Hives - Boyd, MN

Does she have a cold? My son gets them sometimes with a cold (immune system down). my ped said to only give benedryl if it seems to bother him (itchy or painful). If breathing was OK, to nevermind. 2 wks though-seems like something else....no new meds from the hospitalization?

My daughter had a severe case of hives in july,a 4yr old.Hers was triggered by a mild throat infection.It was diagnosed late and it blew up by all means by then.She had them the size of quarter plates to dinner plates and all sizes in b/w.There were even potato sized ones[3d] on her face and she was beyond recognition!!!!she was hospitalised for 4 days,even after discharge she has had it again but subsided with oral medication.We were told ANYTHING or NOTHING at all can trigger hives.It could be as simple as the air she breathes in.It is one of those things which comes and goes without any apparent reason too,usually only once in a lifetime.The tests i hear are very elaborate.GOOD LUCK!

Anne,
I have to comment on this one. My daughter has had hives for over a YEAR. It started after a round of antibiotics. We've been to several doctors, naturalists, you name it. Changed her diet several times, blood testing, rounds of medicines. She apparently has an autoimmune disorder that WILL go away, so they tell me. I've done a lot of research and found this:

Sometimes your body will build up these antibodies that release histamine, making you itch or causing hives. There isn't always a reason, sometimes it just happens. It's more common in adults and rarely lasts in children for more than a week or two. (I guess my little girl is special!). Viruses make hives worse. (Does your daughter have a cold or anything?) There is no "cure" for autoimmune hives, the treatment is controlling the breakout with antihistamines until the body gets back "online".

Find yourself a good allergist that is understanding of what your child is going through. It took me a long time to find someone that understood that it's more than a little itch. If you're near Green Bay, Dr. Zondlo at the Kagen Allergy clinic is great. I stopped in one time, out of desperation, just to get some information and find out when we could get an appointment and they actually saw my daughter right then. I try to keep things as natural as possible (natural remedies, healing with diet, etc.) but right now, she's on Xyzal and Allegra. Both are non drowsy and we've seen a huge difference. She still breaks out occasionally, but she's stopped the panic mode/anxiety that came with the rash. I know how frustrating hives can be, and hopefully this wont last long for your little girl! There's a great website on hives:

http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/urticaria....

Now, this is my own experience, so if anyone else reads this and has more information, please let me know!!

Some get hives from being too warm - avoid hot showers, baths, etc., and try dressing her a little cooler. Have you put in new carpet, furniture, drapes, etc. Some of those give off chemicals. N.

Hives are an allergic reaction. And certainly don't have to be from anything not natural or nonorganic. My son gets them if he touches anything that has milk or eggs in it. And I mean TOUCHES (he doesn't need to eat it). Are you nursing? I had to change my diet so he wouldn't get break-through hives from what I ate. I would keep Benedryl in the house (incase other symptoms come or she's itchy) and get on them at Children's Hospital to get into their Asthma and Allergy Clinic. They are pretty good at getting to the bottom of things.
Good luck!

We had a reaction with my daughter when she was about 10 months old to of all things - Lavendar. It's suppose to be calming and soothing and it was anything but that to her delicate skin. We also had two dogs at the time and she would react to our Golden retriever's saliva - if he licked her anywhere...hand, knee, etc she would break out in hives, but yet the other dog had no effect on her. It just goes to show that each individual can be so different.

I've recommended this doctor over and over again, but I really believe in what she does because I saw the effects for myself, she is a holistic doctor and practices kinesiology. I'm not sure where you live, but the doctor we've seen in the past is in Minnetonka - Dr. Hadley, Fusion LifeSpa - ###-###-#### Our youngest daughter had a multitude of skin sensitivities and internal digestive problems - the pediatrician couldn't help us anymore and I had to seek out answers for myself. Dr. Hadley was recommended to us and our lives changed drastically for the better.

