DD2's eye swelled up, along with her right side of her face and she had hives all over her face...

[SparklyGothKat]

Got a call today from school saying DD2's face was swelling and could I get there now. When I got there I saw her eye was completely swollen closed, her right side was swollen and she had hives all over her face.. I gave her some priton and went straight to A&E. They said it was conjunctivitis It was defo. an allergic reaction.. can hayfever cause swelling to this level??

It is possible. DS1 is RAST grade 5 for grass pollen and his face has swollen from hayfever before. Probably best to also rule out any foods though. Can you get the school to give a detailed list of what she had to eat (if she has school dinners)? Or were there any particular activities she was involved in just before she got the reaction (e.g. cooking?). Would be worth trying to get as much info from the school as possible to try to pin in down.

she was tested a few years back (using blood) and is allergic to dogs, and cats. She said she had saugages, potatoes and brocali (sp?)for lunch. I am going back to the GP tomorrow to get a referal back to the allergic clinic. A similar reaction happened a few weeks back on a sunday and I took her to the emergancy GP, he just gave me priton and hayfever drops for her eyes. Todays was worse than last time tho and I am worried that it will affect her airways next time..

If the reaction was mostly one-sided on her face, is it possible that she had been leanign on something - her hand? - and was reacting to that? Definitely need as much detailed info on what she was doing in the hours before the reaction.

Conjunctivitis? With hives and such speedy swelling? Very

she said it started at lunchtimes outside. Last time she was outside too. I think it is hayfever, but never have I seen it cause such a reaction. I have looked up 'allergic conjunctivitis' and that seems to fits with what happened today, but that is like a side effect of the swelling IYKWIM. Its not actual conjunctivitis was what I have worked out.

Hi we had similar reaction the other day with dd2 10 mo. It started with even more than usual itching and slight swelling around one eye. Gave her piriton and put her to bed. By the time she woke one eye swollen shut, face and lips swollen too. No hives this time though. She took 3 x as long to drink milk so took her to a and e as worried about airway. At hosp the doc thought it was pollen reaction as only affected one side of face and if it had been food it would be same on both sides. I'm not so sure about that though cos what if she had eaten something she was allergic to then touched one eye?? Also we are out walking every day and it has never happened before or since. The school seemed to have reacted quickly hope she is ok. x

when did it happen. Around dinner time I take it. Having dd with life threatening nut allergy I always think of nuts first. Could she have been sat next to anyone eating peanut butter?

Sorry, miss read. I can see you said it happend at lunch time outside now

Yes, hayfever can cause that amount of swelling - DS1 has had it that bad but without the hives. I've had the same from dustmites/mould, but no hives.

Peanut butter is banned at DD2's school due to a child being allergic

Not an allergic reaction but my DD had a bout of cellulitis around her eye in February, really nasty swelling. Got her referred to the emergency eye clinic and they were fantastic, but diagnosed cellulitis straight away - she also had a temperature and was really unlike herself, tired and groggy etc.

Don't know if that's any help, hope your DD gets better soon.

Allergic reactions can cause conjunctivitis especially if they rub it. I've had it from hay fever and also dust and also from stiff hard sheets in a hotel - maybe starchy. Kids at school have had rxns to being put next to another child who has (say) a cat at home and nobody realises.

Am collecting info re people getting to allergy specialists so if you or anybody else has experiences of referral / care since January 2007 pls email me Hazelwhirls thread.
Hope you find out what caused it and everybody can prevent it happening again.

her eye is better today, slightly swollen, but she can open it and see out of it now. I am going to dose her with priton every day until the summer is over

My son who's 2 had his right eye come up swollen on Monday. I gave him piriton and it gradually went down, then the next morning he woke up with the same thing on the other eye! He looked liked he'd been punched! he couldnt open his eye at all so we gave him piriton. He had a temperature the night b4 but dont know if its linked. Took him to the docs. and he said definately looks like an allergic reaction to something but no idea what.
He has egg allergy but he comes up in hives with that.He is now on neoclarityn antihistamine. He also has eczema so looks like he's just really sensitive to things.
Frightening though! dreading trying nuts and shellfish with him coz theres a big likelihood he'll have allergy to those to I spose. Does any one else have a child with egg allergy thats worried about trying nuts?

Yes! REALLY worried about it. Have never even given my dd2 egg as she tested positive for egg on her RAST and we are having an egg challenge when she is 1. They will test her for nuts on the ward sometime after that but I'm dreading her coming into contact before then..

My son is allergic to grass and tree pollens. This was only confirmed last year although he has suffered from severe eczema all his life.

A couple of years ago he had been playing in the garden. It was early Autumn when everything was dying off and there were old seed pods etc all over the place.

He walked in and his whole face had swollen up and you couldnt see his eyes! It was horrible. I took some photos for the dermatologist (after I had given him his piriton of course). I phoned NHS direct because I was worried it might affect his breathing. He was fine after the piriton though. It took a few hours for him to get back to normal.

It has happened again during high summer and other times when there is a lot of pollen about. I have been advised how much piriton I can give him (quite a bit more than it says on the bottle) and I always make sure I keep it handy if we go out.

Its a worry though isnt it?

It is scary Chegirl. I am goign to phone the GP (been so busy this week with end of term things) and ask to go back to allergy clinic. She has ezcema(sp?) too. she also has a skin immuntity problem, so any skin infections (chicken pox, inpetigo) are awful, inpetigo completely covered her body once

I think if she reacts this badly it would be a good idea to try and be more specific about her allergies.

We knew that DS was allergic/sensitive to loads of stuff but it did help to pin it down a bit. At least we can be prepared.

If he is going on a school trip for eg. I can make sure he has a dose of his long acting antihistamine and a dose of his piriton (on drs advice).

He doesnt have these extreme reactions all the time (strangely) but we always keep and eye on him.

I bought him an all in one from tescos one year. It was only a couple of pounds and its great if he wants to 'help' in the garden. I am also slowly getting through to him that he cant roll about on the grass etc.

Lets hope you can get some help with your DD, it sounds like she has a lot to cope with bless her.