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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Allergic reaction to something...need opinions!

We went outside today but I didn't notice anything until after the kids woke up from their nap. I know there are a ton of you out there reading this & just may have some insight as to what happened to Ian today.

Here is a picture of what I saw when they woke up & I went to change his diaper.



Here you can see a couple on the back of his calves. Not nearly as severe as the one on his thigh.



Needless to say, I freaked out. I know Benadryl has a window of opportunity to work, right? Don't know how long that window is but I started praying that it would do the trick. After I took the pics, I drew a line around the affected area.

It was slightly raised, not much. There was definitely a red ring around the outermost part, which you can see in the pictures & then went white as it went inward. The affected area was warm to the touch. He also had 2 round areas, symmetrical, on each butt cheek. NO. I didn't take pics of those. This is enough to embarrass the lad as it is.

With an hour of the Benadryl, it was all gone. Nothing to point to where the affected area was except for my pen marks. Not even so much as a dot for a bite mark.

The mystery...what in the world caused this?!?

I don't think it was mosquitoes. Although Ian is sensitive to mosquito bites, it has never looked like that. No where near. My neighbor suggested fleas or chiggers, maybe ants. The thing is that this was definitely in an area covered by clothing, clothing & diapers, or socks & braces so I'm even wondering if it happened outside.

Anyone have any ideas out there? I would LOVE to figure it out b/c obviously he had an allergic reaction to it. HELP!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That most likely is hives. My son got them when he was young. In the afternoon they would raise up into large spots and then move or disappear very quickly. In the morning, they would be gone, only to come back up in the afternoon again. Maybe read up on hives. They can be an allergic reaction to something, or sometimes nothing. Hope this is somewhat helpful.

PS....your kids are cuties.

Kay

Amber said...

The ones on his back calves look like mosquito bites. I say this because my daughter has a slight allergic reaction to mosquito bites and when she gets bite her bites look just like the ones on the back of Ian's calves. I am not sure about the one on the side of his leg. Hope he is feeling better

Amber

Jennifer said...

How hot is it down there right now? Even if you don't find it hot, could Ian's body? Especially with wearing the brace and diaper?

I don't know. It may not be that, but I had a problem with heat a few years back, even on days that it was NOT hot. It took about two months to figure out - even the doctors were unable to figure it out. But would a heat rash or hives go white?

I figure it doesn't hurt to mention.

Astrid said...

Not too hot. 80 was the high today & this happened during his nap?

The only thing i can think of is that I fed them turkey deli meat today. That's it that is different.

Shosh said...

hives would make sense, but if you were playing outside all morning and not eating new foods maybe its more likely it was a bug? fire ants or spiders could probably do that. ive never known mosquitoes to crawl up the inside of jeans....

i guess it could also be some sort of seasonal allergy thing that caused hives...who knows? im not a doctor. :)

Brittanie said...

I've gotten hives like that before, the worst case was when my mother switched brands of fabric softener. I actually no longer use fabric softener because it gave me big hives like that (they go white when they get big because of the stretched tissue). After taking a bath, they went away because it wasn't any longer on my skin.

I don't think a food allergy would start or be only located on the legs, though. Don't they usually start on the face/chest for food allergies?

You didn't change laundry detergents/softeners recently did you? (in my case it was a nearly immediate reaction)

Unknown said...

It looks like hives. Maybe post on TC becasue it seems like I recall someone else having a similar type reaction.

My kiddos used to get bumps like that from mosquitos, the big red raised patch with a tiny bite in the middle. My DD had a similar type thing on her leg from a spider bite, but it took days to go away (after a dr visit and meds)

Being a native Houstonian, I know this time of year is bad for bugs.

JO

apholden said...

My vote is a mosquito allergic reaction. Girl - have you seen these flying birds!? LOL They could easily penetrate clothing. I spray Lizzie AND her clothes because she has gotten bites through her clothes. I certainly am no doc but it looks like he had a reaction to mosquito bites to me...

Amy said...

DId he have any medications today? Any common allergenic foods (ie strawberries, nuts)? Unfortunately, allergies to meds and foods can show up after repeated exposures. One of my trio just got diagnosed with an Ibuprofen allergy even though she's had it numerous times (and her reaction started on her knees, progressed to her thighs, back, etc). I'd say it's definitely hives, though. If it were a bug bite my guess is that you'd still see some sort of residual "bite" even after the hives cleared. Hope you figure it out!

Astrid said...

Not sure what it could be. He ate strawberries before & after the reaction. He also ate them today, no issues. No nuts yesterday, no peanut butter, nothing new except the darn deli turkey meat!

ccdean said...

One of my little ones broke out the same way. The only thing that I could think of at the time was she tried some "veggie straws" when we were at someones house. By the time we got home she was all broken out. It went aways about 2 hours later with no Benedryl. She also gets a slight reaction to some bottled ranch dressings. We are still trying to figure out exactly what it is she is allergic to. I am thinking it is some sort of perservative in the foods.

2SetsOfTwins4Me said...

Yeah that definately looks like hives. I have broken out in hives once and still not sure what caused it. I do know i tried a new food that day but i am too chicken to retry it to see if thats what it was. lol
It really can be anything, its so hard sometimes trying to figure out what it was that caused the allergic reaction.

World Religions said...

Hi, my son has woken up from naps with the same rash for the past couple days. Did you ever find out what caused it? Any suggestions at this point would help.