I'm a little worried. My little girl recently broke out in hives on her arms. We thought it was from some paint she'd used earlier that day. So we washed her arms and applied calamine lotion thinking it was just a "sensitivity" or residue that wasn't washed off well enough and caused some irritation. (She has had sensitive skin issues off and on.)
Then at dinnertime we notice more hives on her thighs and feet. We realized this was more than paint residue/irritation. After talking about it, my husband told me she tried some new honey sesame stix from Trader Joes that day. (Maybe two handfuls worth.)
So more calamine, benadryl (1 1/2 teas.) every four hours around the clock all night long.
This morning, the hives are still there. A little itchy. NO fever, breathing problems, etc.
What is going on????
She has NEVER had food allergies. As far as I recall, she's had "the top 8" most common food allergens repeatedly in her life. I see that there were about 4 different kinds of wheat and soy bean oil in these "stix" which I can't say 100% she's had before.
Of course this has to happen on a Sunday AND a holiday weekend, so I can't get her into our ped until tomorrow at the earliest.
What do you suggest?
My nieces 4 yr old broke out in a rash after eating nuts. She has had peanut butter and nuts before. They brought her to an allergist to get tested and found out she is allergic to cashews. So yes you can develop allergies to things that you were not previously.
Sesame can be a pretty awful allergy. It's not in the top 8 and so it's not required to be labeled. That, and...
YOU CAN DEVELOP FOOD ALLERGIES ANY TIME IN YOUR LIFE!
I became allergic to peanuts at 32. I was pregnant with my first child. I had a reaction to a peanut butter sandwich in the middle of the night. Talk about scary!
You should have her tested by an allergist asap. In the meantime, no more stix from Trader Joe's. Bring the box to the allergist, though, and give her liquid benadryl if you see this happen again.
I can't emphasize enough that you need to get her to an allergist and be educated on what to do if this happens again. Food allergies usually get progressively more severe, and the reactions will get worse and worse each time.
It's probably the sesame. The hives keep coming back because she should really get a cortico steroid like prednisone. If she was really bad and in the ER, that's what they would give her.
Calamine lotion probably won't help much. Use hydrocortisone lotions sparingly.
My first thought would be not a food allergy. My son had a milk allergy and he would get hives around his mouth and on his face when he got something with milk in it, but they would go away pretty quickly. The hives he would get were big(size of a nickel - to a quarter) and red, and would be obvious right after he ate. They would also go away rather quickly after the milk moved through his system.
Now,I could be wrong, but it sounds like an irritation from something else, especially since benadryl doesn't seem to be helping. My suggestion would be to keep calamine lotion on and call the doctor tomorrow, or take her to an urgent care if you have one near you.
Good luck, I hope she feels better.
Sounds like either a food reaction (sesame most likely, several kids I know do have a true sesame allergy confirmed by blood tests/skin tests). Or, a virus. But, often viral rashes start on the trunk and look more pin-pricky, warm and diffuse; rather than specifically on one arm, thigh or feet. Just a thought, any chance of bedbugs? Or was she playing in a sandbox or grassy area prior to the rash? Could she have been bitten by something? Or stepped on something (poison ivy or oak?)
I'd suggest keep up the liquid Benedryll if she is uncomfortable and try a topical hydrocortizone you can buy at the store. Topical Benedryll does not actually contain hydrocortizone, so buy a name brand cortizone or the Osco brand that lists it as an active ingredient. Give extra water throughout the day if using Benedryll, as it dehydrates kids pretty quickly.
Keep us posted what the doc says!! Good luck!!
Has she had sesame seeds before? I understand that can be a pretty severe allergy but is not in the Top 8. My daughter has 4 of the Top 8 (eggs, peanut, fish and milk) plus cats and dogs so far and she just turned 2 in July. I would suggest children's benadryl. Although the label says under 6 "ask a doctor", she has been using it for severe (but not anaphylactic -- we have epipen jr for that) since she was 12 mos old. Doc said 1/2 teaspoon as directed and necessary (which is every 4-6 hours as needed but no more than 6 doses in 24 hours). Usually it only takes a dose or 2 for us. I would try that until you can get her to the pediatrician. Take a picture if you can BEFORE the benadryl so you have something to show the doc in case the hives go away. Take the bag with you (we did that with my daughter's first Top 8 allergic reaction at 12 mos) and ask for an allergist consult. We go to Dr. Hirani (she does mostly peds) and has an office on the NW side of Chicago off of Talcott an also another office in Des Plaines off Golf Road before you get to Golf Mill. ###-###-#### is the allergist number -- Waheeda Hirani. If you do the blood test, they give you an order and you get it drawn at the hospital. Good luck and keep us posted! I hope it is a fluke -- but safe than sorry!
