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EAT => Food Allergies => Topic started by: Mom to M&M on December 26, 2007, 13:38:31 pm
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So we celebrate Hanukkah but my sister celebrates Xmas so we were this last night for dinner. Anyway, DD had a great time playing with her cousins and my sister made a great dinner. But at dessert, DD has half of a Christmas cookie made by a friend of the family (who wasn't there and is a great baker but has never had kids and doesn't know how to cook kid friendly). It looked like a typical xmas cookie - hers was shaped like a star with sprinkles and all. Well that was around 7:15.
We left there around 8:10 and got home a little after 9. DD wanted to sit on the potty before bed and I noticed a small hive on her thigh but nothing too much. She went to bed but at 9:45 was still awake and calling for a clean diaper. Her diaper was dry so we let her sit on the potty again and then noticed WELTS and BIG hives up and down her thighs and calves and on her tushy. They didn't seem to bother her at all though. Gave her a dose of Benadryl and she fell asleep a bit after 10. I checked on her shortly thereafter and the hives looked the same (but no worse). Then we checked her again at 10:45 and it seemed a bit better.
This morning she woke at 7:30 and had peed through her diaper and pajamas and onto her crib (very unlike her) and the welts still look about the same plus there is one area on her upper left arm I hadn't noticed. Still dont' seem to bother her at all and her mood is ok but tired. Plan to call the doctor when he gets in later today.
I called my sister and she said my niece's face also looked a bit welty but nothing much. Neither she nor I had one of the cookies ourselves but my sister thought it was likely there was cinnamon in there (apparently one of the top 10 allergens) and possibly some sort of nutmeg or almond oil or something. I'm guessing maybe the cinnamon since she hasn't had that before?
Should I do anything else? Give more Benadryl? Just wait? You'd think I should know about this being former allergy mod but sadly, I don't... I can post a picture if it would help later.
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Hi hun. I would call the pedi to let them know this happened. Chances are they are going to just have you monitor her and give benadryl.
Owen just had his first allergic reaction last week - to an antibiotic and it looked EXACTLY like this. We were told not first, not panic ;). Second, to give benadryl every 4h regardless of itching or presence of hives, for 48h. Third offer an Aveeno bath if he seemed to have break through itching.
I don't think it itched all that much. But it certainly looked horrid. They told us that he could continue to have hives for up to 14 days, even though we obviously were not giving him the offending antibiotic anymore.
Naturally monitor her, if she gets more hives, has difficulty breathing, blue around her lips, swelling/hives on her face - I'd call for an ambulance. However, I doubt any of that will happen. It does take some time for the offending substance to leave the body, and then for the body to calm down and stop pumping histamine like crazy.
Hope this helps some.
PS she could be sleepy and have peed through her stuff last night because of the benadryl... it makes Owen super groggy - perhaps her too.
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Hi Zoey!!!! Thanks as always hun. How long did Owen's hives/welts last for?
They don't seem to itch or bother her at all and definitely nothing around the face so far but they look even worse in person than in those pictures. I haven't given her Benadryl since last night at 9:45-10pm. I was waiting to talk to the doctor but they don't get in until 11:30 today (it's 10:20 here now). I wish I knew what caused it - should we ask for allergy testing so we don't give it again?
How are you and Owen otherwise? Happy holidays!
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We were told to give antihistamines, too (citirizine). Jenn has had a few of them, some not as bad, some much worse. Her hives look like this as well, they do tend to get itchy.
It is also very important to find out what she is allergic to, so insist on allergy tests.
Hugs
Steffi
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Thanks Steffi. They are starting to itch her a bit here and there I think but not too bad. Is it odd that her legs are so covered but then just one spot on her arm and nowhere else?
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No I don't think that's odd... Jenn gets hers on her chest and back of the neck and eyelids... they are all different :-\
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Wow! The welts look EXACTLY like what Nicholas has now all over his body. He woke up with swollen lips this morning and just had 3 or 4 welts but now (12 hrs later ) they are all over his body and he has been itching them like mad. His feet swelled too!
We gave him a cortisone tablet and he is MUCH better.
We're not sure what the cause is although I know it's not cinnamon since I put that on roast potatoes all the time! I'm guessing it was nuts either in the turkey stuffing or in a Christmas biscuit.
Although our Dr seems to think it's related to some plastic play food he got for Christmas since he was putting them in his mouth all day yesterday ???
I too would like to know how long before the welts go.
How's DD doing now?
Lis x
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Talked to the doctor about half an hour ago. Like you guys said, he said to give Benadryl 3 times a day (so abotu every 6-8 hours depending if awake) and that it could take some time to go away. He was pretty sure it was from cookie and to get an ingredient list and he's also going to do a full panel allergy test either later this week or next and compare against that. In the meantime, I just put her in for a nap (she had Benadryl at 12 and then lunch) and they are starting to look a little better definitely so we'll see. Wonder exactly what caused it... about to call my mom's friend (who made the cookies) and try to get full ingredient list. Thanks again everyone.
