HELP!!!!! We THINK My 3 Year Old Has HIVES!

Sounds like a classic case of hives. Keep giving her the benadryl. Does she have any food or skin allergies? has she eaten anything new or have you changed the laundry detergent? If they do not go way with the Benadryl take her back to the doctor. Wth my daughter's first outbreak we went to the ER and they gave her a steriod shot to combat it and a few days of the steriod to use at home. She has only had to use Benadryl since them. She is allergic to peanuts, srawberries and shellfish. The doctor may send you to a pediatric allergist to get to the bottom of the problem.

My son broke into hives a little after his 3rd birthday and i gave him Zyrtec syrup for a few days and I came to the conclusion he had pineapples and that is usually a huge food that causes allergic reactions, but it wasn't that. The Dr. couldn't tell me either but the meds worked wonders and they didn't happen again.

Hello, J..

Like Mimi said, check your daughter's environment as well as the food she is eating. Detox your home. That means shampoos, conditioners, bath soap, laundry detergents and household cleaners. There could be something in the laundry detergent you are using that is causing a skin reaction. Bath soap, toothpaste, cleaners used for cleaning your house, carpet, floors, etc. It's amazing the things that can trigger skin irritations both from the inside and outside environment.

I use Shaklee's Get Clean cleaning products in my home and nothing else. They are safe for children, the environment, are much less expensive than other green cleaners on the market and they actually work. You may have seen them on Oprah or Rachael Ray. If you want more information on them, please contact me.

My daughter had visited a friend when she was younger for a sleepover. They slept on the sleeping bags on the carpet in her friend's room. When she woke up the next morning, any part of her skin that had touched the carpet was covered with red bumps very similar to what you are describing.

In talking with the mom, she had used a carpet freshener on the carpet.

It also helps to keep a log of activities and food she eats throughout the day so you can see what may be triggering the reaction. That helped when I was a child breaking out in "giant" hives. We found that peanuts, tomato sauce and definitely stress were all contributing factors. I've outgrown the allergies and manage the stress.

Your daughter will be fine. Take care. God Bless.

My oldest got hives a few years ago. We still to this day have no idea how or why. SHe broke out (from the neck down), they went away, and then a few hours later broke out again and looked worse. THey went away and I think the next day they came back but not as bad, then they just stopped. It was startling to say the least, but we didn't do anything. The doctor wasn't concerned. Keep an eye out for breathing difficulties, itching, those are bad signs of an allergic reaction. But that usually would occur shortly after ingesting or coming in contact with the trigger. Just watch your daughter, it may work its way out on its own.

My daughter at 10 months old had something similar. She had a cold with a fever for a few days and then she broke out with these red dots. I was scared and thought it was measles. I took her to the doc and they said it was "Roseola". It's a virus that starts like a cold/fever and once it's over then the red rash appears. They weren't itchy or anything and went away in a few days.

I hope that helps.

K.

lISTEN TO THE DOC. sOMETIMES IT TAKES SEVERAL TIMES TAKING A MED TO GET HIVES. aLLERGIES CAN KILL gET AN ANTIFLATIC KIT TO BE SAFE i HAVE 6 ALLERGIES NOW THAT i DIDN'T HAVE 20 YEARS AGO, mY MOM TURNED ALLERGIC TOPENECILLIAN DURING A PREGNANCY AFTER YEARS OF USING IT, tRY ANOTHER DOCTOR,

Jen,
I had the same thing happen to my 18month old son last month. He had a bad cold and then one morning I pick him up out of his crib and he is covered in raised splotches. Now some were huge and some were like little bumps so I was so confused. I thought he might have chicken pox so I called the doc and when she saw him she said right away ...hives. She also said it could be a viral infection. She gave me Allegra for the hives and they went away in minutes. I hope this has been helpful and you find out what it is. Take care.

J.,

I would trust your doctor. Also, hives do take a long time to go away once you get them. I have severe reactions to many antibiotics and it seems to take forever to get rid of them. It could also be a heat rash but since your doctor has seen it, I would trust his/her judgement. If your daughter gets worse, though, definitely, call and let the office know if you should take her back in.

My son had scarletina which is caused from scarlet fever, or better known as scarlet fever. Anyhow, he had red spots that started on his legs and then traveled all over his body by day two. It was aweful. I surely hope your little one doesn't have that because it lasts for 2-6 weeks. I hope this helps.

God bless,
J.

Hi J., Yes, my hives did that. Started out large then got smaller as they went away. It also can appear as a rash. It depends on what she is allergic to. I have found out that what you weren't allergic to before, you can be now. I started out allergic to my mothers milk when I was born. It is hard to determined what the allergie is when they are so young. Check everything; what is in the meds you are giving her. Is anything different. Check all smells, all foods, all pets, anything new. Believe me, I know. I have more allergies now than I had 10 years ago. I have 13 different food allergies and 8 med. allergies. I am also allergic to all trees and grass. My Dr. said "Your not in a bubble yet?" I also have asthma. I know this is scary, but for your daughters well being, take her to a baby allergist. Good luck and God bless. M. H.

