Has anyone dealt with hives? (not as in bee)

[phorsenuf]

On Friday my son (13) broke out in hives real bad! Never having experiencing before them I had no clue what it was until I called the Doctor in a panic. He said it sounded like hives and give him Benedryl. Well, I looked it up and from the pictures I saw that is definately what it looks like. The thing is they still are not gone. They come and go but never completely and tonight they are back and pretty bad. Aside from being itchy he is OK. I have no idea what would have caused them as nothing is changed. No new detergents or foods or anything like that. I did read that sometimes they can appear for no reason but that just seems bizarre to me . I also read that they can last for up to 6 WEEKS! I'll probably touch base with the Doctors office tomorrow just for some reassurance, but I'd sure like to hear from others who have gone through this. Did you ever find out what caused them? How long did they last? What did you take to do to alleviate it. Thanks so much.

 

[Serena]

LOL, lots of experience with hives. They are very random. Depending on what is causing the allergy, if he's still in contact with it, and a lot of other factors come into play, for how long he has them.
They can come out of the blue, they can never come back for no good reason too

Luke warm baths, nothing tight or itchy, nothing spicy to eat. Just be careful with everything that goes in or on his body. His skin is sensitive and anything can make it worse right now.

If you have any more questions, I'll try to answer them.

 

[nativetxn]

This happened to me once. The hives were so severe that I went to the ER. They gave me Benadryl <i>and</i> Tagamet.

I thought it was strange that they would give me Tagamet for hives but they explained that the Tag blocked the beta receptors and Benadryl blocked the alpha receptors (or vice versa, I can't remember now).

It worked, though, within an hour. I never found out why I had the hives, though.

 

[ByTheSea]

I've had it happen on occasion and asked my Allergist about it, he said although often allergy related with specific trigger, some people just get random hives and may never find a cause...

 

[Keli]

My dd got hives once. We believe it was from eating honey but we were never quite sure (she had eaten honey before but not too often and that was the only new thing in her diet at the time). Ash's hives only lasted few days though and they were significantly better after the first dose of benedryl

 

[Cruisin]

You can also develop allergies to something even if you have been eating it or using it for years.
Maybe some allergy testing might have to be done?

 

[SeaSpray]

My older DS has had itchy hives a few times when he was younger. One time, it seemed to be the cold air would cause them. He'd be outside playing, in the winter, and his skin would get itchy and then he'd break out in little itchy hives. Another time it was also winter, and he got very bad, itchy hives that spread and were also painful. He actually missed a few days of school because he couldn't wear a shirt. The doctor was never certain was caused them but I'm glad that he seems to have outgrown them. He's almost 16 now.

I hope your DS is feeling better soon!

 

[Disfan1]

The worst case of hive that I have had was after the Sept. 11 attacks. My doctor said they were just from the stress that I was under at the time. Benadryl, Aveeno baths and calamine lotion really helped. It is possible that he has developed a food allergy also. I became allergic to strawberries when I was 28! I really, REALLY miss them. Good Luck finding out what is causing those hives.

 

[damo]

I got hives for about 35 years until I realized they were from broccoli. I've stopped eating broccoli and haven't had hives now for many years. We have a friend who's son, 17, gets them from red food dye (only a certain one though) that is found in many food items. Food dyes are popular causes of hives and are placed, unexpectedly in many foods. For example, butchers spray freshly ground hamburger meat with red food dye to make it look more appetizing. Most people would never be able to relate those two items to pinpoint the allergy.

Keep a food diary of what you ate on the day of your hive outbreak. It may take many years or you may never find the cause. Good luck, it can be a very frustrating search.

p.s. Be careful of the medicine you give him. My friend with the food dye allergy was given Benedryl (which has red food dye in it) and the situation only became worse!!!

 

[Ellester]

I get them when I've touched a Guinea Pig! My mom's dog also gives me hives when he licks me. Mine are usually very tiny, like mosquito bites. For me, the best thing is a little alcohol rubbed on them and to wash off the hair/slobber. Aveeno oatmeal baths can be wonderful for itchy skin. Good luck figuring it out!