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Is it weird that her legs are getting better (still some hives but less and welts definitely down) but now there are some more hives on her arms?
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Jennifer got cortisone and antihistamine orally and applied as well... She also got jabs when it was really bad, made it go away right away.
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Thanks Steffi. I have another call into the doctor and hopefully he calls back soon. But is it normal that one are seems to be improving at least some (her legs) but another (her arms) seems to be getting worse? Is that just happens as it travels through the blood stream?
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You know, this happened to Jenn, too but we still don't know what she is allergic too, so it's hard to say if she was the same.
But I'd call the doctor because a severe allergic reaction can also affect the thoat.
What have you given her?
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I think it is absolutely normal that they are getting better in some places and not in others. They tend to disappears and reappear in a different place. Owen's lasted about... 6 days :( But like I said, he didn't seem at all bothered by them. He just looked awful.
I think it's good that they are going to test her. Was she wearing any new clothing, lotion, soap - anything else that it could have been? I'm sure not, but just thinking aloud.
Oh also, O's seemed to appeared bigger and redder where anything touched his body. Also his elbows, and knees, wrists, knuckles all swelled and got red and hot (this made me very nervous, but they said it's part it the allergic reaction and not to worry as long as he wasn't stiff). So maybe letting her be in a diaper/panties.
Hang in there. I'd call just so they can put your mind at ease sweetie. It is scary! :-* :-*
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Sasha had that after she had a prawn (my fault ::)).and hers came up really quickly and were really itchy poor thing.hers came and went over the next 24 hrs.
NHS direct told us to give her piriton and just keep an eye out for any swelling around her mouth etc and we also used some camomile lotion to help with the itchness.
Hope Marissa feels better soon :-*
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This may help a little: Hives
"Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. They range in size from a few millimeters to several inches in diameter. Hives can be round, or they can form rings or large patches. Wheals (welts), red lesions with a red "flare" at the borders, are one manifestation of hives. Hives can occur anywhere on the body, such as the trunk, arms, and legs.
One hallmark of hives is their tendency to change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours. An outbreak that looks impressive, even alarming, first thing in the morning can be completely gone by noon, only to be back in full force later in the day. Very few, if any other skin diseases occur and then resolve so rapidly. Therefore, even if you have no evidence of hives to show the doctor when you get to the office for examination, he or she can often establish the diagnosis based upon the history of your symptoms. Sometimes it is helpful to bring along a photograph of what your rash looked like at its worst."
:-* :-*
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Thanks again Steffi, Zoey and Andrea. Zoey - that does sound exactly like her hives so we'll just hang in there for now. She still seems in a good mood although a little itchy and tired from the Benadryl. Doctor said if the hives are still there Friday he wants to see them/her just to rule out any possiblity of them being caused by an infection. No new soaps or anything so must have been that darn cookie I guess... Still waiting for the baker (she's at work) to get home to get the ingredient list...
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When you get the list, can you share - I'm curious ::)
I'm honestly amazed at how tough and resilient kids are, they are little troopers. Big hugs to you both.
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Z, a fountain of knowledge as always. :-* What is this, the week of allergic reactions? :P
Steff, bit of trivia: the wonderful antihistamine you mentioned is only by script here. Which stinks.
Anyone know why benadryl every 4 for 48 hrs rather than claritin/zyrtec daily for a couple of days?
Karen, I wanna see the ingrediant list too!! have a hug for you and one for M. :-*
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This evening her tushy and feet had the worst of it. We put her in her crib just after 8. At 9 she was still awake but crying for a clean diaper. When we went in she was dry so we put her on potty and she peed but at that time we noticed a small spot on each cheek. So we are just so upset about this all.
Plus at the same time, just found out (through my mom - her friend who made the cookies was annoyed with me for asking) and they claim the only ingredients were sugar, flour, butter, orange flavor and vanilla flavor. And the sprinkles of course. So I don't know - she's had all that besides the vanilla before. So I'm really at a loss here... I think I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow so he can have a look as we are really getting worried. At least she still seems in a good enough mood...
BTW Zoey - LOVE that pic of Owen in your avatar. Too cute!
And thanks too Jenn! Hugs to you and Mouse.
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Also is it weird that the Benadry doesn't really seem to help?
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:P To the friend!!!!! You would think she would be worried about the poor kid!!!!
On the med, it may not seem to be helping, but it's keeping things from getting worse. Make sense?
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Jenn - I was SO annoyed. I had left the woman a message and was REALLY nice saying not to worry and the cookies were really good but just needed to know, yada yada... Whatever. But she's already had those ingredients (unless it was the sprinkles) - she's had orange juice, vanilla ice cream, etc. So I just don't know - it's like mystery hives and I hate that they've now spreaded to her face. Grrr...
