11 mo DS had huge allergic reaction but no idea what to

[BirdyBedtime]

The week before Xmas DS who is 11 months had a huge allergic reaction in the form of a rash. It started off as small red spots which then grew larger turning into big blotches that looked like scalds. He was absolutely covered in them. I presume these are hives as I've never seen anything like them. I took him to the doc who said it was urticaria and to give piriton. Over the next few days it went away. On Christmas day there were a few more spots and since then he's had some spots and blotches constantly, although nowhere near as bad as the first lot. The problem is I have no idea what caused it as I haven't introduced anything new at all recently as he is well established. Does anyone know if a baby of this age can just develop an allergy to something they've already had and not been allergic to? I'm getting paranoid everytime he eats now in case this is what he is allergic to.

Yes they can - BUT urticaria can also present with a virus. Or with coldness.

My Ds (4) has many allergies and still is presenting with new 'unknown' ones in what sounds to be the exact way that your DS is. He even had an allergic reaction start once whilst sleeping in his pram in the Dr's surgery when I was there for an appointment for me - which was distressing for him but very useful for the GP to witness.

We have epipens for his nut/egg/grass pollen allergies and also carry piriton with us everywhere to administer at first signs of a reaction. I was advised that should the scald type uticaria spread to his face then I should always seek medical advice/help.

Some of the allergens for my DS are airborn and seasonal (tree pollen etc) which obviously makes it harder to pin down the cause without testing. I know house dust can be a common one, but DS tested negative for that. Do you have pets? My Ds can't even be in a house that has cats living in it without reacting.

I would perhaps suggest taking pictures of the uticaria and keeping a diary as to what he has eaten, what he had been doing prior to the reaction - if it progresses and you end up seeing an allergist this will all be useful information to have.

Try not to panic

Thanks - he has had a series of colds and infections since starting nursery in November but I didn't realise that could be linked. He is also teething like crazy and I wondered if that might be related.

LemondadeSparkle - gosh, that must be hard to deal with. I don't think it can be pets as although we don't have any my sister does and he has never reacted to that. I was thinking about keeping a diary and we did take pictures of the first incident but might take some more. Hoping that it will just go away without any intervention but suspect I might be disappointed.

Hey there, my dd who is 3.5 had this exactly the same (quite alarming rash over a few days or so) a couple of months ago. Piriton did sort it. But we never found out what it was! As far as we know, she is not allergic to anything - used to get a slight reaction to tomatoes but nothing to worry about...

Just keep a vague eye and try not to worry (we went crazy - food? washing powder? but she hasn't had it since anyway)

yes you can develop allergies to foods previously eaten with no problem. Were there nuts around Christmas Day?

You need to keep a food diary but to be really useful it needs to cover every ingredient of the foods you give.

If there is another reaction document everything they ate, with labels if food was not freshly prepared.

Mostly at this age reactions can be handled with pirtion but if they have any breathing problem or seem unusually floppy then call an ambulance.

No nuts around at all. He had a strawberry fruit pot the day before the rash first appeared and also strawberry yogurt on Xmas day, but no strawbs since (as I know that can be a common allergy) and today he has got quite a bit worse again. Would it be likely for a reaction to something to last that long or should we be looking for something else. Also, could he have developed an allergy to more than one thing at the same time?

reactions normally disappear quickly if treated with piriton. A secondary reaction later is possible but usually after 4 hours as the food is digested. If IgE levels are high after a reaction to one food they may react to foods that wouldn't normally bother them.

Sounds like you need to keep them away from strawberry for quite a while but you may have a viral rash and a mild allergic reaction going on together. My allergic child is more sensitive when they have anything else wrong with them.

Birdy, by coincidence I read your post on Wednesday night with interest and then, on Thursday, my 13 month old DD came out in an all over body rash at nursery. She is allergic to cows milk (hives and vomitting) but hadn't had any, so it was mystery what had caused it. I took her to the GP who confirmed urticaria and said it could be caused by:

1. Allergic reaction
2. Virus
3. Nothing (i.e. totally random)

I'd heard of 1.& 2. but 3. was news to me! While I'm never convinced by GPs these days, it does help me realise that there is not always an answer, or at least not one you find.

Sheilsie - it's clear this is an area of quite a lot of uncertainty from the reading I've been doing since a few weeks ago. My GP didn't mention a virus at all and certainly didn't seem at all concerned about him. Has your DD cleared up yet? DS's flared up again quite badly between Xmas and New Year and is still rumbling on (new spots appearing, growing, blotching and then clearing over a space of 2-3 days) despite twice daily piriton so I'm at a loss again as we've been avoiding all of the common allergens (strawberry, eggs etc). We have been giving him much more of 'our' food lately so much more difficult to list ingredients in a diary. My main concern now is that the nursery were a bit funny before the holidays about the rash and I could tell they were a bit surprised to see him still with it now despite me explaining the situation. At least now I can harbour some hope that it is a virus as the doc said they wouldn't even consider testing unless it went on for at least 6-8 weeks.

