Author Topic: swollen lips (Read 5875 times)

Lissybits · « **on:** December 26, 2007, 05:33:36 am »

Hello,
24mo DS woke this morning with swollen lips and maybe 3 or 4 blotches on his tummy. Could this be an allergic reaction to something he's eaten?
I can't really pin point what it could have been as he ate a lot yesterday as we all did! He ate a biscuit with nuts in it although I broke up the biscuit and purposely didn't allow him to eat the nuts. He does eat peanut butter (smooth) with no problem.
Any ideas? I think I will run him by the doctors later.
Thanks,
Lis.

appletree · « **Reply #1 on:** December 26, 2007, 05:47:16 am »

Sounds like allergic reaction to me. Is his breathing ok? Tongue swollen? I'd call the Dr. 1st thing. Some kids can be allergic to certain nuts. With me, I can eat peanuts sometimes without a reaction but walnuts and pecans ALWAYS make my mouth swell.

Lissybits · « **Reply #2 on:** December 26, 2007, 11:35:28 am »

Hi Appletree,
Thanks for the quick response. He didn't have any breathing difficulties but we took him to the Drs anyway.
She said, after asking numerous question sthe allergy was probably caused by some new toys he had for Christmas!
The Dr narrowed down to some plastic play food that we bought to go with his new mini kitchen.When we were playing yesterday, he kept putting "the food" in his mouth. That's scary isn't it?
However, the Dr has given us a testing programme to follow in 10 days time to check for food allergies - I'll let you know. Thanks again for your advice.

How's things with your DD's sleeping? DD has started coming in with us in the middle of the night after an ear infection and I was going to start with WIWO tonight to get him sleeping in his cot all night again. I suppose I'll have to wait a while now!
Hope your enjoying the hols!
Lis and Nicholas
xx

Shdef · « **Reply #3 on:** December 26, 2007, 13:05:42 pm »

Sounds like a heavy allergic reaction to me $:-\$

I would make an allergy test in January when all went down...

Also try give him some antihistamines, as the blotches are usually quite itchy

Lissybits · « **Reply #4 on:** December 26, 2007, 15:56:41 pm »

Hi,
DS ate lunch and then we gave him the cortisone tablet Dr had given - he sicked it straight up $:-\$
He went down for his nap ok, but when he woke his body was absolutely covered in the blotches and he was itching them and was very understandably whingy - I was really worried.
We rang the Dr and she said to give another tablet. We did and now he seems more himself

. Very frightening though. Do you really think this could be a reaction to the plastic play food?
Lis x

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #5 on:** December 26, 2007, 17:15:29 pm »

Hugs Lis - just saw this

appletree · « **Reply #6 on:** December 26, 2007, 20:26:06 pm »

The only thing I know of would be high levels of lead or the plastic itself. Like some people are allergic to latex. But, you'd think there'd be other times that it would've happened since plastic toys are pretty prevalent.

I agree with Steffi, see if you can give him Benadryl - that helps SO MUCH!!!!

DD has been better the past 2 nights. She's having trouble falling to sleep but then is up 4-6x as usual. Is easier to get her back to sleep though. She has a nasty cough and yucky nose again. She just got off antibiotics a week ago. Thanks for asking.

Shdef · « **Reply #7 on:** December 26, 2007, 20:31:24 pm »

Best things are really antihistamines and cortisone combination. If he sicks it up again, doctor can give a jab, that works even better.

It may be the plastic, but it could also be something else and as soon as he is back to normal he needs an allergy test. It could also be peanuts, fish, latex, etc...

Hugs, it's scary I know

Lissybits · « **Reply #8 on:** December 27, 2007, 03:08:08 am »

Thanks for the reassurance girls - it's been really frightening.
DS went to bed last night fine but woke up at 12.30 whimpering. Imagine my shock when I turned the light on to see his eyes had completely swollen. We rang the Dr immediately and she told us to give another cortisone. He slept for about 2 hours but his eyes haven't gone down.
It's 4.30am now and we're watching Thomas DVDs - it's the only thing to distract him from until morning when we'll go straight to the Dr.
It's hard to believe that whatever he ate on Christmas day (I'm thinking either turkey stuffing which had nuts at 2.30pm or a biscuit with nuts at 7pm) is still affecting his body over 24 hrs later.
Dr mentioned we should do a testing programme in 10 days time but isn't this really dangerous if he eats the offending food again? I've read the allergy gets worse?