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Food dye in the sprinkles?
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Good a guess as any, although she's had dum dum lollipops before without this reaction... Argh. Wonder if she is full of it and was either cinnamon or almond oil/extract or something in there (not that I know if DD is allergic to those). So what will a full-panel blood allergy test look for? Just common foods/allergens? Again, you'd think I should know this...
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All the common food allergies, other environmental stuff like animals, latex, trees, weeds etc. Been so long since I had it, I forget.
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Hi ,How's Marisa doing?
Nicholas looks like he's gone 4 rounds with Mike Tyson and the blotches have also spread to his face.
I've been racking my brain as to what can be causing this allergy. We too have not used any new washing powder, creams or bath stuff. It can only be something he's eaten - but what?
I think I can rule out the biscuit with almonds that he ate at 7pm as he has eaten almonds in chocolate and other types of biscuits on many occasions and he didn't eat anything with food colouring yesterday either.
It can only be the turkey stuffing that he ate at about 2.30pm. I know it hads all sorts of nuts in it - I'll get the ingredients list later today .
I'll certainly be more careful of what Nicholas eats in future. He's such a good eater and we've never had any problems before - it's frightening not knowing what the offending food is.
Keep me posted and hug and kisses to Marisa from Nick the boxer!
Lisx
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Hi again!
Just found an allergy helpline in the U.K - don't know where you are? I'm on a small Greek island so I always use the U.K helplines!!
It opens at 9am, think I will give them a ring later - (020)83038583 or www.allergyfoundation.com
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You know the woman could have cook in, or beside, or on something else the M was allergic to. Hard to say really.
Jenn I Pm'd you, you sexy mumma. :-*
I'd definitely take her in if you're concerned. I agree with Jenn about it (benadryl) keeping things from getting worse. But for your peace of mind, you should do what your heart says - honest.
Takes for the comment on O's avatar - he was hysterical on Christmas.
Oh, the benadryl didn't make his hives go away either.. it did make them less angry looking... it also didn't keep more from coming... again just kept them from being SO red, SO hot etc..
:-* :-*
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I had an allergic reaction to peaches in some peach oatmeal recently and it took over a week of taking allergy medicine to clear up the rash I had. it looks similar to your DD's. I have eaten peaches since I was little and have had no reaction to them until now. I had to go in and have an allergy test done to figure out what was causing the reaction. I would continue with the benedryl and go to the dr. just to rule out other things. there are some viruses going around that are showing up as rashes on kids skin as well. DS just got over that although his didn't look quite like your DD's, but you can rule it out at the drs and maybe get some other ideas and suggestions.
hope she feels better soon!
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Oh Gosh Karen! I just read this! I hope things clear up soon. I would definitely do the testing (we had it done with Katie) and if there's any cookies left over, try one and see if there's more in them that she's claiming. What an awful reaction from the baker, btw! I'd be spilling "family secret ingredients" if someone suspected a reaction to my cooking!
Please keep us posted!
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I hope things are starting to get better. I would take her to see the ped just to be sure.
Kelly
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Benadryl on its own didn't help for Jenn's allergic reaction either, but it made the itching better. What really helped was the jab they gave her with cortisone, stronger antihistamines and saline (which doesn't do anything, right?)
It could be the sprinkles... were they peanut sprinkles? Or sugar with odd colours? Jenn isn't good with some artificial colours but okay with others.
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How are things??
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Thanks everyone! Actually, she slept from about 9:15-7:20 and looks a lot better this morning. Still some areas there but no welts right now - just small areas of hives, much less of them and much less angry looking. So I guess for now will hold off and bring her to the Ped tomorrow morning if need be?
Also - Casey - it supposedly wasn't even about the family secret but she said I was "rude on the message" on her machine. PLEASE - I had actually gone out of my way to be nice saying happy holidays and we missed them the other day and the cookies were good and not to worry, etc. Argh. Did allergy testing show anything for your DD?
Should we wait until Monday/when the hives go completely away to do the blood test?
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I'm so glad things are better/improving.
Don't think another moment about the woman and her cookies - I bet she felt bad M was ill and she was sort of the cause of it and that is how the emotion came out - defensive.
I have no idea about the blood/allergy testing. But my thinking with O is to avoid the doctors office unless absolutely needed as there are so many really ill children there with viruses and what have you... I'd hate for him to catch something while there, if we didn't REALLY need to be there. But that said, you have to do what your gut tells you - perhaps a phone call the the nurse to update and ask if there is anything else to do. Perhaps she too would know about when to do the testing.
My head says they would want to wait for this reaction to completely subside before testing to be sure there isn't a surge of antibodies in her blood from this episode.
