My son is 4yrs old and a couple months ago broke out in a really bad case of hives. We took him to the doctor but he couldn't say what had caused them. They went away with benendryl and stayed away for about a month. He got a few more one time and then a few weeks ago got them bad again. We took him back to the doctor and they put him on Claritin to see if maybe he just has chronic hives. Every time he has gotten them he also had a cold. He gets pretty pale and gets dark-purplish circles under his eyes. Last night he got two welts we gave him benendryl, but today he also has a rash all over his arms, hands, legs and a few spots on his stomach and back. The only ones that itch though are the ones that defintely look like hives, not the spots. We pretty much ruled out food allergies because he isn't eating anything new when he gets the break out.
I am asking if anyone has seen or heard of this. My husband doesn't think I should get worried until the doctor finds something different, but it is bothering me not knowing what it is. They don't seem to bother my son at all, its just mom that always worries.
This could very well be a reaction to the things in your home. Your daily products that you buy at the store carry a lot of chemicals and toxins. Children's skin are so sensitive, if you are interested in trying safer products for you home please contact me at http://www.workathomeunited.com/kmorey and I could give you more information. Good Luck and Best Wishes.
i would take him back to the doc
Have you asked your doctor about consulting with an allergist?
maybe there is an allergy that you have not yet found?
If it happens during his colds, are you giving him anything with Ibuprofin in it? I am allergic to IB, and asprin. I get severe hives when I take anything with this in it.
Or, it could be emotional. Did he have any thing emotional happen around that time? My daughter gets hives from stress. The first time I left her with my mom, and she had to have a bottle, she cried so hard she had hives. My mom never noticed. I saw it when we picked her up. I called the nurse and that was the conclusion we came up with. In 13 years it has hppened 4 times, and each time it began with stress. Keep an eye out.
Our son did this once, and like you we were at a loss because he hadn't had anything "new." According to our Dr, he said that because it can take time for the allergy to develop, it is very likely something they've had before, and possibly many times. In our case, it came down to fish or codeine (in a prescribed cough med). After a while we slowly tried the fish again and he was fine with it, so we're leaning towards the codeine (which he had had before also). He also told us that since this came along with a cold (hence the cough med), viruses themselves can cause hives also.
Since this is happening frequently with your son, I would suspect it is something he's had in the past as it was with our son. The fact that it's happening during colds, I would start to look at the cold relief meds you may be giving him - even things like vicks vapor rub or plug-ins, any OTC meds, etc. We were very surprised that our son had been fine with the codeine a few times and suddenly was not... As far as not worrying, I personally think that is very wrong. If you continue to expose him to this mystery allergen, he may end up going beyond the hives and start having trouble breathing in a severe reaction. I'm not trying to scare you, but I know that was my main concern with our son - eliminating it so it would not escalate like allergies sometimes can. Good luck to you - I know how frustrating it is to not have a definite culprit to identify...
Your son sounds exactly like mine!
You need to get a referral from your family doctor to see an Allergist. My son was 3 before we figured out his skin rashes and constant "colds" were actually allergies to some of the things in our home. We dealt with endless nights of coughing fits followed by vomiting, runny noses and irritated throats. He had eczema and other weird looking rashes on his arms and legs, got terrible diaper rashes and had very black circles under his eyes. Our family doctor tried several different medicines and tried breathing treatments but nothing seemed to help until we got with the specialist.
It's not likely that it is a food allergy, as it would probably show up right away if it was something he ate. More likely it is something he comes in contact with, it could be anything from your laundry soap to the pollen on the grass in your yard.
We had the testing done and learned that our son is allergic to dust, mold, trees, pets and grass. We had some changes to do to our home, but with the right medication and his regular allergy injections he is a happy, healthy, not itchy little boy. By the way, it is possible he will grow out of these allergies, but it may not be for several years.
Of course, I have to say that you should call the doc EVERY time he breaks out, not only to make sure it isn't something more, but also to have it all documented. That said, I had hives for 3 years straight, once. It stayed controlled as long as I was on daily Zyrtec, but one day without and I was covered again! It was quite a comical site once I was sure it was just me, not some weird virus. Sometimes auto-immune disorders can cause hives and such, but he's more likely just reacting to an environmental allergy or it's his body's way of dealing with stress. Just keep your doc in the loop!
~L.
