Hives? - Plano,IL

Hello...Iam a mom of 2 boys ages 8 and 5. Hives can be caused by alot of things. One thing is baby food. What I would try is to start him out on one color food and try that for 2 weeks, then start another color food. Always allow 2 weeks before trying a different color of food, he might be allergic to something that is in the baby food. This way you can tell what is giving him hives. If this doesnt seem to help then it might be his formula. Even if he has been on the sameone since birth, their bodies change. My son went from not being allergic to penicillan to being in the hospital for a week with hives from it. Now at age 8 he can take it again with no problem. I hope this helps....also just a side note some kids are allergic to a red die that is put into foods.(just as a warning)....

Could be the dry weather. Try getting a humidifier in his room at all times and using lots of lotion. Could also be exzema which is just made worse by the dry weather. My son and I also get hives and when they are really bad, the only thing that works is steroid cream or Elidel (both RX from the doc).

There are SEVERAL things to consider here. One ......nutrition........is there something that could be doing it....CHEMICAL or a specific food. You may want to do the elemination diet to determine.

SECONDLY.....what about a pet or even the shampoo or flea & tick collar, cleaning supplies....even if he hasn't touched them, maybe the absorption from your skin may be the culprit. You absorb more than you think......even chlorine from the water. He might just be that sensitive.

There are several herbal remedies for allergies for children including chamomile, golden seal, licorice and slippery elm. Go to the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NATURAL HEALTH & HEALING FOR CHILDREN by Weber for more details. I would HIGHLY advise against a drug of some sort. Drugs TOXIFY the body faster than anything and in almost ALL CASES deplete other nutrients from the body. For THAT info.......go to 801 PRESCRIPTION DRUGS .. Good Effects Side Effects and Natural Healing Alternatives. It will TELL you what it does, the side effects are and what nutrients are depleted.

Hope that helps. These are reference materials you should be using for as long as you're alive.

It sounds to me like a food or some other kind of allergy. I am HIGHLY allergic to Penicillin and Sulfa-but since they are derived from mold, I can't have a lot of wines or moldy cheeses. I have horrible hives and yes, it is quite uncomfortable-itchy and achy. Go to your pediatrician and run everything by him/her as soon as possible to make sure your son is not allergic to something he is taking in-or if you're nursing-something you're taking in and passing along to him. Good luck!

When I had a problem with hives it ended up being a thyroid problem. My Allergest was the one who had me tested for this and he was right. goodluck.

Same thing just happened to us yesterday, I thought it was hives and when I took him into the doctor it turned out to be strep.

Babies, as well as adults can develope allergies to all kinds of things out of the blue. I had never had a food allegy in my life, but at 30 I had an anaphalatic reaction to pepperoni that nearly cost me my life! I would ask your pediatricion about contact allergies, food allergies and excemas. If it were hives, those tend to go away after the allergen has been removed OR they can get consistantly worse and even be life threatening! But it sounds to me it's more like a contact allergy or even very dry skin which can look like a break out. Definately ask your doc....best of luck :)

Wow - you have gotten a lot of other great responses! Just out of experience, when my oldest son was younger (younger than 2) we had this problem, and it turned out to be my bedding (I had the down featherbed, down comforter, and down pillows). When everything else failed, I took all of them away and his allergy was cleared up in just a couple of days. So, in case you use down, might want to try this!

Six months old may not be because of laundry or soap....look into what you feed him....or if you are only nursing look into what you are eating...

Consider that he might be having an allergic reaction to something that he is injesting.

Make sure they are infact HIVES. My son got a rash that started like little red bumps on his lower back and spread on his butt/back/belly etc.... we went to the Dr and got antibiodics. Well it's back again this month. For us its a normal bacteria that on sensitive skin can irritate the skin folicles or something like that (from wet diapers or even swet)... anyway, my son is over 2 and they told me to bath him in bleach water (yikes!!) like a swimming pool and use an antibacterial soap (we only use alveeno cuz he's got sensitive skin). and bath him TWICE a day. totally out of a norm. Well, last time it took a month to go away, this time it looks closer to 1-2 weeks. So if you haven't gone to the Doc I would to make sure you aren't missing something! I wouldn't do above as an experiment unless you find out thats what it is! (i was doing all the WRONG things like avoiding baths and putting on lotion and bennadryl etc)

Hi K.! I have four wonderful children. I remember when I was that first time mother. I have a three year old who had almost the same problem not as severe though. He had a patch on his upper arm. It came in the winter months and it enventually started to bother him. I took him to the doctor and they said it was eczema. It still bothers him to this day in the winter months but I found a product at Wal-Mart and it is a lotion that is made for eczema. Huggies also has a body wash that is safe for eczema. It is in a blue green colored bottle. The other product I can't remember the name but it will say it is for eczema. I would start by going to the doctor since he is so young. I hope this helps you out and good luck!