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #9 on:** December 27, 2007, 03:12:32 am »

Big hugs Lis - I know how you're feeling. Keep us posted.

appletree · « **Reply #10 on:** December 27, 2007, 04:08:39 am »

I had allergy testing and it was just the scratch test and they swelled like hives in the spots of things I was allergic to (basically everything

). When they made the serum for allergy shots to help make it better, that's when it got worse and I had to stop the treatment. BUT, I am in the minority, rarely do the shots work that way.

The actual testing is very controlled and they have benadryl/antihistamines on hand and epinephrine if it gets really out of hand but I've not heard of that happening with just the testing.

Sounds very scary, poor little guy.

Hope all gets better soon!!! ((((hugs)))) to both of you.

Jimbob · « **Reply #11 on:** December 27, 2007, 08:30:53 am »

I am so sorry your son had such an terrible reaction. You could have RAST tests done which involves some blood being taken and then it is tested in the labs. This may be a better option at this stage if you are worried about reactions.

Shdef · « **Reply #12 on:** December 27, 2007, 11:14:38 am »

Oh the same thing happened to Jenn, with the eyes as well. Be careful, give cortisone and antihistamine but he needs to see a doc, they can make it go down right away with a jab.

Hugs

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #13 on:** December 27, 2007, 12:55:12 pm »

How's he feeling today?

Lissybits · « **Reply #14 on:** December 30, 2007, 15:27:03 pm »

Well, we've had a terrible few days. After going to the Drs on Thursday morning we were sent straight to a children's hospital.
They gave DS a antidote and other injections and also did various blood tests. We weren't discharged until lunch time today as the welts kept disappearing and returning.
The Drs told us not to give fish, eggs, nuts or chocolate and when the rash has finally gone we are to make an appointment with an allergist to do some skin tests. They also warned that the rash will appear and disappear for up to 4 weeks.
In the meantime we are giving Atarax every 8 hours and Xozal drops every 12 hours.
We are very apprehensive as we live on an island and there are no boats to the mainland during the night.
Of course, as soon as we got home this afternoon the rash came back with avengence, just hope it fades again soon

.
Any thoughts girls?
Lis
xx

Shdef · « **Reply #15 on:** December 30, 2007, 15:33:58 pm »

Oh how scary, big hugs

A similar thing happened to Jenn a few weeks ago, the diagnosis was anaphylaxis (not anaphylactic shock, that is one step up).

In Your DS case it really seems as if it was something he ate, so the doctors advice was correct. I would maybe also avoid strange spices and artificial colours and sweeteners. Don't give too acidy food as that can prolong the flare-up.

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #16 on:** December 30, 2007, 15:50:46 pm »

Big hugs Lis. Glad to hear the doctors are on top of this and I hope it clears up and you get it figured out soon.

appletree · « **Reply #17 on:** December 30, 2007, 19:52:17 pm »

Lis, I bet that is difficult (living on the island with no boat travel in the night). But the Dr. wouldn't have sent you all home if he was real concerned for his safety. kwim? Did they give you an epi-pen? (epinephrine) I have 2 just in case. I've had to use it 3 times but that's cuz my throat swells shut. My allergist said he doesn't care if I have hives from head to toe the only time he stresses is when the breathing is involved. Hope this helps a little. AND, I hope things get resolved soon.

Jimbob · « **Reply #18 on:** December 30, 2007, 20:00:53 pm »

I hope you get to the bottom of this soon. It can be hard to pinpoint the culprit.

Lissybits · « **Reply #19 on:** December 31, 2007, 07:16:31 am »

Thanks girls. It's so good to have your support.
The welts have got much worse and DS didn't sleep too well last night and he had 39 temperature. They did tell us at the hospital the rash would come and go but it wasn't as bad as this while we were there , I suppose it's because he's stopped some of the medicine they were giving him there.
Should I not be worried about the rash but only if the swelling comes back?

Steffi, when you say acidy food, does that include fruit? Did Jenn have an itchy rash for some time? Did you have anything for the itching?
Appletree, we weren't given an epi pen, but I will ask when we go for allergy test. We didn't have any breathing problems thank goodness and yes of course your right that the hospital wouldn't have sent us home if they weren't 100% theanks for reminding me!

