Swelling and Hives in 6 Mo Old

As long as you are feeding her foods this young you are risking each and every one of them doing this. I suggest you stop all foods and give her formula. It is complete nutrition. Baby foods are not nutrition. They are flavored goo that teaches a child to chew and swallow.

Formula or breast milk is complete nutrition. She does not even need any food at this age.

Let her body grow more and become more ready for foods. She is not ready to be eating this stuff. Even if the doc said she could have it, that doesn't mean she is ready.

I agree with Jacy. It is really important to figure out what the culprit here is. What the doctors are worried about is her breathing. Swelling can come on hard and fast and you wouldn't make it to the hospital in time if her throat closed up on her. That's why they are telling you to get there if you see any lip swelling. Steroids could keep this from happening if the hives don't go away. They would be buying time to get the culprit out of her system and figure out what's causing it.

Be very careful about what you feed her. Keep a food diary. I wouldn't give her any new foods at all at this point. Get an appointment with a ped allergist - tell the receptionist that you need an emergency appointment due to this scare. Otherwise, it might take a month or more to get in.

Be very careful with the benedryl. She's still very little. You should not guess at anything with the benedryl.

Stay on top of this so that you don't end up in the ER scared for your little one. Steroids are no fun, but it's better than a scary emergency.

Good luck!
Dawn

Benedryl is commonly known to cause some drowsiness in most people (let alone children and babies). The important thing is that it's not making her hyper and keeping her from falling asleep. That would suck.

Actually, the important thing is if the Benedryl is working on reducing the swelling and reducing the hives. If it is, then you know it's the right course of treatment for the allergic reaction. If it's not working (and I think after two doses you would know) then you need to call the doctor back immediately to tell them what things look like and for an new visit and immediate steroids rather than waiting especially if her lips start to swell.

If the lips start to swell, there shouldn't be any question at all about the steroids no matter what. We're talking medicinal steroids that are typically used for emergency medical situations.

You may not feel comfortable with steroids but they may be the thing that would save her life if her throat was closing up. Sometimes we have to do things for our kids we don't want to.

Hope she is feeling better soon. Did they mention her taking a children's Zyrtec dose or not? Not sure of the age with that.

With the lip swelling thing, they are looking for signs of an anaphylactic reaction. That's when the airways are closed from a severe allergic reaction. Hives and swelling will last as long as the allergen is in her system.
Steroids help calm the reaction faster. I'm allergic to strawberries, kiwi, and bug bites, so I know this one cold. I've gone the whole hospital Adrenaline/Epinephrine/Steroids thing, and it's no picnic.

I'd stop all baby foods and see a pediatric allergy specialist ASAP. Also know that some infant allergies go away when they are older, so annual visits to the allergy specialist are also a good idea. They can also help you find a nutritionist to help you determine if her system is not ready for these solids, and what foods to avoid for the beginning. Carrot allergies are not common unless they run in your family.

They can go away though. My sister was allergic to eggs as a child, and as a teenager she found she could eat them again.

Try to relax and take care Mama! Hope she feels better.

I would stop all food for now. It is not for nutritional needs at this point anyway. She is getting everything she needs from either breast milk or formula. (My kids didn't seem to like baby food so I just went straight to table food at 1 yo).
If the hives are not getting better with Benadryl then I would absolutely give her steroids.

the hives will last till the allergen is out of the body (i would think) they may clear up in a few days. i hope your not giving her more then a 1/4 of a tspn of benadryl.. i would have an allergy test done on her to rule out the carrots (they can do it by blood!)