I thought my son (3-1/2) had hives (thought it was due to stress) and decided to take him in. He had them all over his face and they had moved down his stomach, arms, back and hands. I was suprised when his ped said that he didn't think that it was hives - he thought it was strep throat!!! So, he did the culture and it WAS strep throat. The rash has cleared up (we are about 2/3 the way through the antibotics). So, you might want to take your son in to make sure it isn't strep throat. Good luck!

-K.

I don't want to scare you but he could have developed a dairy allergy. Hives is one of the symptoms my son has if touch or eats anything with dairy. I usually give him benedryl but your child is young and I don't know if they can have benedryl that young. My child's dairy allergy started pretty early on but took all long time to diagnose. Now that we know it's not a huge deal. I would check with your doctor.

Jen G. - Working mom with a 21 month old.

Hi - I know this is going to sound redundant but, are you sure they are hives? The reason I ask, I am the mom of boy/girl twins who are five. When my son was about 2 I was convinced he had hives and was allergic to the lotion we were using. I took him to the doctor and they said it was viral. They said sometimes when little ones are fighting a virus it can manifest on their skin. The biggest differece between hives and this "viral rash" is that hives are usually more inflamed and irritated.

I hope this helps.

Is he on any medicine? Vitamins? Are you bf'ing? If so, something you're eating could be bothering him. Sometimes companies will slightly change the formula or ingredients in their product. Maybe that's it? I think I'd call the pedi, just to see what they say. Meanwhile, you may want use (if you're not already) detergents without any dye or scent. All Free is a good one, so is Tide Free. Also, skip the dryer sheets. I've heard they leave some kind of chemical residue on the clothes. Not sure about that though.

Hives (raised, red welts) is an allergic reaction. Are you breastfeeding? If so, it may be something that you are eating. If not, it may be something that is in his formula. O/w it might be something else in your home, such as your detergents. (we use natural and earth-friendly detergents from shaklee or Nature's Sunshine for dishes and clothes washing).

Homeopathic Apis Mellifica in a 6C potency will help quell the hives. You should give it once an hour for 4 doses until you see it get considerably better, then Stop giving it. It's like benadryl, but better b/c it's natural and has no side effects. I recommend homeopathic treatment. My son has had eczema since one m.o. and also has a peanut and nut allergy, but it's much better due to a homeopathic remedy. Since allergies are something you don't want to mess with, you should see a professional. We see Dr. Josephine Polich (www.dupagehomeopathic.com) in Naperville. She's giving a free informational talk on homeopathy on Sat. 1/26 from 1-3 pm. at Knox Presb. Church, 1105 Catalpa Ln, Naperville (Near Trader Joe's). See Dr. Polich's homepage on the website above for details on the topic.

HTH!

You might have your doctor check into his Cortisol level - sometimes if this is off it can cause autoimmune symptoms - like hives. Just a suggestion.

K. - Do they ever go away? Do they go away with Benadryl? (seek dr advice on dose). I'm sorry i don't have much time to respond. It could be food allergies - either to something in the formula or in your breast milk (by what you're eating). It could be any food, not just dairy. I have a lot of info on my posts, if you want to search for them. Most of them are FA related. Also www.kidswithfoodallergies.org is amazing! Lots of support. Over 10,000 parents of FA kids. I'd also see a ped. allergist. We go to Children's Memorial (glenview annex) 800-kids-doc.

I would take this seriously and seek further counsel now. Trust your mommy instinct. At the minimum contact your pediatrician and start doing a food log/symptom log. If you're breastfeeding, you can try eliminating 1 top allergen at a time (it can take a couple weeks to be out of babys system after getting out of yours = abt 3 weeks.) Top allergens are dairy, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, egg. Or you can eliminate all of them at once. On the website above, there's tons of support on Elimination Diets and breastfeeding. If you're formula feeding, try switching to a soy (if you're dairy) or vice versa. Or try a hydrolized formula like Nutramagen or Good Start.

If he's now on solids, like rice cereal (which also is a common allergen, as are seeds), maybe switch to another grain.

By the way, Earth's Best baby foods are notorious for cross contamination issues (shared lines with allergens and thus causing reactions). My dd reacted to EB foods that "should" have been safe.

email if you have questions.

good luck!
Hives also can be viral though.