Lis x

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #20 on:** December 31, 2007, 13:08:27 pm »

Sorry to hear the rash got worse again. Any improvement?

Shdef · « **Reply #21 on:** December 31, 2007, 13:55:10 pm »

Quote from: lissybits on December 31, 2007, 07:16:31 am

Steffi, when you say acidy food, does that include fruit? Did Jenn have an itchy rash for some time? Did you have anything for the itching?

I mean citrus fruit, berries, cherries and peaches, they can irritate it. Jenn flared down when she ate "bland" foods you know.
For the itching we had citirizine (like benadryl). The jab from the doctor also helped

Hope he feels 100% soon

Lissybits · « **Reply #22 on:** January 01, 2008, 06:20:53 am »

Rash got worse last night, he didn't eat, sleep and he also had a temperature of 39 so we called the Dr. I was more worried about the rash as in amongst the redness there was what appeared to be bruising. This did come and go though. Has anyone seen this with an allergic reaction before?
Dr couldn't really explain the bruising - she said it might be where DS's itching

The loss of appetite, non sleeping and temperature was due to an ear infection

, so I was quite relieved to hear that! Poor little thing!
Dr also gave us cortizone tablet and that has brought the rash right down.
We were all in bed for 8pm last night and at midnight when the alarm went off to give DS his medicine we said "Happy New Year" to each other and then went back to sleep!!
Anyway, Happy New Year to you all and lets wish for a very healthy, happy 2008

Lis xxxx

appletree · « **Reply #23 on:** January 01, 2008, 08:35:38 am »

Lis, glad to hear that he sounds like he's feeling a little better. Poor thing! I had what looked like bruising and broken blood vessels with one of my allergic reactions but it was because I was itching so severly.

Hope 2008 is wonderful for you. And that all your questions are answered very soon!!!

Lissybits · « **Reply #24 on:** January 01, 2008, 10:08:42 am »

Thanks for your reply

that's a relief to hear that you have had something similar. All kinds of things were going through my mind. The Dr did say it was due to the itching but silly me I never feel 100% with the ped here ( I don't tell DH that though!) - I suppose I should have more trust in her!
I hope your 2008 is happy and healthy too and you get to the bottom of DD's NW. That's the next thing I'm going to tackle with DS - sigh

Lots of kisses to you and your family
xxx

Jimbob · « **Reply #25 on:** January 01, 2008, 10:12:52 am »

Happy new year

I am glad the cortizone tablet helped. I hope the improvement continues.

Kelly

Shdef · « **Reply #26 on:** January 01, 2008, 10:20:37 am »

Quote from: Jimbob on January 01, 2008, 10:12:52 am

Happy new year

I am glad the cortizone tablet helped. I hope the improvement continues.

Kelly

Ditto!!!

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #27 on:** January 01, 2008, 12:17:35 pm »

Double ditto!

appletree · « **Reply #28 on:** January 02, 2008, 01:17:17 am »

Thanks, Lis. Good luck with all this. Hope it gets much better really soon.

Lissybits · « **Reply #29 on:** January 02, 2008, 06:10:29 am »

Hi girls,
You'll be pleased to hear that after the trip to Drs on Monday night and the 2 cortizone tablets the rash has really calmed down and stayed that way without any more cortizone.
We also collected up all the new toys he had for his birthday and Christmas while he was asleep on Monday night and stored them in the basement (he didn't even notice

)
Could this terrible reaction really have been to do with a toy or would it have calmed down like this anyway?
I forgot to say that we never had any diarrhea or tummy ache with this allergy

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #30 on:** January 02, 2008, 11:53:01 am »

Great news Lis! SO hard to say with the toys but I'd think it's likely more something he ate. But not sure - are you doing the allergy testing soon?

Lissybits · « **Reply #31 on:** January 02, 2008, 18:45:34 pm »

We had a few spots this morning but they vanished this afternoon so just a few bruises that have remained

Apparently, we can't do the allergy test til it's all clear.
How's Marisa?

Mom to M&M · « **Reply #32 on:** January 02, 2008, 18:54:45 pm »

Hopefully the spots fully go away soon. Marisa is doing well, knock wood. We're hoping to go for the test this weekend - have to see if can get an appointment.

