How quickly do you give piriton?

[harverina]

I'm just wondering because I probably err on the side of caution a BIG bit!

My DD is allergic to CMP, eggs and nuts. We carry piriton and epipens.

Now, what I want to know is parents in similar situations...how quick are you to give piriton when you think your DC may be having a reaction...I know that this may seem like a daft question but if I see the smallest red mark on my DD's face I tend to give her piriton. So, for example, if I saw an isolated, small, red spot I'd start to look out the piriton even if she seems ok...are others the same or is this ridiculous? I should say that she doesn't get piriton often.

Sometimes I feel like we have just been left on our own to deal with allergies with little advice on this...DD's consultant just said if your unsure give piriton, dont take chances, but am I taking this to extreme?

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, I have been meaning to ask this for ages...

Even if the mark is somewhere random, like on her forehead and nowhere else...the difficulty is my DD, like many other children with allergies, has sensitive skin/eczema and also has red hair and fair skin so if she cries, or rubs her face it does go blotchy generally....I am in a constant state of stress!

If DS seems okay in himself generally, I tend to wait to see what is happening to the mark. I do give piriton if he has obvious hives.

I look after a (non-allergic) little 12 month old boy every weekday, and he has the same sort of colouring as your DD. He has dry skin/very slight eczema on his face, and he often gets allergic-looking red marks from rubbing or from sleeping/dribbling. For this reason, I do understand your stress, because if he was my allergic DS, I think I would wondering about Piriton constantly.

Thanks for replying...yeah she gets lots of marks...they are never proper hives though I just stress a bit.

Never had to give piriton (fortunately) but then we don't tend to give calpol/calprofen unless she's really ill. Dd is allergic to CMP and we've always been v careful about what she eats. Nursery gave her some after they fed her something with creme fraiche in it .

She has had mild reactions - for example when I'd had some milk and kissed her on the forehead and she came up in a red mark - but unless she's particularly itchy or swollen I wouldn't bother personally.

I don't think the piriton would do any harm though.

Thanks for replying...yeah she gets lots of marks...they are never proper hives though I just stress a bit.

Sorry no idea why that posted twice. Coke you sound more relaxed than me!

Possibly - it's still my least favourite thing about being a parent and it does worry me.

I don't like even the idea of a "mild" reaction for her after her first failed egg challenge in hospital. The only visible sign of a reaction was hives and a refusal to eat any more of it but because of the observations they'd been taking we could see that her temperature and blood pressure had gone up so it does go through their entire system.

Hopefully DD is growing out of her allergy (has recently passed latest egg challenge in hospital). Also, since she's only just 3, and her allergies have been dietary rather than environmental, I've had full control over everything she's had to eat. I'm a stringent packet-checker and wouldn't risk anything unlabelled. Our biggest problem has been other people - however well-intentioned - trying to feed her.

We've also got the eczema problems and have also recently found out that she's allergic to some hair conditioner (waking up screaming and scratching on nights we'd washed her hair was our first clue). We're fairly strict on what we put in the bath and on her hair most of the time. She's also reacted to oilatum of all things.

My DS starts coughing when he's eaten nuts so I give him piriton immediately before he starts being sick. It's harder once he's sick because you can't tell how much of the piriton has gone in and how much he's thrown up but fortunately that's only happened a couple of times.

I give ds Piriton as soon as I think he is starting an allergic reaction. He is 10 now though, so he usually tells me if he feels a reaction starting.

I wouldn't risk delaying treatment because the Piriton takes a while to get into the system and start working.

Ds' reactions in the past have started with anything from itchy eyes, being sick, hives to swelling lips and throat. The swelling lips and throat reaction started without any other symptoms first.

If your consultant is telling you not to delay when you think there is a reaction, then I would listen to that advice.

Mmm, I do kind of retract what I said earlier about how I wait to see what will happen (that is, I do wait, but that doesn't mean you should!) Please do follow the advice your consultant has given you.

Cokefan you said "The only visible sign of a reaction was hives and a refusal to eat any more of it but because of the observations they'd been taking we could see that her temperature and blood pressure had gone up so it does go through their entire system."

Tbh, what you wrote has scared me just a little a bit. DS refuses to eat loads of things (e.g. any foods containing onion, garlic, mustard). He puts them to his lips, and sometimes takes one bite, then spits it out saying "I don't like it!!". Nothing can budge him once he has said this. Have I been ignoring allergic reactions?

