Alternative Treatment for Hives

Consider seeing a "Classical" Homeopath. Homeopathic remedies "push" the problem out of the body while benedryl type medicines suppress the illness deep into the body.

Good luck,
B.

If it is an allergic reaction to a food, and she's still eating the food, nothing in the world is going to stop it from coming back. you need to isolate what food is causing it. the best way to do this is an elimination diet, i can email it to you if you'd like. has she also been having loose bowels, spitting up a lot, or having stomach aches or a hard time finishing eating? if so, that completely confirms it's a food. if not, depending on the location of the hives, it could be a different kind of allergic reaction. i would get a second opinion from a different doc, it seems weird they want to treat without finding a cause.

Nicole,

My daughter had hives from pencillin (at 20 months) - so it was easier for us diagnose. However we did decide to use steriods for a few days and clarified the benadryl dosage (doctor had us give her more than the bottle instructions). Within 3 days they were gone. I didn't like using steroids, but for such a brief time it was worth it. She wasn't on benadryl for weeks.

Good luck, I hope you find the source quickly.

D

Nettle Leaf tea is a natural antihistamine, but I would definitely get a blood test to see what she's eating is causing it.

Hi N.,

To address your question, if the hives are not improving, I suspect she is still being exposed to whatever caused the hives. If the hives are systemic (i.e. over her entire body), then it's likely something she is eating. If it is in localized areas, it's likely contact dermatitis. Are you sure it is actually hives & not something else? I would suspect the anti-histamines would have at least had some effect if this was truly something allergic. Did your daughter have a cold recently? It could be viral exanthem, which is a very benign rash that babies get sometimes after a virus. It isn't painful or anything to them & it just dissipates after a few days & isn't anything to worry about.

If your daughter did have a reaction to something she ate, this is a really great food introduction method & it's what i do with my son.

Introduce foods one at a time & give her that food for 4 days in a row. If she does not react (ie. hives, irritability, constipation, other changes in behavior, etc.), then you can feel reasonably safe she does well with that food. Then introduce other foods in the same way. If she reacts to something, discontinue for a couple months then try again. If you find she is reacting to more foods, please consider seeing a naturopathic physician that will address her susceptibility.

I am a naturopath that focuses in using homeopathy (a very safe & gentle system of medicine) & I have much personal experience with food allergies/sensitivities. My struggle with food allergies when I was young brought me to this profession. It was only until I found the right naturopathic doctor who found the right homeopathic medicine, did my life & food allergies finally take a positive turn. Babies tummies are immature, so it's not to say your daughter will continue to have sensitivities to food if this is what happened. And as they mature, so does their digestive system.

Best of luck & e-mail me if you have further questions.
I'm happy to help & this is a topic that I know first-hand very much about.
L. L. Kwan, ND
Naturopathic Physician

Kwan Naturopathic
1250 E Baseline Rd., Suite 104
Tempe, AZ 85283
Ph: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
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http://www.KwanNaturopathic.com

HI N.- How areyou? I am sorry to hear you are going through this.
I wanted to respond since I do have a daughter with a life threatening food allergy and she is now 6 so we have been dealing with this for over 4 years.
I would like to share with you my concern with the medications- I think it is important to not cover up the fact she has hives but to find out what caused them. From my experience- the next time she ingests the food that caused this it could be even worse. I dont know what insurance you have but I would recommend you go to an allergist and ask for their help. We use homeopathics too and there is a remedy we use when she gets hives from dogs but your situations seems much for serious. It is called Histamine in a 6c potency.

I have found that some docs dont rush to get the child to an allergist but it is important to get bloodwork or a skin test to determine if it is life threatening before your daugther consumes the food again and it is more dangerous.

We have an amazing allergist that respects our alternative medical views and is open to helping us when things arise- I can share that if you want it:)
Zyrtec and Benadryl scared me because of all the ingredients and actually covered up my daughters symptoms and did not get to the root of the problem.
I hope that my experience has helped you to feel like you have a solution. It is frustrating to not know but with food allergies on the rise it scares me to not know what is causing the hives.
Are the hives all over? or just certain areas. Do you think you know the food she ate? It could be food, detergent from her clothes, the baby wash and lotion she is using- I am willing to share more if you are in need. I have been where you are and finally at a great place with my daughters allergies and finding safe solutions to keep her healthy and happy.
Best Wishes,
D.

Hi N.

Sorry to hear about your baby's hives. You need a doctor to do a blood test on the baby for allergies.... They usually take a few viles and do over a couple of hundred tests to see what the baby has sensitivity to or is allergic to and then you can go from there... I would definitely change the doctor and go to a naturopath to get this done... I personally would not feel comfortable drugging the baby and knowing there is something he/she is allergic to and keep giving it it to him/her.... Please make an appt. with a naturopath in the area. There are a lot of them and meantime, if you can get yoru baby adjusted by a good gentle chiropractor, it will help calm down the system... (that's why I became a chiropractor; the chiropractor helped me with my allergies and occ. asthma... I didn't have back pain, or neck pain or anything like that)...

Anyhow, please keep me informed...

