by Mama Whale
A few days ago, Baby Whale broke out in hives all over her body. I could not recall what she ate that made her break out that way. The only thing I recall is that she had some red and green peppers, but they weren't the spicy ones. She kept scratching herself constantly, and the only thing we did to relieve her pain was to put some Caladryl ointment on to prevent more itching. Putting the ointment on didn't help at all, so the only solution I had was to put mittens over her hands so it wouldn't get worse. Is she allergic to the peppers, though?
How did you find out what your kids are allergic to? What are some other ways to relieve itchiness from an allergic reaction?
Comments (12)
i think if you take her to an allergist they can test for what things she is allergic to. my pastor had to do that for one of his daughters, and it turned out the poor girl was allergic to a lot of things. so it's hard to say! It may be the peppers or it may be something else entirely. Take her to a doctor to be sure
who knows? she could be. you would have to have her tested for allergies to know for sure unless you are willing to see how see reacts if she has peppers again.
i've never heard of allergies to peppers...and i've worked in a childcare center where there were all kinds of allergies. did you know that there is tomato allergy? anyhow, we had given M spinach & barley baby food when she was younger, and she threw up....a lot. our pediatrician said to try it again later and see if it was either of those things. my dad gave us some shake and bake chicken one time and we gave some to M. the first night she had a little redness around her mouth. i thought it might have been from the oil. the next night, she ate more of it, and then her face started get red all over, and kind of swollen looking. i checked the box, and there was barley in it. i guess she can't have barley. i'm not sure if it's an allergy or she's just intolerant of it. anyhow, i just boiled some dried winter melon skins (it's a chinese/asian remedy i guess) that my mom gave us for hives. i used to get hives when i was younger, and it has always worked to make it go away. after it cooled down, i used it on M's face, and it was fine. i think there's some other ingredients in there, but not sure what they are. other than that, i'm not sure what to do to relieve the itchiness. if it's hives, you can put some rubbing alcohol on her body...that used to work with me too. a doctor would be able to tell you what to do though. hope baby whale is doing better now.
This post came at a good time for me - my 11 month old daughter just broke out in hives Sunday. I think hers were from some pasta I gave her that had shrimp on top. (She didn't eat the shrimp, but that's the only thing I could think of.)
I finally called the doc today because the hives are still around. I was told to give her benadryl and if they still don't go away, call back. My daughter's hives aren't bothering her, though - she doesn't itch or have a fever or seem irritable. I'm not sure what I would use to relieve itchiness. Good luck!
Allergies aren't all that uncommon. I think the only way to really tell is by getting bloodwork done for allergy testing.
Good luck figuring out what's going on! =)
It could be something she ate, or it could be something else-- something that touched her skin, or even an emotional reaction to some sort of stress? Peppers aren't listed as a common allergenic food (usually milk, egg, peanut, tree nut (walnut, cashew, etc.), fish
,shellfish, soy, and wheat), doesn't mean it['s not possible to be allergic to them. Here's a good site for food allergy info:
http://www.foodallergy.org/
@mamajoyjoy - The type of reaction you described is an allergic one-- and a serious one, as they can get more serious with each incident (possibly leading to anaphylactic shock). A food intolerance usually results in gas or stomach pains.
When I was breastfeeding my son, I had no idea that he had any kind of allergies, but the first time he had a clear reaction, I had introduced regular formula to him for the first time, and within a matter of minutes, his ENTIRE body was covered in hives. They spread so quickly that I had to call an ambulance because he became lethargic and it seemed that he was having trouble breathing as the hives spread to his neck-- even the nurses in the ER felt sorry for him because he literally looked like a lobster.
His pediatrician instructed us to give him Benadryl for his hives if he had anymore, but after 2 more trips to the ER, we opted to just get his bloodwork done so that we could at least get a more solid answer for what he was allergic to rather than just an "elimination diet" and constant trips to the hospital.
I havent heard of anyone being allergic to peppers, but I wouldn't rule it out. I'm definitely no expert in allergies, but after finding out about all of my son's (he tested "highly allergic" to milk, dairy, eggs, peanuts, dog hair, and cat hair,
as well as being "moderately allergic" to soy), I didn't have much of a choice but to research more about all kinds of allergies. Maybe it wasnt the peppers per say, but a new ingredient you may have included in the food/sauce? Sometimes if a person has an extremely sensitive allergy to certain foods, even other foods that come into contact with it can cause a reaction as well....
Also, for her hives, I would recommend using Benadryl (if you're not opposed to using medications), but only if it really is hives. If it seems like just a small rash or redness that isn't spreading or disappearing/reappearing in other areas on her body, then I would hold off on the Benadryl. I don't think there's really any kind of topical ointment you can put on hives that will help with the itchyness... it's just something that kind of has to pass, but the benadryl definitely helps take care of the hives (and mittens are a plus)!
Good Luck! I hope she's much better now, and you are able to find out what the culprit was! :)
We used to give my brother children's benadryl when he had an allergic reaction. He was allergic to all milk, eggs, cheese and any other kind of dairy product. And when I say allergic, I mean, he would go into shock and die if he ate a bite of cheese. He also had a epi-pen... but our instructions were to give him the benadryl, wait 10 minuets and if the symptoms persisted give him the epi-pen and call an ambulence. Thankfully, he never had a severe reaction and has since grown out of the allergy.
@SwissMama - I'll check on it, but our pediatrician didn't seem too concerned. The redness went away in a few minutes. I used to get hives when I was a kid too, but I'm not sure if it was from anything in particular. We'll most likely just try to stay away from barley from now on anyhow. Thanks!
I agree with that you should have doctors run tests to see if she
may be allergic to peppers. I know this summer, I ate watermelon and
my entire right arm broke out. I love watermelon and this wasn't my
first time having it, but I broke out horribly. But that's not it!
The person I shared the watermelon with broke out too! This has NEVER
happened to either of us. I went to the doctor and I was told that
maybe the watermelon could have triggered another allergy. You see,
i've had Atopic Dermatitis since I was four. I was allergic to most
veggies, citrus fruits/products, I couldn't be in the sun too long, and
I couldn't be in grass without breaking out. But as a kid, it was hard
to avoid all these things, so I ended up getting rash after rash...I
was miserable. My mom took me to several doctors who photographed me
and gave me shots...there was nothing anyone could really do. But
thankfully, as I got older my allergies got ALOT better. I can do it
all now, with barely any side affects. So my advice to you would be to
take your daughter to an allergist and have tests run. There is a
possiblity that she could be allergic.
P.S.- Aveeno is also very good for soothing itches.
@binkypie - Ohh, I dont know how it slipped my mind, but Aveeno DOES have really great stuff to help with itchiness!! My son has eczema too and it has worked wonders on his skin! They have this really great oatmeal powder to put in a bath that soothes skin irritations/rashes as well as a liquid oatmeal cream that foams into a nice bubble bath. :)
Allergies suck. The way mine were discovered was trial and error. See what seems to trigger a reaction and avoid it. Try it again if it's not life threatening or really obvious and see if it happens again. It's really better to find these things out with kids old enough to tell you how they feel though, and you should trust them when they think they have an allergy- they know what they feel!
For skin reactions, try an anesthetic gel. It won't make it go away, but it'll stop discomfort.