8 year old with ongoing nasty hives

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My 8 year old DD starting getting hives two weeks ago. In patchs that come and go - sometimes with several hours between outbreaks. Last Friday they were very bad - painful as well as itchy and leaving bruises. Also her lip swelled up.

Doctor said this is not an unusal response to a virus (her tonsils were up and temp 37.5). She is on piriton and we have a three day course of steroids in case it gets really bad again.

It may be common but nobody else I know has ever had it! Has anyone out there got any experience of this?

Yes my two get hives, usually after a virus. DD last had it for 2 wks after possible 'swine flu' in November. It comes and goes, all over the body, her feet were so swollen she couldn't get her shoes on. On her face, ears, anywhere on her body. You are right though, not many people have heard of it! I give them anti histimines on a regular basis til it stops. I feel for you, as a parent you feel quite helpless. Calamine cream may help soothe the itching. Its a wierd condition IMO. Hope it clears up soon.

is she on antibiotics for her tonsils, as I get hives through allergies to certain antibiotics.

Hi,

My dd had this at the same age, hives, face swelling up etc., on and off for a couple of weeks with a virus. She also had a chest infection and initially it was thought to be an allergy to antibiotics, but changing to another antibiotic didn't stop it and she has
shown no reaction to antibiotics since. Eventually I was told it was a reaction to the virus, and to give her piriton when it happened. It was a little scary as her face and mouth were swelling up, but it cleared up after a couple of weeks and we've had nothing like it since.

My DD has had this since she was 18 months old, it is called urticaria.

She always gets it before a virus, a response to her immune system kicking in, so I always know when she is gonna be ill.

I was told to be careful when the rash appears on the face as it can become Angio-oedema, which affects the deeper skin layers and tissues and can affect breathing.

Thanks this is so reassuring. I can cope with her having the hives (Piriton and calamine do help). It was the worry that it was something more sinister as nobody I knew had had it.

It was scary when her lips swelled as I was worried about her airway but according to doctor face swelling can happen a lot without damaging breathing (but still scary when it happens!)

Have people whose kids have had this found their children are allergic to other things or end up with asthma or other problems or does it seem to be a stand alone problem?

Also - sounds very strange - but she has had a total nit infestation at same time. Do you think she could be allergic?

She is not on anti-biotics. Her sister and dad are allergic to penicllin so I am guessing that yet to come!

I don't think my Dcs are allergic to antibiotics, they have had hives when they haven't been on meds. No asthma either - touch wood! Hope she is better soon.

DD did go on to develop asthma, the doctor told me that urticaria is part of the same "family"

Thanks for all the posts. DD is still getting nasty red patches but they don't seem to itch as much at the moment. Just big, angry looking welts. She's still got a little temperature but she's just got back from a 500m swim so can't be too sick!!! The pool water seems to help so even more swimming I guess.

From what people have said I'm just preparing myself that this will be an ongoing thing and to try not to panic.

Thanks again all and if anyone has any other experience of this please do share.

Hi Cheery Cherry and others with this experience - how long does a bout last. They've been coming and going for two weeks now? Each set of hives lasts a few hours then it moves elsewhere. Could it go on for more weeks? What point should I go back to doctors?

Sorry- just when I think I know what to do I start freaking out again. No idea why this is stressing me so much - dealt with much worse!

On her face now which look horrid but doesn't seem to be causing her any problems.

My 5 year old got these huge welt hives the size of my hand on her tummy and back this last sept. we thought they were from a bug bite reaction. but she has since had hives every few days. not big ones like that just normal smaller ones. she gets them all over and her lip did swell up once. we give her claritan and it makes them go away. but we don't know why she keeps getting them. it has been 3 months now and she has gotten them at least once a week.

Could it be cold urticaria (basically a reaction to the cold)? Here's a link: allergies.about.com/od/urticariahives/a/coldurticaria.htm

Hi I have this problem - I also react to viruses - i rarely get ill but when I do I get urticaria. My system then goes into a kind of spiral and I react to other things e.g foods and I was referred to a consultant immunologist. She confirmed that I have an allergy to salicylates - found in aspirin but naturally occuring in food like apples, tomatoes and as artificial preservatives. So it could be worth investigating this?
I have bouts every so often - I ended up on steroids and loads of antihistamines and a really odd diet of rice, oats, cream and dairy products - but it goes away and after my last episode I got pregnant with twins so can't have messed up my system too badly