6 year old with hives

[LeonardoAcropolis]

Hello everyone, I need to pick some brains.

Since last weekend my 6 year old has been breaking out in hives after eating. They are not severe, just little red patches on his face, neck and arms which then develop welts. He itches but there is no swelling or breathing difficulty. A spoonful of Piriton solves it.

I am thinking that it may be citrus, is it possible to suddenly be allergic/ intolerant to a food?

On new years day he had a lot of fresh orange juice, the next day he had diarrhoea. It was the following day the itching started. (The days before Christmas he had a lot of orange juice with no bother). Last night he reacted after consuming lime.

I am taking him to see the doctor later on, what might the next step be? Allergy testing or might doc ask us to completely exclude citrus and wait and see?

[donkir]

Yes you can become allergic to something overtime. The first time you eat something you tend not to have a reaction it's the 2nd and subsequent times you'll get a reaction as your body has had time to build up antibodies that treat the food as something harmful.

[bruffin]

DS didnt become allergic to nuts and seeds until he was 4. Allergies happen at any time in life, you are not normally born with them. I would also say that too much orange juice will give you diarrhea whether you are intolerant or not.
FWIW my ds has had the odd bouts of hives, once his whole torso came up and we never found out what it was. I had similar as a child it was a one off.
Why dont you try avoiding it for a couple of weeks and then try again.