Good luck

My son had a really bad rash with hives. We went to the doctor 3 times in a week and finally saw our regular pediatrician. He diagnosed it as HSP. 2 other doctors had NO idea and said it was just a reaction. Our doctor ran a lot of tests. Not sure if that is what your daughter has---but it might be worth looking into. Check it out online otherwise. My son's eyes and mouth were all puffed up and closed from it.

For many, food allergies will show up in childhood. However, most conventional doctors are not trained in nutrition and so are unaware that food allergies will provoke hives, acne, atophic dermatitis (looks like acne but is a type of eczema), plus a whole host of other chronic illnesses. And if a person is only mildly allergic, or just has an intolerance/
sensitivity to a food or food product (such as dyes, colorings, flavorings, MSG, etc.), it can be anywhere from three days or longer for any symptoms to show up, making it hard to know which food(s) triggered the reaction. And if she's allergic to more than one food at the same time, it's hard to do a food elimination diet. I tried one of those, but because I have too many allergies, the results were inconclusive.

After being very sickly all the while I grew up, to the point of starting to acquire chronic illnesses as an adult, at the age of 40 I finally discovered that I have an intolerance to the proteins in dairy (casein), soy, and gluten/wheat (gliadin). Even after cutting them out of my diet for two weeks (I just found out), I am having a horrible outbreak of atopic dermatitis on my face. I have since gone back and had another food allergy test taken; this time, it's a blood test and will check for 100 allergens (the intolerance test was a saliva test). I have had to see an alternative doctor (I see an Integration/Function doctor, as she is also a MD), and am paying for everything myself, as my insurance company doesn't cover her and won't let me see her as an outside provider.

I am sure the test will come back with more allergies, because I'm also having hives again (however, it's winter and cold and my hives are contact hives, which don't like the extremes of hot and cold). I'm concerned it will say I'm allergic to corn, as I've been eating a lot of corn lately (can't have wheat, rye, barley, or spelt). It should also come back positive for the mint family, as I break out in hives if I eat something with pure spearment, pepperment, wintergreen, creme de menthe, etc.

At the least, I would check her for a food intolerance test (IgA). That one is a saliva test and checks for egg, soy, dairy, and gluten, the main, major allergies.

Having had hives all my life, I can attest to the fact they aren't any fun. Finding out if she has food allergies will help in the long run, because if the foods are avoided, her immune system won't get run down from her body "fighting" against the inflammation the allergen will provoke in her body.

Good luck!

My daughter got hives as an infant from an unlikely source - burt's bees's lotion. She is lactose intolerant and the lotion has buttermilk in it. Normally that wouldn't bother even those with that problem, but it did her. So, check for external sources as well - not just things she ingests.
Good luck!

It really could be anything and the allergist is the best way to find out. For the longest time, my hands would turn bright red, get very itchy, then break out in hives. Finally I found out that it is actually from handling cardboard boxes. The fibers in the cardboard make my hands break out. We also have three cats and I am allergic to only one of them, and my husband is allergic to only one of them also, but not the same one as me! We both take an allergy pill every day and that does the trick. Trying to figure out what is causing an allergy can be almost impossible sometimes, so it's best to see an allergist.

i just reciently thought i had hives too but it turns out it was ecxema

I'm sure the dr did a full physical but my son had hives around 12 months and it turned out he had an ear infection but was showing no signs of that, the dr our bodies have weird ways of telling us when something is going on internally.
Also...have you recently gotten a christmas tree? I am horribly allergic to real christmas trees, evergreens bother me but not as much as actual christmas trees b/c those are sprayed with chemicals usually. Other holiday items could be cinnamon, poinsettas (poinsenous to kids) or christmas cacti. Good luck, hives are no fun!!!

just curious-- did you by chance have the carpets cleaned or anything while she was away? my hubby does this for a living and i had no problem with him doing our carpets until our baby was home. then, i started breaking out and it took me forever to figure out that it was b/c i was on the floor touching the carpeting (as was my clothing) to play with/take care of my dd! just a thought- but otherwise, i just gave dd a little benadryl when she'd break out from an unknown just to make sure that she wasn't bothered by any itching. it took care of it-- turns out, it was from a food dye in a drink that she'd had for the first (and last) time!

