Anyone (you or your kids) ever have unexplained hives?

[Minnie824]

This may get long...Ok, so DD4.5 has had hives about 7 times since July. The first 5 times, she ended up with strep throat at the same time, BUT no other symptoms of strep throat, no fever, etc. The last 2 hives times (jan and feb) she had less hives, dr. said throat was red, but no strep. So, Dr. advised us to see allergist ahead of ENT.

Saw allergist...did some testing, dust mites molds, dog/cat, foods, etc. The good news is she's not allergic to anything...bad news is, still don't know whats causing hives. A few options from allergist...1) could just be if she gets a cold/virus, thats what happens...2) could be inks/dyes, or some specific additive in some food...3) could be stress?

Ok, so since July, no new soaps, detergents, nothing. My first guess was inks...she had gone to gymnastics, they put stamps on her hand, her hands used to get bad w/hives. We stopped gymnastics in Jan. Still got hives in Feb. It still could be some type of ink/dye? Maybe something in foods, but we're not sure.

I'm so confused! I was hoping the allergist could tell us something specific, but now we've just cut some possibilites out, but still no answers. He also said her tonsils looked fine, and would have a hard time finding ENT to take them out (which is good) but doesn't help w/an explanation either. Anyone ever heard of this?

 

[NMAmy]

I get hives often--sometimes stress will bring them on. Othertimes, I swear they're adjusting some chemicals in the water--usually, I'm fine, but some days, I'll come out of the shower covered with hives. Same soap, same shampoo, but hives. DD is the same way. We just kind of live with it as part of the many allergies the two of us have.

It's good to get her checked out and I'm glad it isn't anything serious. I hope they get it sorted out for you soon.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

My daughter Destiny had hives really bad for about two weeks at the start of first grade. Never did know what caused those, but she is a very shy, anxious girl, so stress is a good possibility.

 

[LisaR]

My son (8) has had hives since he was 2. Ask any allergist: determining the cause of hives is very hard. Stress can be a factor but it was safe to say my 2 year old wasn't stressed. The cold temps and hot temps can also cause hives. Most people associate hives with a food allergy or something touching the skin (detergent, perfume, etc). That isn't usually the case. Hives come and go with little explanation in most cases. As long as the hives are not happening in the throat, there is very little danger. Benadryl will relieve any itching. I have had my son to every specialist out there trying to figure out why he gets hives. Nobody ever has the reason or solution.

Lisa

 

[kimwim8]

I had unexplained hives for pretty much most of 2005. I journaled my food, but even the allergist couldn't figure it out. He did the back (pricking) test and I reacted to every single one of them!

It wasn't until I decided to see a nutritionist for weight loss that I (we) figured it out.

I am allergic to artificial sweetners. For the first week I had to cut them out of my food/drink intake and I didn't have hives even once. I introduced splenda in the second week, and I got hives. So that was one thing.

I'm also allergic to sulfa drugs and food with sulfer (seafood). I don't particularly like seafood to eat, so I wouldn't have known this - but I tried shrimp since it was one of the few foods I was allowed to eat at that point in my nutritional plan, and I had BAD hives. Head to toe.

I had previously had reactions to some over the counter cold/allergy pills...and we figured out they had sulfa/sulfer in them.

I did have hives recently, when I had tonsilitis. Still not sure where they came from, but I ended up on steriods for them b/c they were really bad & not going away. Hopefully they just came b/c of the sickness I had.

Good luck with figuring them out. I know it's VERY aggrevating when you don't know what is causing them. I would suggest cutting out different food types for a certain period of time....like dairy, sweetners, etc. and see what happens.

 

[Deb in IA]

According to my allergist friends, most of the time there is no triggering factor identified for urticaria, or hives.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

When I was younger my mom found me to be allergic to Lifesaver lollipops-no other kind just Lifesavers-I would break out in hives---In high school I would break out in hives really bad couldn't figure it out for about 2 1/2 yrs finally it clicked I would break out whenever Mrs Emerson came to visit(she was a former teacher who whenever she came would bring a big bag of candy my favorite was Laffy TAffy) well I took my candy home and told my mom I think I figured it out so we gave it a go and sure enough within the hour I was covered with hives. The dye they used to make the candy whatever color was the culprit

 

[tekmom]

My 8 year old DD had been getting unexplainable hives since she was 3. We didn't know what was causing them and the allergist couldn't find any obvious allergy. We narrowed them down to a sudden cold snap in the weather or following a cold virus. Benedryl never helped and she would be covered head to toe, but no swelling other than fingers. The allergist gave us Zyrtec and now, at the first sign of hives, she takes it and they go away. They used to stay for a week or so but now they're gone within a day of the Zrtec. Now the outbreaks are very few and far between. Good luck.

 

[Ronda93]

Eight or nine years ago I started getting hives. It was usually when I was outside walking. It happened in the neighborhood, the park and on vacation. My face and neck would feel hot and I'd erupt in these red/white whelts. I used an antihistimine (Benedryl) and within a few hours they'd go away.

Never did find a true trigger. It was always on exposed skin, so I assume it was something in the air. Just as quickly as they started they stopped. Haven't had any in three or four years. Go figure.

Good luck.

 

[hdecker]

We went through this with DD16 when she was about 3 or 4. Would break out in hives for no apparant reason, did all the testing - nothing came back as a trigger. Then when she was 7 she broke out in a really bad case of them, worse than she ever had. The next day DD14, then 5 came home from Kindergarten with chicken pox. The hives stayed and two days later her brother and I both broke out with chicken pox. Once we all three were completely broken out, the hives went away. Turns out that the chicken pox vaccine she took at 3 causes her to have an allergic reaction to people with early stages of the disease. It's great now cause she works in a child care center and can always tell if one of the kids is about to break out. Her Dr said he has seen a few cases of this, but not many.

 

[tw1nsmom]

Some young children can get hives as a reaction to the viral antibodies their own bodies produce during or right after having a virus.

When DD was almost 2 she got Mono. The only way we knew she had it (many young children get it, but the lethargy ussually only lasts about 7 days and looks like any other virus), was that she broke out in severe hives. We brought her to the Ped. and they thought it was probably a reaction to a new food (we couldn't think of anything new ). We took her home and gave her benedryl, which didn't seem to help.

The next day when she woke up, she was crying, but she wasn't standing in her crib like she ussually did. She still had the hives, and when I picked her up and set her on the floor she immediately sat down and began crying. I took off her blanket sleeper and the hives were so bad that her feet were swolen and the area between the many raised hives had a bluish tint to it. It was about 8:30am and we didn't even call the Dr., we just bundled her up and I brought her right to the Dr.s office, which was adjacent to the hospital. They ran blood tests and took urine samples (that was fun...just try to get a urine sample from a little girl in diapers ). After the tests were run we found out she had Mono. That's when the fun with prednisone happened (I talked about that part on another thread).

She continued to get hives for the next year or so whenever she had a virus. They gradually became milder and milder until they went away altogether.