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Original poster

Baby had reaction to something but don't know what

28 replies

wheresthecalpol · 09/09/2021 10:54

Hi, my 14mo woke up with a reaction to something this morning. It was a blotchy painful rash all the way up her leg and on bum cheek. She hadn't eaten or drank anything yet so I'm ruling out food and drink. There are no puncture marks from a bite etc. I gave her piriton straight away which stopped it getting worse, and took to GP within an hour of spotting it and he was just as confused about the possible cause. I kept her window open last night because it was hot but other than that everything was the same as usual, no change to clothing or washing detergent etc. I'm doing a boil wash of all her bedding at the minute to make sure nothing is lurking in the sheets.

She will not put weight on it. It's subsided a lot thanks to the piriton. Just really confused and a bit anxious because we don't know what caused it, and I'm scared it could happen again but worse.

It was hot to touch, she didn't have a temp or any other concerning symptoms, it was just a bit painful for her. I didn't hear any painful cries during the night, but she was a bit whimpery when she woke up.

Any ideas what it might have been?

OP posts:
myotherusernameistaken · 09/09/2021 11:57

Ouch - that looks painful!

It does look like a reaction to a bite, but have you considered that someone has picked her up after using something potentially irritating on their hands and not washing them?

I've definitely never done thisBlush

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 09/09/2021 12:06

The doctor examined her with a torch and magnifying glass and couldn't find any sort of puncture or bite mark. She slept well last night and was only up once at 4am briefly, held by DH who had been asleep, so I don't know if there would have been anything on him to irritate her.

Such a mystery. Searched her room everywhere for bugs, flies, spiders, nothing.

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Iwantcauliflowercheese · 09/09/2021 13:01

Draw a line round it to see if it's spreading and you can show the doctor. My husband had a red rash that spread and he ended up in hospital with IV antibiotics. There was no puncture mark or bite. It was caused by Strep B.

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Aquamarine1029 · 09/09/2021 13:05

Has she had a covid test? Lots of babies have had rashes with it.

RebeccaCloud9 · 09/09/2021 15:03

My daughter sometimes has delayed reactions so don't completely rule out food and drink. Or bathtime products from the night before. Also, children can develop new reactions to old products (ie just because you have used it before, doesn't mean she can't react this time).

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 09/09/2021 16:01

Thanks. She had a negative covid pcr test last week, and negative lateral flow today. It seems to have gone right down and she can put her weight on it again. 2 doses of piriton seem to have helped.

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FlorestanAndEusebius · 09/09/2021 16:26

My daughter had similar when she was about 2.5. In the end the doctor put it down to a post viral histamine reaction, but it definitely was worse in hot or very cold temperatures (it recurred for maybe a month -especially in the bath). Pirotin helped her too. Hope your LO gets over it soon!

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 10/09/2021 07:50

So she just woke up and the same thing has happened again, but this time it's appeared on different random places on her body.

I'm so confused. I made sure she was fully covered with pjs (yesterday was short and t shirt pjs), no change to washing detergent, I just notice it when she is drinking her morning cows milk, but I don't think it could be that because she's never reacted to that before?

Just gave piriton again.

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Soontobe60 · 10/09/2021 07:57

This happens to my granddaughter. She’s very sensitive to most things! I once held her in just her nappy after I’d put some hand cream on and she came up in welts where my hand had been. She’s also allergic to the dog if it inadvertently licks her!
Do you have a dog or cat? It could be that there’s traces of their fur that irritate her skin. It definitely looks atopical as it’s only on exposed skin, not under her nappy. She could be reacting to the elastic in her nappy too. Try putting some barrier cream on her legs and waist where the nappy sits before she goes to bed.

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 10/09/2021 08:03

We have a cat but he's been around her since she was a newborn and we've never had issues with that before.

Previous poster mentioned post viral - she had hand foot and mouth last week which she's just recovered from.

Piriton kicking in and it's starting to fade again.

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romdowa · 10/09/2021 08:06

You can develop an allergy to things you were never allergic to before . So I wouldn't rule out anything right now.

turnthebiglightoff · 10/09/2021 08:08

My little one had what looked like this and it turned out to be a bacterial infection from the tiniest bit of broken skin on some eczema; it's called scalded skin syndrome (don't Google it!!!) and antibiotics got rid of it really quickly; but it spread much quicker with my little one. Anti histamines also helped but were masking the spread.

Brollypackedforscottishholiday · 10/09/2021 08:08

Who bathed /dressed your dc? Something on your hands?