This does sound like hives; they can appear and disappear, and the re-appear. They change size, like what you have described. If the benadryl is not effective ask your pediatrician for another anti-histimine. I have used Zyrtec in the past on my ped's recommendation and had pretty good success with it.

It make take as long as a week for her skin to return to normal.

If she is itchy, you can buy some colloidal oatmeal and add to her bath water. This is very soothing to the skin...

my 3 1/2 year old and 1 year old both have allergies and struggle with hives. They take Zyrtec once a day and it works wonderfully. Their pediatrician told me Bendaryl only resolves allergy symptoms not hives. Apparently Zyrtec is the only over the counter pediatric allergy med that takes care of hives.

I suggest keeping a journal of when it happens if it happens more often. By doing so I found my girls get all puffy when grass is being mowed and at two specific parks in the neighborhood.

Hi J.,

Hives only come out due to stress. Stress can be caused by an infection or anything that weakens the immune system. They are a little bit scarier because you really never know when they are coming or how bad they will get. Watch her close but also start working on building her immune system so she can fight them off herself. If they are not Hives, the worst you've done is make her healthier.

Other than a good absorbable multivitamin, I would give her elderberry extract. You can get it at the health food store, it comes in a liquid and tastes good. You can mix it with water or tea. This is a food so its just like drinking concentrated juice but it has an immune building effect. There are other things but this should do the trick if the stimuli that started all this is gone.(Meds also weaken the immune system.)

Chiropractic care is not only for joint and bone issues but also for keeping everything working and keeping the immune system built. My home is detoxed, we have regular chiropractic care and my kids don't get sick anymore. If you'd like specifics, let me know.

Hope I helped!

M.

J.,
My daughter has severe allergies to milk, eggs, soy and peanuts, mosquito saliva and so on. She gets hives from all of these things including some medications. I would suggest getting a RAST test, this is a blood draw and the ONLY way to determine allergies. You must be very careful because a severe allergic reaction can shut down the airway and the heart! We have to carry an epi-pen at all times.

Whether it's hives or a rash, it sounds like an allergic reaction to something--so keep up the Benydryl and start trying to find the culprit--new food, soap, medicine, animals, etc...if none of that seems to be the reason, then yes some kids get rashes from simple viral infections--such as hand foot and mouth disease...
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/enterovirus/hfhf.htm

Hi, if your daughter seems itchy, you can also try Calamine lotion. If you're giving her Benadryl, don't give her Caladryl, give her Calamine lotion, instead. If it's hives, they will get worse when she gets hot or right after a bath. My 3 year old son had hives and we kept him on Benadryl every 4 hours and Calamine lotion whenever he needed it. Good luck, but it will take about a week for the hives to go away.

J.,
My 3 year old did the same thing last week. Started with cold, then a cough, then hives. My doctor also said that it was viral. However, I continued the Benadryl every 4 hours and it did seem to help a little. You will know if it's an alergy b/c 30 min after a dose of ben the hives will start to clear up. However, if it's viral they will just move around and so forth. Isaac's got worse before they got better. At one point they were all the way up to his neck. He was scratching them and for that we gave put cort aid on them. They lasted about 3-4 days and now they are gone. The hives looked very strange like welts, with no pattern. Good luck and if you are concerned call the nurse at your dr office she should be able to ease your fers.
God Bless,
R.

Allergic reactions can happen anytime. It can show up after the 3rd or 4th time she's taken something that you think she's not allergic to. It can even show up days after she's stopped taking it. The thing is that when that first allergic reaction shows up, you need to find out what the allergy is to and discontinue use. Don't ever use it again. Each time the allergic reaction gets worse. Some reactions are life threatening and people carry the epi-pen for cases of emergencey.
I've got 4 children. I've been through several "spotted" days. Red spots always start in the groin/belly area, then spread to the extremities and face. It can take up to a week for them to diminish. Most of the time they don't itch as you think they would. Just because you discontinue use of the allergen doesn't mean the spots just automatically leave. They have to work their way out.
Another mom mentioned Roseola - very common for young children to get this. Although, it's usually in the spring. I don't know if that applies here because of our warm environment.
There's not really much you can do. They don't typically cause pain so don't worry about that. If they don't go away within a week, take her back in.
I really want to stress that just because she's taken something before and didn't have a reaction then, does not mean that she isn't allergic. It can show up any time. Please don't give her that medication again. And be sure to let the doctors know to have in her chart that she has had an allergic reaction to it for future reference.