Hives and swollen face every morning

[Riversideandrelax]

My DP is waking up every morning with hives and a swollen face.

Any ideas as to what could be causing it? Could it be a delayed reaction from something he ate the day before?

reaction to bedding/ washing powder?
dust?

Could be washing powder or .fabric softener or those scent boosters.

He's changed his washing powder to non-bio and washed everything as that was our first thought but it doesn't help.

Hives often a symptom of food. What is he eating at night? Try having a very plain meal, maybe just unseasoned chicken and some boiled rice. Then gradually add things back in

Yes, I'm assuming it is food. That's a good idea, thanks

My relative developed a capsicum allergy late in life. This means no chilli, paprika etc and they are hidden in lots of foods. He had wierd symptoms including flare up on face. Took them a while to work it out !

Strange one... but has he changed mattress, pillow, duvet??

This happened to my little girl and it was something in the new duvet. Once we washed it the reactions stopped.

My son has a really bad rye grass allergy, so if I wash his bedding and dry it on the line he would wake up covered, swollen, itching, sometimes even breathing is a struggle. Everything has to be dried inside or tumble dried. Purifier on, windows closed during the day. Pollen is bad at the moment.

Most cases of hives are not allergy related, either completely spontaneous/ideopathic or, particularly for children, occurring alongside a virus.

He should speak to his GP.

Some people are allergic to the feathers in pillows. Could you try a foam pillow?

Are these symptoms new? Did they appear gradually or suddenly?

How old is his pillow? If new, he could be allergic to the stuffing; if too old, it might be full of dander and dust mites, which can cause allergies.

My son has had this for many years and there is no particular or traceable cause.

The liklihood is an allergen of some type so antihistamines especially benedryl should help but some folk are just stuck with it unfortunately.

No, he's not changed them recently. All his laundry is washed and tumbled so not outside.

He's been to the GP a number of times. He has anti-histamine tablets and a cream to reduce the inflammation. They suggest it is something he is eating.

I'll have to ask him about his pillows.

The symptoms came on suddenly. One morning he woke up and his face/lips were swollen and he had hives all over his body and head.

He now has an antihistamine tablet and anti-inflammatory cream which settle things down quite a lot. About 4 days out of 7 he wakes up with the symptoms again. I feel so sorry for him.

Oh no, your poor son! My DP hates the way he looks with a swollen face and the hives are so terribly itchy - it must have been hard for your son to cope with!

I had this. Hives and urticaria. (Swollen in random places as well as the itchy bumps.) It was an extremely stressful time in my life so I think it was that, as my allergy patch test came back clear. The GP told me that many foods, like strawberries, ex, can make it worse, even if they are not the actual cause.

For me, it went away after maybe a month or so.

Toothpaste?

It's worth strip washing the clothes and bedding not just changing powder as there could be build up of the old product in the fibres.

How do you strip wash?

As for dermatology referral.

Is he taking any new medications? ACE inhibitors can cause angioedema which can swell the tongue as well which could potentially be life-threatening.

If not medication or environmental, food is a reasonable culprit. For example, I ate eggs for years I thought without problems, then two of my kids were allergic so I stopped making eggs and then one evening I wanted eggs and made scrambled for myself and the next morning my face and neck were covered in red rash and it took like a week to go away completely. So eggs are out again. I must have built a tolerance previously.

Suggest he keep a food journal. Was an epipen suggested, just in case?

I haven't lived in the UK for a long time, so apologies if this isn't practical, but is it possible to get an allergy test? One of the skin prick ones, where they test for common allergens and probably including washing powders in this case? If it's happening this often, something just be causing it, and a vague "oh it must be something he's eating" isn't very helpful. If it's a new reaction, it might get worse with time and exposure.

In the meantime, is there anything he eats/drinks regularly before bed on the nights it happens that he doesn't on the other nights? Anything he's started doing recently? Do you now sleep with the window open and didn't before? I'd try and make notes each time it happens on what had happened the night before, to see if there are any patterns. But do try and get proper tests too!

No, no new medications.

He's been keeping a food journal. I think he needs to try eliminating some things.

No, an EpiPen wasn't suggested. Luckily he's had no tongue or throat swelling, just his face and lips.

Every morning for days is likely to be chronic urticaria which generally doesn't have an allergic cause.

I have had it on and off for years and it honestly doesn't make any difference what I eat, wash with or any things people typically worry about reacting to.

I was clearly told by the dermatologist not to bother eliminating things from my diet as I wouldn't find anything.

Antihistamine every day was the answer (at it's worst it was 4x the dose of antihistamine). Eventually it cleared up and now I just get a few hives now and then.

Maybe he should ask to see the dermatologist?