A few ideas I have, if you haven't had any new foods/products used in your house, including laundry detergent and dryer sheets would be:
1. a new animal in the home
2. wearing new clothes that haven't been washed yet or wearing clothes that someone else washed.
3. nerves
4. has she gotten a new mattres or a new mattress pad?

Hope you get it figured out soon!

If the hives are really bad and recur, you should take her to an allergist. She's too young for Benadryl, but you can use hydrocortisone cream - talk to your doctor. However, my son has been deemed by his doctor "a hivey kid." Sometimes it's a response to a virus. Sometimes it's stress. Sometimes it's a change in weather. Sometimes we can't figure out why at all. The other thing to remember about allergies is that it's not always the very first exposure that provokes a visible reaction - if she's mildly allergic to something, repeated exposures can make the reaction worse. My 4-year-old was licking cookie beaters (after licking who knows how many beaters in his life) and broke out in hives all over his face. We had him allergy tested and turns out that he's minorly allergic to egg whites. As the other moms said, some kids just have sensitive skin - and yes, skin is weird, and responds in surprising ways sometimes. Don't freak out too much, see if it happens again, go to the allergist when you can, and meanwhile carry hydrocortisone with you. Good luck!

hi Ann-Marie:
Hives can come from a variety of places. I get them when I am under a LOT of stress. I got them all the time as a child and then did not have a breakout for over 30 years. Try Benedryl, it will help with the breakout. Also try putting olive oil on the hives.
Remember just because somthing is natural does not mean that you or your kids won't be allergic to them. Pollen is a natural substace and lots of people are allergic to pollen. Did you put up your Christmas tree? One year my parents got a blue spruce instread of a balsalm tree and I and a lot of others had a rash break out from the tree.
Good luck I hope you find her triggers.

You said she was recently hospitalized was she given antibiotics? My daughter broke out in hives from her antibiotics Zithromax.

My son broke out with hives after we went to my mother's house for a visit. She hired a cleaning service to come in and clean a week before our visit. Our best guess is whatever chemicals they used caused the reaction.

And I totally agree with Christi's response below - carpet cleaners!!!! Who knows what exactly is being used. But I know that it's industrial strength and too strong for us!

D.

Now with winter upon us we keep the windows and doors shut tight. Heat is also turned on so it could be dust in electric baseboard heaters or hidden mold in central heating or if you are a wood burner, it could be something as simple as the type of wood you burn. My youngest would get hives with certain antibodics and my daughter with certain bug bites including bees. If you take her to a pediactric allergist, you should be able to find out what to look for in the household.

Also food allergies show up anytime during your life. My dad is 70 years old and has developed an allergy to peanuts this past year.

My daughter has a condition that results in her getting hives- sometimes pretty badly- on a fairly regular basis. After thinking for years she was allergic to any number of things based on when she broke out, we finally got in to see the allergist; The condition has a big long name, but basically it means super sensitive skin. He said it is more common in redheads and very light blondes, but as he put it "You could blow on her skin and it could result in a hive". We see it most often in times of stress, fatigue, overheating (or even a really warm bath), or a lot of rubbing, like in the winter with snowpants, mittens, scarves, hats, etc. They seem to be benign and a break from what we're doing usually makes them subside.

I thought I'd share, so maybe you could look for any similar triggers...or maybe consider if there's anything at home causing stress that might not be present in the hospital? Maybe not even stress...they do keep it cooler in hospitals and the gowns certainly touch less areas of the body. I wouldn't necessarily think your little has the same thing as mine, but I thought you might appreciate a different avenue to investigate. Best of luck!