Shdef · « **Reply #33 on:** January 02, 2008, 19:20:18 pm »

Neither did Jenn. Remember the allergy test

IrishDancer_Tara · « **Reply #34 on:** January 03, 2008, 23:52:51 pm »

I am so sorry to hear about your little one.
My little guy is deadly allergic to peanuts. This past summer I was eating a peanut butter cookie (before we knew of the allergy) and he asked for a bite (he is 3). not even a minute later his eys were swollen shut (lids were purple) and his lips and tongue were swollen and purple too. He then had a severe asthma attack and had to be rushed to hospital.
We now have an epipen and carry it everywhere as well as liquid antihistamines and inhailers.
It has been hard for the last few months having to get used to reading ingredients on everything you buy.
I truly hope they find out what it is that is bothering him so that you will not have to deal with this anymore.
Hugs to you and your family
Tara

Lissybits · « **Reply #35 on:** January 04, 2008, 06:11:03 am »

Thanks Tara. Yes, it has been a really frightening week. I can imagine how scary your DSs reaction was. The worst thing for us was never having experienced an allergy with anyone we know, so we had absolutely no idea what was happening.
Thank goodness for BW - everyone has been so helpful as always !

Had your DS eaten peanuts before his reaction? That's what's so confusing for us - apart from rose water in a biscuit, DS hadn't eaten anything new that day. Our Dr thinks the allergy is from a new toy .
We'll know more after the allergy tests.
It was nice talking to you

Jimbob · « **Reply #36 on:** January 04, 2008, 07:45:37 am »

I am so glad that Nichols is doing better now. I will be interested myself to see if the reaction did come form a toy. I guess the thing is you hear of so many toys being recalled at the moment due to the levels of lead ect that it could be a reaction to anything. So many chemicals seem to be in toys that we are just not made aware of.

Kelly

IrishDancer_Tara · « **Reply #37 on:** January 04, 2008, 13:55:04 pm »

My little guy had eaten things with traces of nuts/peanuts before but never peanuts or peanut butter on its own. no one in my family has ever been allergic to nuts...I however have an allergy to milk.
my DS also has asthma and excema...so the dr figures they are all linked together.
I hope the allergy test gives you some peace of mind...I know it helped us.
Best of luck!
Tara

appletree · « **Reply #38 on:** January 04, 2008, 20:06:51 pm »

Lis, I only had seasonal allergies until I was in a rollover and hit my head. Then (unbelievably) I started having all these food allergies. It's so crazy. But it can come on so suddenly. The other thing is that my reactions are worse if I expose myself to more than 1 thing I'm allergic to. It's much more severe. So it could be a chemical in the toy and a mild food allergy and that's why the reaction for your ds was more severe. Glad he's doing better.

GG · « **Reply #39 on:** January 17, 2008, 03:07:07 am »

Lis, I just came across this. How scary!!!! Poor little Nikolaki! How's he feeling? Have you done any tests yet?

It's so funny when they don't notice certain toys are gone, isn't it? I could take away many of my sons toys and he wouldn't notice (well, he'd probably notice the playdough now).

appletree · « **Reply #40 on:** February 05, 2008, 03:14:43 am »

Lis, I've been thinking about you all & wondering how things are going? Any better? Hope they are. Sending ((hugs)) anyway!

Lissybits · « **Reply #41 on:** February 07, 2008, 10:49:37 am »

Yes, thanks Wendee. Absolutely love the photo - they certainly are beautiful children (love your roll top bath too!!

)
Thankfully we have no other reactions again

and are still re-introducing his new toys every 10 days or so.
Have allergy testing appt for the end of this month and we're still not giving him eggs, fish, nuts or choccies until then. I have a feeling that we won't find the culprit

I've been following your thread on the Adoption Board and am always thinking of you and what a Super Mum you are - a true inspiration! I think if I was you, I would probably have kidnapped Bella by now and run away and would no doubt be in prison!!!!

I'll post again after the testing.
Lots of love and kisses to you and your beautiful LOs
Lis
x

appletree · « **Reply #42 on:** February 07, 2008, 19:21:44 pm »

Thanks Lis, glad to hear things are so much better. Maybe you WILL find out what the cause is - wouldn't that be a lovely surprise!!!!

Thanks for your kind words. Keep us posted on how things are going!!!

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Author Topic: swollen lips (Read 5875 times)