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Advice? Suggestions? Cures? Help!

Saturday morning, Levi woke up and the left side of his face was covered in welts that were red and swollen. I had recently put a new sheet on his bed (that had been washed, mind you), but it was a thick sheet that was kind of furry (not furry, but you know - soft...not like a regular cotton sheet), so I figured he got too hot and it caused a little rash. I thought this only because the side of his face that was welted (is that a word?) was the side he was sleeping on.

Husby gave him some Benadryl and he was better within minutes.

Weird.

Later that afternoon, I put Weebs down for a nap and when he woke up, the welts were all over his face again. On the side that he had been sleeping on.

I gave him some medicine and he was better within minutes. Again.

Well, over the past few days, every time Levi gets even a little warm, the welts come! They especially get bad when we play outside or if he's in his car seat.

And when we get in the AC and he gets cooled off, they go away instantly!

I believe they are hives since they fit the description and symptoms to a T, but what I can't figure out is why it just suddenly started happening? And why they only come when he gets hot? I mean, it's been 100+ degrees here all summer long, why is this just now happening?

They got so bad last night when we were out and about for Husby's birthday that I decided I am taking him to the doctor today, just for peace of mind. I mean, they were EVERYWHERE. And I hated it. I had to excuse myself from the Birthday Dinner and book it over to the nearest pharmacy for some allergy medicine, they were so bad.

So. I should get this all figured out by today (Lord willing), but in the mean time, have any of you ever dealt with anything like this?

Please share and calm me down.
I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. I am quite prone to allergies and I remember reading that you can get an allergic hive-like reaction to heat called heat rash that is common in infants. Considering how quickly the Benedryl worked I would say it is likely to be an allergy and probably heat related. I wouldn't necessarily worry about this just happening now, allergies are weird like that. (But I should say that I am not a doctor, just an overzealous googler.)

    I think you are absolutely right to take him to the doctor, they will be able to pinpoint the cause and give you advice about managing it in the future. I hope the doctor puts your mind at ease. Poor little Levi (and you).

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  2. I agree with Isabel. Definitely an allergy seeing as the Benadryl worked so quickly. Poor little guy.

    I hope everything goes well at the doctor.

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  3. I agree with Isabel completely - I was going to say that I think it's probably a heat rash (although, depending on how big the welts are, it could be more allergy-related than heat. How big are they?)

    I used to get a heat rash on my chest when I was small - when I played outside, when it was particularly humid, after my bath, etc. Heat rashes aren't dangerous, but they are sort of itchy and uncomfortable, so Benadryl is definitely the right way to go for now.

    But I definitely agree that you should still take him to the doctor. I am a NICU nurse, but I'm not a doctor, and I can't diagnose (especially when it's something I haven't seen on Levi himself) ... for now, you're doing everything right, but they might be able to give you some more suggestions on prevention/treatment. Good luck, Whitney - I know stuff like this makes a Mommy worried!

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  4. My middle child started doing this last summer all the sudden and my nephew also does it, it is all heat related! My doctor told me just to give her some allergy med. (He prescibed some) and it will pretty much go away on it own. She just has really sensitive skin, so I would just take him to the dr for a peace of mind, all dr's are different so yours might suggest something else. I felt the same way you do when this happened to me!

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  5. whittney,
    parker had something similar (although it never looked like welts, just more red bumps). i wrote a post about it here:
    http://silvykehrli.blogspot.com/2010/05/mmr-vaccine-rash.html

    parks' started on his back and lasted over a week, but then it went away. i think it was from the mmr vac. that he got 3 weeks before.

    i'm sure weebie will be just fine. unless it is really bothering him, i would say just wait it out, maybe put a cool rag on his face and continue on with normal life :).

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  6. Poor baby! I hope they can figure it out today.

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  7. Bella my 17 month old has the same thing!! I have taken her to the doctor they said we should an allergey test because normally by the time we go into the dr's office the welps welts...ummm red spots are gone I have taken pictures to show the dr so she didn't think I had lost my mind! She basically said allergy test or just use the benadryl in the mean time! Please update if you have any luck with this cause I would love to know!

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  8. I think it's good that you are taking him to the doctor, especially since it sounds like it is severe. My advice would be to keep him lightly dressed whenever you go out and maybe at naptime keep him just in his diaper or as lightly dressed as possible to try and avoid overheating. Also you can try a cool washcloth when he gets hot. Sometimes if overheating is severe the doctor would prescribe something but, I always go the natural route first but, that's just me. I hope the doctor helps you out. I know it is frustrating when your kiddos are uncomfortable and you don't know what to do. Blessings to you. :)

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  9. My daughter got chronic hives for about two and a half years--from about a year until she was three and a half. In her case she got them almost every afternoon, I'd give her a dose of benadryl and they'd clear up almot immediately. She did have allergy issues (severe dairy/doy allergy as an infant on prescription formula), but despite other allergy tests we never did find out what the cause was (and allergy tests are notoriously unreliable on children under the age of two anyway). My allergist did give me a written out protocol in terms of what to do (i.e. what dose of benadryl to give...how much more you could give if no improvement, and I had prescription steroids on me at all times).

    Per my pediatric allergist, hives are one of the hardest things to pinpoint the cause of. I'd definitely take him to the dr. to make sure that's what it is, but if it's hives you probably won't ever find out what's causing it (though switching to the sheets you've been using and using free/clear detergent might be worth a shot); the good thing is that benadryl is very well-tolerated by children and there isn't any downside to using it repeatedly (so long as it's needed).

    For what it's worth after getting them for years one day they just stopped and never came back. I do think they were a reaction to something, we never found out what (she had a tendency to get hives as a reaction to allergies or fevers--once on a plane something triggered her and she was head to toe almost immediately...scared the crap out of me and it was the only time I used the steroids ).

    Good luck and I'm sure your little guy will be fine!

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  10. he is just the cutest little thing - hives and all! :)

    something similar happened to me last year, actually. i was a senior in college, super stressed, and eventually all of the sleepless nights caught up with me. i ended up getting some sort of flu and it knocked me out for like a week. after that week of being sick, i noticed this weird rash all over my torso, and after going to the doctor, i found out that it was because of a virus. it disappeared after a few days, but it definitely scared me!

    i'll be praying for your little man! hope he feels better soon!

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