Wow- I just noticed you said benadryl isn't helping...if the rash gets worse I might suggest you take your kiddo to the ER if the itching is unbearable. Might need something stronger like Epi to stop the itching and rash.
Unlike another poster-- my daughter's food allergy hives are not large but are more eczema-looking and spread on face, around mouth, torso, or crooks of arms/knees depending on what she ate...some show up right away but those from milk take a day or two to show. Every kiddo is different.
I kind of doubt it is a common childhood virus if there is no fever -- my daughter had roseola and hand foot mouth -- high fever with both...but some kids just don't spike fevers so who knows!
Hey Mom,
My guess is she probably has one of the common childhood viruses like hand,foot,mouth. Here is a link to that one for a bit of info. http://children.webmd.com/tc/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-....
Could also be Roseola http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/rose...
or maybe fifth disease http://children.webmd.com/tc/fifth-disease-topic-overview
I am sure there are tons of explanations for the rash. As long as she is getting better, no fever, ...etc I wouldn't worry too much. Just treat the syptoms like you have been with benedryl for itchy or motrin for painful. If she does just have one of these viruses, than you don't have too much to worry about, they are pretty harmless and just have to run their course. You don't say how old she is, but if she is school age I would keep her home until you know for sure what it is as the viruses are very contagious (but usually only til the fever breaks if there was one) and see if you can keep her separate from your other daughter as much as possible. Hope this helps!
Keep doing the benadryl~~ My daughters first couple allergic reactions did take about two days for the hives and swelling. She has the spectrum of reactions with only two groups of allergens. ONe will just cause a rash, the other goes for breathing & hives.
If she has had honey before, I would suggest questioning the sesame seeds. We were told it is fairly rare, but is being seen more & more. Honey is a big one though!
Your pediatrician will most likely suggest allergy testing. Not a bad idea at this point. Keep the ingredient label to take in with you. Good Luck!
No more vaccinations!
Vaccinations are the main cause of all food allergies. There is a new book out "The Peanut Allergy Epidemic" by Heather Fraser. It is maily about peanut allergies because the author's son has a fatal peanut allergy. But it explains why peanut oil is "generally recognized as safe" so it doesn't have to appear on the package insert for vaccines and medicines. And it includes sesame oil, soy, wheat germ oil, corn oil, fish oil... etc. etc.
Heather is posting on peanutallergy.com. You might want to check out what she has to say. She documented the whole thing really well.
allergies are tricky. It can be a combination like the wheat with the sesame or it could be an allergy just developed to something she has eaten before. Usually allergies change when the body changes in some way, puberty and pregnancy are the big two changers, but there are little changers too.
Sometimes you don't ever figure it out either and it never repeats. Last Halloween my then 9 yr old broke out in hives at school. I got her benedryl and gave her a shower and she didn't get more but they lasted a day. We could only figure it was the cold medicine combined with the oranges she had that morning.
I have a neighbor who when he was 7 at Welch's fruit snacks and almost died. He had eaten other fruit snacks tons of time and has since but just for some reason can't eat Welch's. Welch's ingredients list was identical to the other brands he can eat so they just avoid that brand.
Have her drink tons of water to flush her system, keep the benedryl going too. Keep a list of that package in case you have hives happen again and you can figure out what the common thing is.
Hi! So sorry this is happening to your daughter!
The Benadryl will help, keep it going but as soon as possible, get her to her doc &/or an allergist. The sooner you know for sure what is triggering this the better. It isn't pleasant, but then neither is breaking out in hives, or worrying you will!
Good luck!
D.
A food allergy can develop at any time. I would take your daughter to an allergist to get a skin scratch test. My son is allergic to sesame seeds, peanuts, nuts, and shellfish. If I remember correctly, there is no test for sesame seeds but it is fairly common among people who have a nut allergy. Food allergies can be very serious in some cases life threatening so please don't wait. Try to get an appointment fast. When my son has a reaction, we give him a teaspoon of benedryl and this usually helps. We also carry the Epi-pen Jr. with us at all times.