Haverina, please do what you think best and don't stress about it any more than you have to . Piriton will not do your DD any harm. It is hard when children have the kind of colouring which shows up every mark from pillows, snot, rubbing etc. - but it's true that you should follow your consultant's advice.

Thanks again everyone...

Greenbananas, please dont worry...Its good to hear what other mums do. I think I probably need to find a balance. Trouble is our consultant hasnt really given us clear advice. Actually, the 3 times I have met our consultant have felt pretty rushed and advice has been very vague and non commital. Thats why mumsnet has been so valuable as there are other mums in the same/similar situation. Re. your DS spitting out food and refusing any more, how would you know if this was a reaction if there was no other sign? My DD refuses to eat strawberries, yet she likes strawberry jam and strawberry soya yogurts etc. Because of this, I am convinced that she has an intolerance to raw strawberries as she loves fruit generally and will actually eat most foods, but I suppose the only way I would know is if she was tested or ate some.

coke, my DD's eczema is fairly mild (I think!) in comparison to others. Just a little bit on her chin and a tiny patch to the side of her mouth. She does scratch at it if it gets wet or if food dribbles down, so we just keep it clean and apply cream throughout the day. My DD's allergies are dietry too and we are also really careful packet checkers...I dread her going to school :(

Pretty similar to you harverina, DS v pale, bad eczema, itchy most of the time so if he gets any hives or face gets red or more itchy than normal I reach for the Piriton. Difficult to tell if it's allergy or eczema and without Piriton he would scratch til he bled.

We were told that refusal of food could be a sign of a reaction. During the (failed) egg challenge we took an Alpro soya pudding that DD normally hoovers down. They mixed in some powdered egg stuff and the challenge was 1/4 teaspoon, wait 20 mins, 1/2 teaspoon, wait 20 mins etc.

She eagerly took the 1/4 teaspoon but refused to eat any more. We did get the 1/2 teaspoon down her but started noticing a reaction after that (the hives and temperature). She wasn't really talking much at that point - still under 2yrs old - but the nurses said that older children can often tell you that the food tingles in their mouth or scratches their throat and will refuse to eat any more.

I tried some of the pudding after the test and couldn't taste anything in it. Also, DD had never had egg so wouldn't have recognised the taste.

Actually we took this reaction as a good sign because it meant that she would recognise that something was wrong and stop eating early on.

We did a baked egg and repeat of the powdered egg challenge this August and she sailed through it. I still don't think she could taste that it was any different.

freefrommum, so do you give piriton if eczema is bad? We have done this a couple of times when my DD's skin has been particularly dry and itchy, but Ive never known if this is ok? It has helped her though. Her eczema is only on her chin, and mainly underneath it. Sometimes you wouldnt even notice it, other times its more inflamed, so I know that, compared to others, its fairly milk...still dont like to see her itchy though so thats why have given piriton occasionally for it.

haverina ihave eczema and some allergies etc and just take a daily dose of piriton have done since i was quite young it can help with the itching etc as well so i dont think it would be problem giving her the piriton when she seems more itchy or is seeming like she is having even a mild reaction to something :)

Ds' consultant has recommended we give him a daily dose of Clarityn rather than Piriton because it is non-drowsy and one-a-day rather than needing to repeat the dose after a few hours like Piriton.

Ds needs it for dustmite, grass, etc rather than for his nut allergy. If he has a nut reaction, I still give him Piriton.

If you at worried, maybe ask your pharmacist as a good first point of contact. It doesn't sound as though you give it very often though.

When ds had excema as a baby, we used hydrocortisone cream very successfully to treat his patches. Luckily he outgrew it once we knew abou his allergies (he was also allergic to egg until aged 7yrs)

Maybe also consider if the patch around her mouth could be caused by a food your dc is eating that she is allergic to e.g. Strawberry jam, etc. perhaps a food/excema diary may help.

Yes harverina I do sometimes give Piriton if his eczema is bad and I know that many children with severe eczema take antihistamines every day so no need to worry.

Thats great to know, thanks. TBH, my DD's eczema has been pretty good recently. In fact, over the past 10 days or so she has breastfed loads and its been fine on her skin, so I'm not sure if her eczema and allergens in my breastmilk has been the problem.

Re. her scratching and specific foods causing it...I have tried to work out if this is the case but find it is just any juicy food that irritates her skin or if she gets into a mess and sticky. There doesnt seem to be any consistency

We were told to give piriton if we suspect even the s.ightest hint of a reaction e.g. If DS complains of a sore tummy, give piriton even though it could be something other than an allergic reaction.