything doesnt mean that the soaps, laundry detergents or lotions are causing this. Anything synthetic builds up in the system and when the body gets too "full" of toxicity, it reacts. This can be anything from hives, to respiratory distress, to neurological issues. The anesthesia from the surgeries could jump start these issues as well. A detox of your home or his little body would be worth a try and of course, can't hurt!

Hope this info helps.

M.

It's possible. My daughter's face would turn ridiculously splotchy (I truly thought I needed to rush her to the ER it looked so horrible) when she would get really upset/crying/distressed. Of course, the hives/splotches lessened as she aged...

I think the photos are a great idea to take with you to the Dr. appt! :)

Hi there!

In my opinion hives may be caused by stress. Years ago, my kid was going through a very stressed situation, and the pediatrician didn't find any physical or biological reason for this to occur. I am not a doctor, but I know my kids a lot, and I always believe in my instincts ...always work! Make sure of course that there is no other cause for this.

Hello! I am a 56 year old grandmother and recently my grandson had a bout of hives when he was away from his mother. This has never happened before. Gave him steroid liquid and benadryl in the state he was with his father. He was taken from his school by his father without my daughter permission or knowledge and who my daughter is divorcing. The father and his mother tried saying that it started when he was told my daughter was going to pick him up to bring him back on a court order. They tried to get the NP to say that hives were caused by stress because he did not want to go with the mother. Well when my daughter contacted the NP where the fathers mother took him to the ER she told my daughter that hives can come from anything. And now knowing the history behind the maternal side the hives made sense. It can be an allergy reaction. Since the father's mother has ignored everything that is on the maternal side she could not say that the maternal grandmother has lots of allergies and also gets hives and my daughter also comes out with hives just anytime. Our side of the family has many allergies and if we eat things that have MSG we get hives. It a hereditary thing. The NP (nurse practitioner) also assured my daughter that a child so young DOES NOT know how to process stress/anxiety so it was highly unlikely hives were caused by stress as the fathers side is say. My daughter gets hives from very cold temperatures too. She is allergic to the cold. Or we get hives from processed foods when we rarely eat them. My advise is take your son to an allergist and have them do allergy tests. I have told my daughter to do the same. I hope this helps.