Urgent ish advice for baby DD

[Posturesorposes]

DD who is just 1, had a severe case of chicken pox over January and was prescribed penicillin to ward off infected blisters. She took it for a week and just as the horrific pox had cleared up broke out in awful hives all over yesterday - which was checked out by the GP in person and diagnosed as a penicillin reaction and her records updated to prohibit penicillin in future. She was given an anti allergy liquid twice a day and a new antibiotic to co to use to address any u deflating infection but she is absolutely covered in these awful hives. 111 said this morning we will get a call back and she’s eating and drinking lots and doesn’t have an uncontrollable temperature but the legs and thighs are awful. I he particular concern is her nappy area which is angry red and has no chance to dry/air. There same happened when got pox all over every bit of her nappy area was covered in pox and it really struggled to scab and heal whilst rest of body rapidly scabbed. Same now with this penicillin allergy. We are all fairly distraught. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else we could do? I’ve put caLamine lotion all over her but is there a particular cream or lotion which might help her? We are so worried and feel awful at how her poor skin has been suffering - first from horrendous eczema for which she was given steroid cream, then sever chicken pox on every inch and now a penicillin reaction all over. Her skin hasn’t had a chance in these two months.

Poor little mite. You are going to have to leave her nappy off for as much as possible. Contact the GP surgery because there might be a powder that you can use. That’s what I had for my son when he had bad chicken pox, but that was 28 years ago so I can’t remember what it was called, sorry.

I’d take her nappy off and just deal with any mess. If you’ve got a potty you could try holding her over it every so often or if you think she needs to go but it sounds like her skin needs some air, when you’re cleaning her up I’d use a damp cloth and make sure you thoroughly pat her dry with a clean soft towel. Poor mite. DS had a horrific nappy rash once which was bleeding and I kept his nappy off in the day for a couple of days to let it heal. If you want to keep the nappy on I’d change it very often but not use wipes as they can be harsh, just stick with warm water and dry her off.

Is calamine lotion still allowed for babies? That would help with the drying but you will still need to leave her nappy off

Okay hearing you there. She will have to have nappy on for naps still. She’s scratching furiously at the area and her whole body so in a way clothing and nappy is preventing the scratching. This has been relentless alongside home schooling DS and both of us working Full time jobs from
Home. Thank you for the advice and support ..

Poor wee soul. DS had some bad nappy rash recently, we put down some towels in the living room, made sure we had the heating up so he wouldn't get cold and let him be naked for a while. He seemed to quite enjoy himself and it really cleared it up.

Are the hives going down at all with the allergy liquid? We normally find within 15 mins of administering they go down. If they are still liquid filled then I wouldn't put any cream on them. Just some e45 once they have retreated.

Put some towels and blankets down and let her have some nappy free time to air her legs and nappy area.

Don't put anything perfumed in her bath.

If the hives are not goin go down could they perhaps be another allergic reaction to the new antibiotic OR have you given her anything new to eat? If they aren't going down with the medicine I would contact the GP again. Have a really close check to see if it's just scabs left over from the pox/ an eczema flare up.

Poor little thing hope she gets better soon

Your poor DD, does she like a bath? I found when my son had chicken pox he liked a tepid bath and then I re applied the calamine lotion. Calamine lotion it is brilliant stuff, but it doesn’t seem to give the same relief if you are re applying it without washing it off first IMHO. That’s the only thing I can think of perhaps another mum will come along with more advice. Speak to GP, take photos of your DD skin and GP can perhaps prescribe additional treatment. I hope your DD is better soon OP

Have you tried an oat bath (run warm water through old tights with oats in)? That eases the itch and then maybe nappy off time would work?

The rash on the tummy is better and dried ish. Face too. Although still red. It was her first birthday through this and we couldn’t even cut her cake she was so distraught. A whole year on this world — amidst a pandemic - has met neither a health visitor nor her grandparents once - and now a series of all of these awful things on her poor skin. Will do the nappy off thing when she wakes up but how to prevent her scratching I don’t know

If she’s itching then a thin cotton babygro might be best, but clothing can rub and cause itching. She’d be better without when you can watch her.
If she’s generally happy, wanting to play, eating and drinking then don’t worry too much. It’s just a case of getting through this.
Are you giving paracetamol ? It might help.

I'd leave the nappy off. Puppy pad on the bed for naps

Distraction to prevent itching. Lots of playing. It s exhausting when they’re sick, but you’ll get through it.

