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EAT => Food Allergies => Topic started by: okinawamama on December 28, 2010, 03:28:45 am
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My little boy has been suffering from diarrhea for the past 5 days, but is acting completely normal.
Then this morning, I went in after he woke and he had a large welt on his face. It was raised with red around it, kind of like a light rash. After being up for about an hour it went away (he was acting completely normal the entire time). Then he went down for a nap, and again woke with a welt like rash ( on the same side of his face, but this time slightly worse). I thought it may be something on his blanket/sheet so I washed them. Well then, we went out to dinner with family, and on the drive home another large welt appeared on his face and two on his arms. The welt on his face continued to swell to about the size of two quarters and the one on his arms went away. He is acting completely normal, and from what I can tell, his diet has remained the same. However, all of the things I google ::) say food allergy or allergy in general. What do you think? Do I need to monitor him as he sleep tonight?
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This sounds like some kind of contact allergy, not a systemic one...IMO. A serious allergy, (like the ones some kids have to nuts) shows itself right away...you'd see breathing issues almost immediately as I understand it. Whenever dd gets a rash, (she is a sensitive girl) I ask "How does your mouth feel? Can you show me your tounge?"
Would you consider giving an antihistamine like benadryl?
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This morning and after nap it didn't appear that he had any unusual feelings in his mouth, but after dinner he did keep sticking his finger in his mouth or sticking his tongue out....I just thought he had some residual spicy"ness" left over from our Mexican dinner. I hadn't even thought about it being an allergy symptom. I gave him some water/ granola bar and he seemed to get over it. Yikes, now I'm worried!
The contact reaction sounds like a good possibility, but I just can't figure out what would have triggered it that would have been in his bed as well as in the car in his carseat. He wore completely different things for each outbreak and the sheets/blankets have been washed. The car seat clearly has no ties to his bed, and he was in a completely different outfit.
We did give Benadryl, I know that it says not to under the age of 4, and I was a TOTAL stress case giving it to him, but I've had many friends who use it on their children, so we did. I've checked on him a million times since then, I swear, between worrying about a benadryl reaction or a allergy reaction, I'm not sleeping tonight.
My only option for him to be seen by a doctor tomorrow is urgent care or the ER, is it concerning enough that it warrants an infected waiting room visit? I am a nervous reck about the whole thing, nothing like this has ever happened before!
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There are 2 different kinds of allergic responses - immediate hypersensitivity, like Anne was describing above (normally happens within minutes of exposure), and delayed hypersensitivity, which can happen up to 72 hours after exposure. Anne's right that you shouldn't panic - immediate hypersensitivity is where you *usually* see anaphylaxis and breathing difficulties; not impossible with delayed reactions, but unusual. The main problem with delayed reactions is figuring out what could have caused them :-\
Benadryl is what I would have done too. Dylan has multiple food allergies and we've had to give him Benadryl many times. Our allergist actually prescribed us the adult strength liquid Benadryl to use from 16mo (a smaller dose, but adult strength none the less), so if you used an appropriate dose of the children's medication I think you'll be fine.
Tbh, if the rash is limited and doesn't seem to be bothering him or getting worse then I wouldn't rush to the ER during flu season... I think I would call your doctor's office at your earliest opportunity, maybe even take some pictures to show. But if the rash worsens or seems to be bothering him it's better to get checked out.
(((hugs))) and Hth :-*
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Didn't mean to make you feel even more nervous! My dd had sooooo many transient rashes in her first 2 years...and tbh I never really knew what most of them were! I watched carefully for other symptoms, but there never have been any. I did narrow down that she has issues with most sunscreens, and that cinnamon will make her red if it touches her skin. Over a year ago she broke out in a rash all over her body...even on the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet! It was the first time she ever ate chocolate...so I figured that was it...but I don't really *know*. :-\ But I know it can be scary...so (((hugs))) for that!
Call the doc in the morning, but tbh they will probably not know anything either, and will likely tell you to do just waht you did!
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Thank you ladies for your kind informative and reassuring words.
I am by nature a very anxious person, and everything makes me think of the worst case. Yeesh! I've checked on him numerous times and he seems fine. The rash is completely gone and he's been sleeping soundly. I plan to call my doc in the morning, hopefully it was a fluke. I have started to keep a journall of location, time and symptoms so if he has another reaction I can hopefully find the trigger. Ill let you know how he looks in the morning.
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Just over 3 years ago my ds#1 had an allergic reaction to what seemed to be an inactive ingredient in a cough mixture (we knew it wasn't the active ingredient as he had had it before in other brands of medicine).
The strange thing was that it was neither an immediate reaction nor a delayed reaction - somewhat in between! The welts came up about 4 hours after taking it, and were followed after 30 mins or so by the facial swelling and eventual anaphalaxis! Luckily by this time we were already at the hospital and so it never really progressed past oral swelling but scary nontheless.
Aside from another bout of welts/ hives a couple months later which seemed to be a reaction to an environmental allergen he has never had another bad reaction and still has no known allergens!!
Just thought i'd let you know that although this has happened, it doesn't mean that he will become an 'allergic child' or even have another reaction ever!!
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We did give Benadryl, I know that it says not to under the age of 4, and I was a TOTAL stress case giving it to him, but I've had many friends who use it on their children, so we did.
Spencer had to have her first doses of benadryl at age 5 months due to a reaction to penicillin...the Dr. gave us the dosage based on her weight (of the children's liquid) and she has had it many times since with no adverse reactions.
Keeping a journal is a great idea, so if you do need to go to the Dr. or allergist you have notes to fall back on instead of just memory. I usually try to take pics of hives or reactions too, as they are usually gone by the time we see the Dr.