Hi Birdy,

I've suffered from this for most of my life (am now heading for my 40s with alarming speed), and one of the triggers for me is an extended period indoors with the central heating on - something about homes being a bit dusty (even if kept very very clean), warm air circulating the dust around, dry skin etc. So mine always flares up between Christmas and New Year when I spend more time at home or at other peoples homes vs when I'm working loads and out and about a lot. Does this sound possible? If so, I found the following to be helpful: a) trying to be outdoors as much as possible b) trying not to wrap up too warm and b) keeping skin well moisturised.

Very annoyingly, alcohol is also a trigger for me, but I'm assuming this isn't an issue for your little one!

Yes, the heating has been on much more (and we have been stuck inside (for obvious reasons)but not so much before the initial reaction. What has me mystified is that the Piriton isn't making the rash clear up at all which make me think it isn't an allergy after all as most threads here seem to be saying that Piriton should clear up allergy rashes pretty quickly. The only food that he is getting every day is formula and milk based puddings so it could be milk, but again no vomiting or diarhoea which are usual for milk allergies. I was going to start introducing cows milk to drink next week as he will be one but am a bit concerned about how he will react.

Is the rash possibly just very itchy dry skin as a result of heating, being indoors etc, that's then been scratched and got more irritated? Urticaria caused by a virus sounds more likely than an allergy if Piriton isn't working. Piriton sorts my problem out almost immediately. Or maybe even acne rosacea???

Whatever it is, Aveeno in the bath is great at alleviating the discomfort if there is any - I still nab my daughter's supply when I have a problem!

Has he been out in the snow?

Dd2 had a reaction after being ot in the snow and getting snow on her face, she started of with red cheeks (i thought it was just the cold) and then her whole cheek swelled up into i giant hive (which looked horrid) she was itching it a little but after an hour it had gone, i wasn't sure if it was just due to the cold but she has been out in it since and been fine.

Just rereading this and wondering whether you have a real Christmas tree . The pine needles cause a similar reaction in myself (but I live with it because I love real trees) however, we haven't had a real tree since DS was a born and as he has known allergies to grass and certain tree pollens there perhaps is a risk of allergy to Christmas trees

Just a thought

Thanks for the suggestions but no real tree, not in the snow (although out in the cold), and it's definitely urticaria (confirmed by GP who said just to give piriton) as not dry or flaky etc. Although strangely enough it doesn't seem to be itchy as it's not bothering him a bit - not sure if babies this young can be itchy as such?? We have another GP appointment on Monday at which I'll be making it clear that Piriton isn't working. By that time if it's still ongoing that will be almost a month and I'll be pushing for some action!

Birdy, my DD's rash thankfully cleared up completely over night - it was at its worst when she went to bed and gone by the morning. Like you, the piriton didn't seem to bring it down at all (it was given 6 hours before bedtime). And the GP didn't seem in the least concerned. And the nursery didn't seem impressed that I didn't pick my DD up immediately. Good luck at the GPs on Monday.

Boss, that was really useful info thanks. I hadn't realised that urticaria would only be helped by piriton if caused by an allergy. Nor that central heating could be a contributing factor. This has happened to my DD twice in the last two months and both times when she is at nursery, where it is always too hot for my liking (try to keep her cool due to eczema).

Sheilsie - not sure if my info is gospel truth for everyone, but certainly is in my experience! Other triggers for me are also wearing wool, so might be worth looking at that as well.

Re getting the rash at nursery, aloe vera gel always works well for me when being hot triggers the rash, as does aftersun, so maybe you could pop a tube in your daughter's bag and ask the nursery to apply it....

Thanks for the tips Boss. I'll buy some aloe vera gel for DD's nursery bag (I see that Holland & Barrett sell it) as I suspect that this isn't the last time she'll get the rash. I never dress her in wool anyway (due to eczema).

Thanks for this thread!

My DD (4yrs old) has just been diagnosed with urticaria today - I was so scared having NEVER seen anything like it!

Started this morning after breakfast with a small rash, that by 4pm covered most of her body and arms and back. Doc was good and got us seen within 15 minutes of me phoning.

Got a prescription for some medicine that has brought the rash down considerably before bed time, and need to administer one dose again each morning until rash has gone.

I too have NO IDEA what has set this off, am beating myself up over it and cant seem to find an answer.

Hoping that the person who mentioned the being couped up indoors thing is right - DD hadnt been out properly until today, due to snow and nursery being closed.

Will update if I find anything, but will be keeping a very close eye on what she is eating and whether it reacts!