~Ellen

 

[KarenC]

I got them a lot when I was a sophomore in college. It took a while to figure out, but it was the Ultima II moisturizer I was using. It seemed that if I was under stress AND using the moisturizer, the hives appeared.

I figured it out when I was getting dressed to attend my Grandpap's funeral. I was applying the moisturizer (I guess I hadn't used it in a while) and within minutes, hives all over my face.

The real problem was that, in addition to the benedryl, I had been using the moisturizer to resolve the skin issue, so when they were bad, they got worse!

Your DS probably doesn't have this particular problem but I wanted to point out that something that didn't bother him before could start bothering him if there's other stressors going on. Again, your DS probably won't benefit from this info, but from then on I stuck with allergy tested cosmetics like Clinique and Prescriptives.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

My sister broke out in hives from using a face scrub that had Alpah-Hydroxy in it. Now she has to be really careful that she does not use a product containing it.

I hope your son feels better soon!

 

[luvdzny]

I have lots of allergies and get hives frequently. I also get hives from stress, and DD does too. Is he under a lot of pressure at school? I know that is a big factor for DD. I will agree with everyone about the Benadryl, although it makes me so tired that I can only take it at night. Dr. also says to take Pepcid AC, I guess it must be like the Tagamet that another poster mentioned. When the hives are severe I get a short term prescription for Prednisone, it really works. Sometimes a cold compress helps on areas that are really bad. Warmth makes the hives much worse. Good luck, I know how miserable hives can be.

 

[moinab]

Lots of experience with hives in my family. A few years ago, my DM had a bad case that lasted for months, until she was put on a steroid treatment. I used to get them occasionally when I was growing up, but hadn't experienced them for the past 22 years, until last month when I started breaking out for no apparent reason. It lasted a week. DS broke out in a bad case when he was 18 months old. The ped had us take him to the emergency room (because his eyes, hands, and feet were badly swollen). After 5 hours and many tests, they told us we'd probably never know what caused them and that he was fine.

For us, it seems to be a genetic immune system quirk. Annoying, but overall, not a big deal.

 

[cati]

Looks like you already have some really great responses and advise. Hope he is feeling better really soon.

 

[Olaf]

I'm one of those poor people who suffer from them all the time. I've had dozens of tests run, but to no avail. I do know that certain detergeants can set me off, but avoiding them doesn't seem to help. I take a daily Zyrtec to keep it under control.

It sounds as if your son needs to be evaluated. They might put him on steriods to calm it down a bit.

It's nothing to mess around with, especially if you have that blow fish thing going on in the face. Talk to your doctor, you might want to think about getting an epi pin. I carry one everywhere.

 

[Rajah]

Sorry for the bad news, but they can last much longer than just 6 weeks. I'm going on 4 months with my hives, that I picked up from *something* at WDW (or at least during a trip to WDW). The only thing that's been helping me is 2 benadryl every 4-6 hours to alleviate itching, and using neutrogena lotion to moisten the skin. I've tried half a dozen other medicines with three doctors and nothing's fixed them.

The only other thing I can advise is keeping him away from other things he's allergic to as much as possible. I've got some food allergies that have been more touchy since I started getting the hives, and my asthma's worse than usual around things that normally give me asthma (fireplace smoke and friends' cats come to mind).

 

[caitycaity]

another person who gets them all the time here.

the first time i got them was when i was 10 from an ingredient called paba which used to be found in a lot of sunscreens. other than that, no one has been able to pin down exactly what has been causing them for me.

stress definately exacerbates it for me.

and like rajah said they can last longer than 6 weeks.

unfortunately i haven't found much that really helps. i usually use the extra strength benadryl cream, but that doesn't always help so much.

 

[momof2inPA]

My niece has developed an itchy rash. The doctor thinks it's the lime in the water this time of year. She kept taking showers to try to take the itch away.

If you're looking at food products for a culprit, you might want to think of what nut products he's been eating. Lots of people make nutty foods during the holidays that kids don't normally eat.

 

[Suzy Mouse]

My son develop a case of the hives after he had taken medication for an ear infection. The weird thing was that it didn't come out until after he was done with his medication. They would only come out after he was all sweaty. Then they would totally disappear. This went on for 8 months.