Soontobe60 · 10/09/2021 08:43

Ah, so she could be a bit more vulnerable given that she had HFM last week. If she’s responding to Piriton, that’s good.

VaguelyInteresting · 10/09/2021 08:50

That looks like hives to me. DS gets them sometimes, totally randomly. Clearly reacting to something but not clear what.

You say you haven’t changed washing powder? Are you sure washing powder is rinsing properly from clothes? If you look at where they are, it’s places where realistically pressure would be/sweat might gather if she lay on her back/side/front, and then react with a detergent in fabric or whatever.

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 10/09/2021 09:15

Haven't changed washing powder, she had bad eczema as a baby so we've got into the habit of being vigilant with what's on her skin, and she doesn't use any products in her bath, just a non soap 'soap' to wash with which is prescribed from doctor.

I think I will monitor it over the next few days, check before and after certain foods and drinks, and maybe try and arrange allergy testing? New to the idea of allergies so not sure what the process is.

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TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 10/09/2021 09:36

Don't rule out that your washing powder manufacturer may have changed powder content?

I had an allergic reaction to toothpaste of all things when the manufacturer changed the recipe and added new features!

nonono1 · 10/09/2021 10:17

Your poor DD!

I doubt it's anything to do with the cat - if it was then surely she'd be getting these reactions in the daytime too, not just overnight?

It seems to be linked to her cot, so I agree that the washing powder could well be the cause, if they've changed the formulation. Which one do you use? I think Fairy Non-Bio is meant to be the gentlest for babies.

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 10/09/2021 11:23

I switched to persil non bio when we had the eczema situation, I used fairy before that. I don't use any fabric softener on her clothes.

I wonder if I should switch again, I have one of the eco eggs that I might try next.

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RebeccaCloud9 · 10/09/2021 12:42

When my daughter has a strong reaction, it keeps flaring up for a couple of days. The doctor says this is normal - keep dosing up with antihistamine or it will flare up again after it has gone down. It can all be the same first initial contact.

This is my daughter a whole day after her first reaction to a shower product. It went down after a dose of antihistamine, then flared up again. She hadn't touched it again but the reaction was still in her system.

Baby had reaction to something but don't know what
Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 10/09/2021 12:52

@RebeccaCloud9 that's exactly how it looked on DD! It reminded me of the rash you get after being stung by nettles. Poor thing.

Still at a loss to what caused it. She's napping just now so will check her over when she's awake to see if it has returned

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Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 11/09/2021 06:58

It happened again this morning. I'm trying to eliminate certain causes, so last night she went to bed in full length brand new cotton pjs straight out the packet, in a 1 tog cotton bag. Room temp was 21 all night, and she didn't feel sweaty, so I'm hopefully eliminating heat, fabric, and detergent as the causes.

I'm starting to suspect cows milk as it's the last thing she has at night and first thing in the morning. I'm going to cut that out her diet and replace with formula or something for a couple of days to see if it makes a difference.

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sanityisamyth · 11/09/2021 07:04

@wheresthecalpol

It happened again this morning. I'm trying to eliminate certain causes, so last night she went to bed in full length brand new cotton pjs straight out the packet, in a 1 tog cotton bag. Room temp was 21 all night, and she didn't feel sweaty, so I'm hopefully eliminating heat, fabric, and detergent as the causes.

I'm starting to suspect cows milk as it's the last thing she has at night and first thing in the morning. I'm going to cut that out her diet and replace with formula or something for a couple of days to see if it makes a difference.

Brand new clothes straight out of the bag have all sorts of chemicals on them so they should have been washed before you used them, so it still could be a contact dermatitis resulting from an allergy to something on the fabrics she is sleeping in. Still worth a try to eliminate the cows milk though.

Recycledblonde · 11/09/2021 07:06

My son had this after a virus and I’ve seen several other children with it. The doctor explained it as a reaction to the protein in the virus and that children get it because their immune systems are relatively new and sensitive compared to our old and jaded immune systems. It was nothing to worry about and wouldn’t get any worse. It went on intermittently for a few days and then never happened again.

Original poster
wheresthecalpol · 11/09/2021 07:11

Thanks. She's never had an issue with unwashed new clothing before, but I'm going to try a few different combinations of things to see what it could be. I have another new set of pjs I might wash (in no detergent, possibly eco egg) and put on her tonight.

The virus thing is interesting as she had a bad case of HFM last week which cleared up a day or two before this rash started.

She's fine at every other point in the day, even after waking from her 2hr nap, so I'm just confused as to why it's in the morning.

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