Poor DD. I’m not sure if it’ll help on hives but we found ‘vira soothe’ help our ds loads with the chicken pox, more so than camomile lotion. So that could be worth a try? Also as pp said much time as poss with no nappy. It sounds like you’re having a tough time, I hope she’s better soon.

Virasoothe gel from the pharmacy is great stuff, and nappy off, towels on the floor

Poor little mite, I would try and keep her naked as much as possible, to get air to the area.

I would also get some porridge oats and put them in a sock or cut off leg from a pair of tights. Run her a warm bath and put the sock under the running water and squeeze the sock to make the water milky coloured, then leave it in the bath. This will help soothe the itching a lot.

When mine had chicken pox they had several of these baths a day, which really helped stop the itching and take their minds off it.

I hope she feels better soon .

@Posturesorposes oh I'm sorry to hear your little one has been suffering. It's so distressing for us parents too.
I don't know if I'm suggesting the correct thing here so it may be wise to double check with the GP but there is a cream called Eurax which soothes itchy skin, including chicken pox and hives. I used it on my DD when she was little, however the directions state that it's for 3 years and up which is why I think you should clear it with your GP first.
Also, I suffer from hives (don't know if there is such a thing as adult hives and children hives)? But I take an antihistamine tablet and it clears it up for a couple of days. I have to take one every couple of days until it clears which generally can take a few months for me. Have you tried Piriton syrup?
Wishing her better soon

As a PP has said, an oat bath will help.

Keep her in minimal clothing (you may need to crank the heating up) and keep nappy off. Towels on the floor for her to mess on and make sure you pat her dry if she has wees. Try not to soothe the itching with anything damp, even a damp flannel could cause further irritation.

Don't give her any anti-histamines until you speak to GP as there could be interactions.

DS had a reaction after being prescribed penicillin for suspected scarlet fever when he was 18months. His body was covered in hives and eyes swelled and started to close. Medication changed but the hives recurred numerous times over a period of about 2 years. Was under care of paediatric dermatologist and then it just stopped. Possibly post viral reaction he grew out of. He had a short stay in hospital in the early days and was of interest to lots of doctors. Never really got to the bottom of it but we were told not to use calamine because although the cooling effect might help initially when it dries it tightens the skin and makes it more itchy. He was prescribed higher dose of kids antihistamine and bathe in warm bath with bicarbonate of soda (suggested by consultant). Hope your DD feels better soon.

Poor lambchop

Socks on hands to stop her scratching?

Or just a next size up sleepsuit so she's covered but it's loose? Nappy off underneath so there's flow

Ah thank you so much. Pharmacist gave her a cream along lines of vira soothe. She has a huge appetite for some reason and has eaten lots and drinking lots. She looks like she should be in a burns unit although it’s improved in general. Has had a oat bath, for cream on and is currently downstairs on non carpeted floor with no nappy. Have also given paracetamol for any pain although no temperature thanks so much

Good to hear the update. If the oat bath soothes, I wouldn’t put any cream on straight after. On very sore skin, the creams can itch and sting, so if you’re worried about her scratching and she’s not after the oat bath, then it may be best to leave creams for a bit.

You’d need to check if you could use it for this purpose but I’ve always found metanium to be the absolute best nappy rash cream. Might help with her bottom it it’s still sore. My eldest use to get really awful poos when she was teething and her bum looked like it had been chemically burnt. Metanium was the only thing they worked and we tried everything going.

If she’s had a lot of antibiotics, it might be worth looking at some probiotic drops (for babies) for her.

I was going to recommend eurax too as someone else did upthread. My son is allergic to penicillin too which we found out about when he came out in the most horrific rash all over his body. At first I was told it was slapped cheek by a Dr so we carried on with the antibiotics for another day, but when he was listless and the rash spread all over his body head to toe another dr realised it was an allergic reaction. We used piriton and eurax cream and you literally saw his little body relax and he slept soundly for a few hours which was more than he had done in days! It's fantabulous stuff!!!

That’s very useful to know about eurax and our experience very similar to @Nsws2015 story. She’s looking like a grilled lobster but it’s definitely the visual impacts of a drying and dried rash rather than one setting in angrily. She’s also just polished off a good portion of biriyani (!) which I had made for us and yes we had been giving her probiotics with her plain yogurt for a week now.

@Posturesorposes - how is your little one doing? I was just thinking that her appetite may be down to her little body expending energy to try and fight off whatever it is that is causing the hives. Either that or she's having a growth spurt in the middle of all of this! Bless her.