Farid R., DC
____@____.com

Nicole,
I'm sorry your daughter is having this problem. There are some great responses but remember only 15-20% of hives ever have a diagnosed cause. I am one of those unfortunate souls who they have yet to discover the cause of the hives. I have had them since a month after my own son was born (going on 8 years). I tried the elimination diet, switched to dreft, stopped using fabric softener(often a big cause of hives), was allergy tested with only the control showing a reaction! Zyrtec is a god send. It controls the hives faily well without the drowsiness of benedryl. My hives itch like no tomorrow and I have literally scratched a layer of skin off when they get really bad. A short burst of steriods always helps when they get really bad but I don't like the side effects of steriods so I tend to stay away from them. I would do allergy testing and try the elimination diet, if something jumps out then eleminate it from the house as best you can. If nothing comes back try the Zyrtec until they are gone and then stop the meds. Unfortunately in my case they are never gone and I've been on the meds for almost 8 years. Good luck
M. B

Go to Whole Foods on Speedway or in Oracle and ask the people in the section where the homeopathy is. They should have a great natural remedy there.
Good Luck -The Mommie Mentor

I had hives once in my life about 10 years ago, and high doses of Vit. C helped. I wouldn't know the proper dosage for a kid though. I took it throughout the day... to the point of just barely making my stools loose. I think I took a gram every few hours, but I'm a big person. Vit. C is water soluble, so if you give her too much it will just be excreted. I think diarrhea is the worst that can happen if you give too much.

My daughter gets hives and we still don't know why she gets them. She has sensitive skin and it could have been the dryer sheets I used at one point. The Benedryl did not help her. The only thing that helped was a perscription for Hydroxyzine. Unfortunately, it makes her very drowsy, but it works. The hives lasted about 2 weeks and from what I have read on the internet it is normal to have them last 2-3 weeks. If you can, try to keep a journal of what goes in her body (foods, etc.) and what laundry detergent, soap in the bathtub, etc. goes on her body to see if you can locate the culprit!

Zyrtec works very well and doesn't make my son sleepy the way Benadryl does. If she has hives, you have to figure out what she is allergic to. Try the elimination diet. Have you changed soaps, detergents, etc recently? Exposure to a new pet? If they don't clear up from switching to Zyrtec and trying to eliminate the source you should have her tested. We just recently had our son scratch tested last week, it wasn't that bad. He was most upset about being restrained, the scratches really don't hurt (they did it to my hand to show me) but they itch. Hives can be a precursor to a much more serious reaction (swelling of lips, eyes, tongue, throat and even anaphalaxic shock) so it is important to solve them quickly!

if it has taken that much time to get rid of the hives she is porbably still being exposed to whatever made her get them. it is common for patients to be given and antihistamine and the zyrtec has antihistamine too so he is probably telling you to give it to her so that she wont be drugged up but the benadryl works better. if they are not gone soon i would also probably ask about a dose of tapered steriods to help her heal faster. and you need to start eliminating offds she ate. wash all her items that she is in close contact with , with baking soda things such as clothing ad bedding limit her meals to one thing for a day and see what happens, add one thing a day and monitor until you find what is causeing it. also change the filters in your air conditioning, have the carpet sanitized if you have it. go through a fire restoration company that uses all natural products and make sure you get a list of products they use and the ingredients.oatmeal baths also help her not be so miserable. one or tow baths a day will help. take about 2 cups of oatmeal and put it in a cheese cloth bag then into pan of hot water and let it sit for about 30 minutes, then add the whole thing to a warm bath and put her in there to soak for as long as you can. allergies are hard to pinpoint so it is going to take a lot of effort and commitment on your part

Zyrtec worked for us... Until we finally figured out it was the bubble bath!! Good Luck!

hi, Nicole. I am a naturopathic physician and a new mom. The most common food allergies causing hives are milk, fish, meat, eggs, beans, and nuts (all protein foods). You can do a blood test to check for IgE mediated allergies. Another method is the elimination/challenge diet. Eliminate the above mentioned foods for a week and then reintroduce them one at a time to look for a reaction. Then you will know the cause and can eliminate the problem. Over time, it is possible your daughter's digestive system will mature and can handle the problem food again. Other problematic things are food additives including colorings, flavorings, preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers and stabilizers. Just be aware of those things found mostly in processed foods.
Therapeutic nutrients are Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, quercitin, fish oil, betaine HCl, and UV light therapy. The best thing is to get an individualized consult to get the best treatment for your daughter. Homeopathy is very effective, for example. Good luck, and hope this info helps.
R. Lila, ND www.rasaliland.com

Go with the liquid zyrtec - it's amazing. Benedryl didn't work for my daughter. She ended up in the emergency room twice because her hives were so bad but as soon as she had the zyrtec they disappeared. We love the stuff and keep it on hand at all times. If we even see one small bump starting, we give her the zyrtec and she hasn't had a major outbreak since. I don't know why they try the benedryl first.

Personally, I'm leary of giving medications to such little kids. If the hives don't itch I would just let them be and not use anything. If they are itchy after you stop using medication Aveno makes an oatmeal bath that is soothing to itchy skin.