oh my god my child is swelling!

[Boco]

dd2 woke covered in a rash today, which was confirmed as a reaction to penicillin this morning at the doctors.

Throughout the day it's been getting worse, her whole body is now covered in freaky pink and white swellings. It seemed to be getting better a couple of hours ago, then suddenly her face ballooned and her lips swelled up.

Just did a mad dash to the out of hours doctor and got steroids - he said her throat isn't swelling and chest is clear, and steroids should make it go down, but to go to hospital if anything changes.

She looks so bizarre - no way i'll be getting much sleep tonight!

Anyone elses dcs had this? Do the steroids work quickly? Can i stop following her around staring at her and shrieking with horror?

Hope everything is ok Boco. It must be so scary.

Just tried to get in touch with dp to make sure he asks them about the steroids and chicken pox - left a message and hope he picks it up quickly. God its worse being at home and waiting than it is going - trying to distract myself with mumsnet.

Your poor dd Boco. Hope they can soon get this sorted out.

I don't normally respond to posts like this but Boco I really hope your little one gets better very quickly.

In response to Kerrymum, yes adrenaline is part of the treatment regieme SO long as the patient has not already been given steroids, under our emergency response protocol, you cannot give both steroids and adrenaline together. I started off my nurse training in our hospital (18 months) and I am not aware of a consultant allergist working within our trust. To be honest Boco's little one should be referred first thing in the morning so long as she remains stable over night (under observation), and they should definately be followed up as soon as possible.

Good luck Boco and your little one.x.

sorry meant to say I started off my training in paediatrics and went gone over to adult medicine. Spent 2 years in emergency medicine just so you have a little background to where my comments have come from.

Oh thanks for responding Tiggly. I was thinking they'd probably give her even more steroids. Do you know anything about the risks of the steroids with chicken pox? She has scabbed over, but was alarmed to hear that prednisolone could be dangerous for her - it was on her notes so hoping they didn't see a risk.

No. Phone switched off. Now left 3 rambling great messages.

Not as far as I am aware. Ultimately the biggest problem is the anaphylaxis that must be treated immediately, anything else can be dealt with or addressed once the immediate problem is sorted i.e. the anaphylaxis.hth. Steroids may potentially help clear up the chicken pox more than anything, and yes they may keep your little one on a dose of steroids short term until she is over all of this. all the best.

Thank you both for all the information.

Hope everything is OK Boco (littlelapin here)

Adrenaline should be given first in acute emergencies (hence why epi pens are given out) as it is much faster acting. Steroids are given as second line of attack as they take 3-4 hours to take effect, but can also be effective in mild anaphylactic reactions, and maintaining treatment response in longer terms.so yes both are given, you are correct.hth.

Boco, I've been following this thread but have no experience of this or advice to give, so have not posted.

She's in the right place though, at A&E and hopefully she'll be back to normal and home again very soon.

Take care.

oh poor you Boco. She's in the right place in hospital - I hope she gets better soon poor thing. What an awful fright.

i'm following this thread too, but again have no advice. glad she's in hosp... so pleased Hillary, Twiglet, Kerrymum and co. were around yesterday and you got to A&E. flipping GPs!

oh boco, your poor little one. don't worry, she'll be ok, she's in the right place.

i was given imigran for the first time when i was about 24, after suffering migraines for years my gp gave me some tablets. within 20 mins of taking the first one, i couldn't breathe properly and felt my throat starting to close over. luckily, we lived close to the surgery, so went straight back. receptionist told me i would have to wait til everyone else had been seen as i didn't have an appointment , but the gp came out into the waiting room, saw me and gave a steriod injection there and then. within a few minutes i could feel it working and started to feel better, so i guess in some cases steroids are enough to do the trick.

Boco sorry to hear about this. I hope she's improving. At least you now know she's allergic to penicillin because this seems to come up a lot.

Does this mean she also shouldn't eat blue cheese and other stuff which has spores? Or am I being thick?

maybe it was kerrymum, i don't remember much about it, dh and my dad were with me and doing all the talking. i just remember it being very scary.

if i'm asked what i'm allergic to, i always say imigran, but it could have just been one of the ingrediants that triggered it, could it?

Glad to hear she's in hospital where she should get proper care. Can't believe the duty doctor didn't either send you to a&e or adminster adrenaline. Facial swelling should always mean a trip to a&e and if breathing is being affected by ambulance unles you can get that faster by yourself.

When a child goes into anaphylactic shock it happens frighteningly quickly and they can have a secondary reaction later.