Please help

[Spring Angel]

Well I've had a worrying morning.

I had peanut butter on toast this morning and DS had his usual weetbix. He was really interested in what I was eating so I gave him a crust which didn't seem to have any PB on it.

Everything was ok and a few hours later I put him down for his morning nap. About an hour later he woke and had big red hives on his legs, arms and shoulders. I freaked, called the GP and rushed him down. GP said it wasn't the PB because his breathing wasn't affected, didn't have swelling on his lips, tounge, throat, he wasn't itchy and otherwise happy and that it was most likely to be something he touched. The thing is he hasn't been doing anything different this morning and we haven't been out. Now I don't like this GP (my usual one was booked) and he didn't explain it all to me. I can't help but think that it was the PB, as the reaction occurred within 2 hours and it is too much of a conincidence for me.

Previously DS has been skin p*rick tested for a whole heap of things (for an unrealated reason) including nuts and didn't have a reaction for anything. I called the paediatric dermatologist who said even though the skin p*rick test was negative, allergies can change. What the??? It was only done in July.

So do you think it is a conincidence or should I investigate further? I've booked an appointment with my usual GP for tomorrow morning to discuss with him.

On a good note, with DS's hives went away within about 1 1/2 hours of having some clarytine.

I'm really stressed about this.

Spring

[aussienic]

personally I would agree with the PB as it would have been an immediate reaction

My eldest came out in these huge hives onenight at bedtime.. It happened 3 nights in a row and we never found the cause.. Clean sheets clean room everything but he still got it..

My Ds2 also came out in these horrendous hives while at the beach. We took him to the Dr but by the time we got there they had faded heaps. apparently both of them must have had some sort of allergic reaction to something..

[Spring Angel]

Thanks for the reply aussienic.

Do you mean you agree that it would be the PB or do you think it isn't? Sorry it just itsn't clear from your reply, or I'm just not thinking straight which is most likely the reason.

Thanks for sharing the story about your kids and hives. Makes me wonder if it is something to do with it being Spring and perhaps polen in the air. I really have no idea.

[aussienic]

It might be possible it was from the PB but from what i have read and been told food allergies are usually instant..

with my sons hives they think it might have been some sort of plant on the beach but he had the same reaction twice more in different places.. My eldest well we have no idea what caused them but they were huge.. and he said itchy..

I would avoid PB around him completely though for a little while and see how he goes.. Is there anything else at all.. New detergents? new clothes ect...

[Spring Angel]

Well it wasn't immediate at all, I've been trying to retrace my steps and it would have been at least an hour to two hours. I did use some new softener on the weekend but I don't think I washed any of DS clothes in it.

I really hope it isn't nuts and the skin p*rick test is apparently 95% reliable.

[myson]

quite possibly it is the PB but not the actually nuts... have you considered the preservatives/additives in the PB?

my dd reacts to some highly processed foods.(that colourful party popcorn is the worst) it is not immediate and it does not affect her mouth or breathing but it is definately from foods. she gets hives and itchyness and rashes.

in her case its not an allergy its an intolerance. so sometimes its ok if her body is not too overloaded a the time, but once she is eating processed food too much it starts to creep up on us again.

just a thought.... hth.

[Spring Angel]

Thanks so much Myson, you make a good point, given that the skin p*rick test 3 months ago was clear for nut allergy it seems very weird.

I'll bring that up with my GP tomorrow, I really hope it isn't nuts because from what I have read it seems to be a nasty allergy to have.

I'll report back once I know more.

[Willow]

Spring - I tend to agree that it is unlikely to be the PB. I have nut allergies in my family and all the little ones affected have had almost instant reactions and almost always swelling of at least the face/mouth, if not throat and affected breathing.

I hope for your sake it's not a nut allergy, I'm finding it hard enough with L's suspected dairy intolerance!

[squidipa]

i would investigate further... my son twice had peanuts and it took some time but both times he had runny stool and spewing. his breathing was fine so there ya go !!!

[Spring Angel]

Thanks Willow, that is what the GP said but he isn't my usual GP and I felt like he thought I was overreacting, hey I've got a 13 month old covered in huge hives that are appearing before my eyes, of course I'm bloody overreacting....you stupid condescending fool I'm going to ask for another skin p*rick test, I don't want to find out by trial and error IYKWIM.

Squidipa: No runny stools or vomiting, in fact he has been really happy all day, including when he was covered in hives.

It's all very confusing and I'm probably making myself more worried by consulting Dr. Google

[Willow]

Spring - I agree, definitely investigate it further and talk to your usual GP or paed.

And leave Dr Google out of it! You know how evil he can be!!!

[Spring Angel]

Thanks Willow, I know I should ignore Dr Google but you know what it's like, one thing leads to another and before you know it you've self diagnosed 20 different aliments (lol).

I just can't wait for my 9.40am appointment with a GP who has young kids and will take the time with me.

[Nai]

Investigate further! DD has a peanut allergy and came out in hives all over her torso a few hours after eating however this was combined with red hives on her face. She had no breathing problems at all.

She has been tested at the RCH Allergy Unit and she definitely has a peanut allergy. They said that even though it didn't come up until she was over 2 peanut allergies can get worse with each subsequent exposure. It may be because your DS only had a tiny bit that he didn't have a massive immediate reaction.

[myson]

[QUOTE=Spring Angel;1466092]Thanks Willow, that is what the GP said but he isn't my usual GP and I felt like he thought I was overreacting, hey I've got a 13 month old covered in huge hives that are appearing before my eyes, of course I'm bloody overreacting....you stupid condescending fool [QUOTE]

yep! i had a doc say to me "oh i wouldnt worry about it too much..."

of course YOU wouldnt!!!! its not YOUR child whose face has swelled as is almost unrecognizable!!!! dumb doc!!

[Willow]

They said that even though it didn't come up until she was over 2 peanut allergies can get worse with each subsequent exposure. It may be because your DS only had a tiny bit that he didn't have a massive immediate reaction.

Actually Spring, that's a really good point, I hadn't considered that. Definitely get it checked out, it's a nasty allergy, better to know than to find out the hard way.

[Willow]

Sorry, double post

[krisp]

The same thing happened with our DS except he didn't have any PB so we couldn't trace the cause.

We took him to several Dr's and one asked us if we had recently started daycare or playgroup or if our DS had recently started having contact with other children. And the answer was yes we had just started playgroup. Apparently some children react to coming in contact with viruses by getting hives. He told us that eventually it would stop as DS immune system developed a bit more resistance to things and he was right. A few months after starting playgroup no more hives. They weren't itchy, didn't seem to bother him just looked awful and were very red. They'd come out of know where and then fade away. It was one of lifes little mysteries!

[Spring Angel]

Thanks for your advice everyone, off to the GP in about an hour.

Last night was eventful. Put DS down for bed no worries and went in to check on him about an hour later. The hives were coming back called the hossy and they said to bring him in for a check over but that hives do come and go. Got there, saw the triage nurse and showed her the hives. Would you belive it, in the 45 mins it took us to get in to see the doc the hives had gone The doc was really good, said that it is normal for hives to come and go for weeks, (oh great) he wrote a letter for me to give the GP this morning but it's sealed and I can't see what it says.

I'm going to insist that DS gets further testing. Not going to muck around with this.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Spring x