Hives - allergic reaction? - 21 months

[tab]

my ds came up in hives all over last friday. very hot to the touch and swollen - looked like big white insect bites on a red background. Very strange. He was at nursery and hadnt eaten anything new, no new washing powder, no suncream - has anybody got any ideas? They went down after about 1 1/2 hours. Should I take him to the doctor or not. We had a scare the week before cos we thought he'd got chicken pox - but it wasnt and may have been a much more minor outbreak of the same. Seemed fine in himself apart from that. Has anybody had a child who's had similar reaction to something??

my dd has similar reactions to what seems like nothing. she is now on long term anti histimines as her reactions were happenign week after week. Speak to the gp about it, they may perscribe anti-histimines, clear it with the nursery that they will give it to him, as some are funny at administering meds. if you live/work nearby and can give it asap it will help bring the hives and any possible itching down.

Thanks misdee. Its just so weird isn't it. Did the gp not offer any explanation or do any tests for your dd? when you say long-term anti-histamines, does that mean she has to take them everyday?

she was referred to allergy specialist, had her first appointment in feb this year, after asking to be referred in july. first we had to go to paed team for them to assess her to see if we needed to see the allergy specialist. I kept a note of reactions that were happening and anything that was out of the ordinary that day (nothing most of the time). she had a bad reaction near her eye last summer where the skin around the eye swelled up and put pressure on the eye, she couldnt open her eye more than a slit and the eyeball started to 'bubble' due to the pressure around it. That has been her worst one to date. she is allergic to cats, so do my best to keep her away from them. her other reactions, they think, are due to her being atopic (has eczema asthma and hayfever) which makes her sensitive to practically everything. the specialist wont do blood tests as he feels she reacts too easily to everyday things and the tests may be inconclusive. atm she takes loratrdine everyday. if her reactions carry on then we have to do an elimation diet to see if its anything she is eating that causing the reactions. but as there is no pattern he also feels this may be of no benefit.

Thanks for answering again misdee. Goodness, you sound like you've really been through it and your poor daughter. the reaction near to her eye must have been quite scary and very uncomfortable for her- poor thing!

I have a feeling that my ds has hayfever, he keeps rubbing his nose and its running a lot in the last week. He also has baby excema so im hoping he wont develop asthma as well. We're off on hols later this week so I think Id better go to the gp and tell them even though when I go there'll be absolutely no sign of anything wrong.

As a child I used to get hives with every bad cold. They would range from mild to severe. I would get itchy swollen hands and feet as well. I grew out of it by the time I was a teenager and didn't get it back again until after my second child. (although I did get a weird self allergic rash for the last 2 months of my first pregnancy). Now (I am 40 by the way), every time I get a bad cold or am run down I get hives that vary from mild to severe.
When I was a child my parents used to give me an antihistamine (weren't too many choices available back then). Nowadays I take a Clarityn. Piriton would probably help your ds. My ds had a random rash about 6 months ago that seemed to coinicide with a cold and not anything he'd eaten. Went to the gp and she agreed that it was probably the cold and said to give him Piriton.

message withdrawn

My dd had hives as a reaction to a virus...could it be that? She was a bit under the weather, then came out in hives. She was presribed Piriton, and we were told it probably would happen again. It hasn't yet though, and it must have been over a year ago.

thanks sofiaames, robinw and wallace. I took ds to the gp this afternoon. Not particularly helpful. At least Ive got some piriton now so I know I can calm the symptoms down if it happens again. We are about to go on holiday later this week so if it does happen again, I will certainly go back to the gp. Interesting what Sofia Ames and Wallace say about colds - ds was definitely under the weather with something before he got the hives. I spoke to two mums today who said their children had had a couple of incidences of hives but not a regular occurence.
I really feel for you robinw - I doubt it can be a nut allergy with ds as his dad is always eating peanuts and I think it would have happened by now with biscuits etc. It must be really really difficult.
thanks for sharing your thoughts

message withdrawn

Like Wallace, ds came out in hives all over his body - I found it quite scary - you could see them disappear and reappear before your eyes! Again gp said just little body's reaction to a virus and could last a fortnight until virus was over. He wasnt unhappy and had what I thought was just a run of the mill nursery cold. I gave him liquid piriton for a couple of days (he slept a lot!) and its never happened again. That was a year ago

Can I join the others who say it could be a mild virus? Ds had this - had to be treated in casualty. But it's definitely not a food allergy.

Thanks a lot for all your thoughts. It's been really helpful. We're off on hols tomorrow with piriton safely packed!! fingers crossed.