Hugs :-*
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Thanks again Zoey - you guys have all been so amazingly helpful and supportive (as always). I think I will hold off and not bring her in unless it really takes a turn for the worse again. I just wish I knew what caused it want to make sure it doesn't happen again!
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I think you should definatly get an allergy test for her. and you do have to wait until the reaction is gone to get it done. it is really helpful to know what caused the reaction. good luck! hope she keeps getting better!
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Definitely going to go for the allergy testing next week, Melissa. But for know (fingers and toes crossed, double knock wood) DD seems to be on the mend. Gave her a lukewarm bath before lunch and the hives are WAY down. Gave her Benadryl anyway to keep them on the way out and she's napping now. Hopefully they stay away and we figure this out soon.
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Just saw this :o
HUGS to you Karen and get well vibes for Miss Marisa. :-*
A x
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I'd talk to the doc, but I think I'd definitely wait for the reaction to be gone before testing. When we did it, K got an "all clear" from the doc but the process was pretty easy. They did it on her back and the worst part was the pricks (of course) but then she had to lay flat on her tummy for a few minutes to let the liquid/allergen get into the pin pricks. K didn't cry with the pricks (didn't like them, but didn't cry) but really didn't like having to lay flat. I think if I did it at this age, I'd probably lay on my back and have her lay tummy-to-tummy and have DH try to keep her still. At least I could make silly faces at her and give her something to do! The allergy doc that we saw was really good and specialized in children so she had a lot of tricks up her sleeve and oodles of toys too.
Keep us posted!
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I'd talk to the doc, but I think I'd definitely wait for the reaction to be gone before testing.
Definitely. Results aren't right when the reaction is still there, we got the same advice from the ped.
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Thanks again everyone. This will be the blood (RAST) test, not the skin prick test for now and bloods will just be drawn at a lab - so unfortunately no wating room with fun toys or doctors with good kid tricks. But DH and I will both go and bring some books and her DVD player along too. We'll probably do that Monday. For now, just SO happy the hives are almost gone and DD in a better mood too! Next step to figure out what she reacted to. Other than the cookie, maybe cranberry juice? She had it for the first time Monday but only a very small amount and then more again Tuesday afternoon. Not really sure...
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I have an allergy to cinnamon. I get hives if I eat too much. It's funny, I can't eat any Cinnamon candy, gum, or anything "flavored" cinnamon. But I can eat a lot of the spice before I get hives from it. Crazy. I love love love cinnamon Life but I can only eat it two mornings in a row before I get itchy. but give me a cinnamon heart or piece of gum and my mouth gets little bisters and then I begin hives...
So don't assume that it's NOT cinnamon. the extract or flavoring is a totally different breed of cinnamon that the spice we put on toast or in food. So I am actually VERY cautious about it. I watch ALL lotions (espeically christmas scents) and I check ALL massage oils or warming oils I use. I simply can't risk it.
So good luck. I hope it is easily cleared up. just please be careful. Happy Hollidays!
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Thanks Carybear, that is very helpful. I have heard that the spice is a different type of "food" before. Which will the blood test check for?
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Karen - This is more for your other post about red dye, but there's a thread that was fascinating to follow about a mom who was trying to eliminate red and yellow dye from her DD's diet and the behavior changes from it. (Sorry this reply is on the wrong post!)
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Actually, Casey I think I've seen that post - but thanks! Few hive-y areas left but almost all gone for now...
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So, the spice and the stuff they put in candy is not the same?
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From what I've heard, the spice is usually cassia - very similar but not the same as actual cinnamon (but it is cheaper so often used in place of).
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Hi, how's Marisa doing? Have the welts gone yet? Did you get to the bottom of the biscuit ingredient?
I read on the allergy website that most reactions happen a few hours after eating the offending ingredient so for us that would rule out the lunch time turkey stuffing and would leave us with the christmas biscuit Nicholas ate just before bed.
These biscuits were bought from a bakery in town so I will find out the ingredients. He has eaten these biscuits before but only home made by family members. Apparently, some people (but not our family) use some kind of 'plant water '(this is the exact translation from Greek to English!) in this biscuit. I have no idea what this is. I have only heard of rose water in England! Maybe this 'plant water' is the culprit??
Lots of cuddles to Marisa
xxx
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Were there peanuts in the biscuit?
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Hi Lis - thanks for asking. Interesting with the biscuit - keep us posted. As for us, still no idea what the offending ingredient was. "Think" the hives are finally all gone but waiting to make sure and then will do the allergy testing later this week hopefully...
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Waiting to hear what the culprits turn out to be.
Plant water? Anyone want to hazard a guess?
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Found it - rose water!! Is this known to provoke allergies?
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I have heard of people being allergic to certain flowers. I know James has reacted to a cream we had once that had rose water in but it did also contain a few other ingredients so we never got to the bottom of what had caused the problem.
Kelly