Chronic Hives in Children

[lvillotta1]

Looking for any additional info from other parents who may have experience. My DD7 has had hives for over a month. She saw her pediatrician today and she had blood work done and a sinus xray. We put her on Tagament 150mg a day as it is an H2 blocker as all the other histamine blockers Claritin,zyrtec,Allegra and benadryl. We have also done steriods. They staeted in her scalp a month ago and then over her entire trunk arms,legs,face. We have not changed her enviro,detergents or any soap shampoo etc. She has never had any food allergies and I doubt this is the cause. I would appreciate any other insight. My next step is to take her to an allergist and have skin testing done.

 

[Bec3b1g]

I would advise taking her to the allergist. I'm a little surprised your dr didn't already refer for skin testing, but I'm not in the medical field. Steroids are really hard on a person's body so I would be looking into the cause.

Good luck to your dd.

 

[indimom]

Maybe 6-8 years ago, when I was in my mid 30s, I started getting hives. Constantly. All the time. Every day.
I had never had an allergy before and the itching was driving me mad. Changes in temp would set me off, holding a book would make my hand itch, brushing my hair would make my head itch. My clothes set it off. It was out of control.
I had not changed any of my regular products. My doctor said it was most likely something I was using regularly because my histamines were now reacting to EVERYTHING. She encouraged me to eliminate every "extra" product I could and to trade out necessary items like shampoo and deodorant for non-perfume, non-dye options for a while, then slowly add back in my products.
It worked. Quickly.
I added my standard products back over the course of weeks and didn't react until I used perfumed laundry detergent and Nair. I had developed an allergy to those two products. I went back to regular shaving and stuck with the no-perfume detergent, and I've had no hives since.
Just based off my experience, I would start by eliminating potential allergens and see if you have any improvement. If there's no change within say a month, I'd move on to an allergist.
Good Luck, Hives are AWFUL!

 

[Christine]

Just to let you know that my mother used Pantene Shampoo for years and then became allergic to it. It took her a long time to figure out it was the shampoo because she had used it for years. She then started getting hives all around her eyes all the time. It could be anything she is using. It's very hard to figure out but the best thing you can do now is to eliminate everything you are using now as the poster stated above. Change your shampoo to something else and something that seems to have less ingredients.

 

[anniemae]

Hmmmmm, I am by no means an expert, but I also would be suspicious of her shampoo, soap or laundry detergent. I would try out some gentle products with no added perfumes or dyes. I wonder if she developed an allergy to one of these products.

 

[diznygirl]

Although you say you haven't changed anything, it's possible one of the products may have changed its formula. I'd do what the PP did - stop everything and switch to non-scented versions. Since the hives started on the scalp shampoo/conditioner would be the first thing to go.

Good luck!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I get chronic hives. My longest stretch was 18 months of head to toe hives when I was 11. It's called chronic idiopathic urticaria. It is an autoimmune condition where the body overreacts and releases histamine. There isn't necessarily a "trigger" that you can remove from you life that makes the hives go away. For me, long periods of stress eventually lead to an outbreak. My 18 month streak was broken by starting on Anti-anxiety meds. Yes, at 11 years old. I've been in them ever since. Subsequent outbreaks have been much less severe, and I take Zyrtec to try and prevent them. There is also a link starting to emerge in research between chronic hives and hypothyroidism, so since my thyroid tends toward the low side I take a low dose of synthroid as well.

I went through all of the allergy tests, trips to a dermatologist, even a gynecologist to see if it was a hormone imbalance. There just isn't a "cause" for a lot of cases of hives. Mine start at my ankles and work their way up every time. If you can't find a trigger, try just focusing on keeping your daughter comfortable, taking meds that reduce histamine release, and reducing stress in her life. She is probably worried that this will go on for ever. It won't, and the less she worries about it the sooner it will go away if it truly is idiopathic hives.

Good luck. I know it stinks and I probably didn't tell you anything you would like to hear, but my parents and I were desperate when I first came down with the hives, and I'd like to help anyone else going through the same situation.

 

[KimR]

Both my daughter and myself both have had chronic hives and it is AWFUL. It took me a year to figure out what was causing mine and it was the worst year of my life. In both our cases, it was caused by a food sensitivity, which is not the same as an allergy, so allergy testing will not find it. The only way to determine if it's a food sensitivity is by either going on an elimination diet or by trial and error. If the allergy tests turn up negative, I would recommend looking into her diet further. Is she having any other symptoms? In my case, I had joint pain as well.

 

[tcufrog]

You need to start by changing all of your laundry items to unscented versions (Tide offers unscented detergent and dryer sheets) along with any lotions or soaps she uses. I would also stop using perfume for a time and scented candles and sprays in the home. Switch her to bath gel (Whole Foods makes a pretty inexpensive one under their 360 brand) and hair products for sensitive skin and cut out really hot baths/showers along with bubble baths. Some people with hives find an oatmeal bath soothing. I would then hightail it to a pediatric allergist. I'm speaking as someone who was diagnosed with allergies at the age of 5, has contact dermatitis, and has had hives before. That is waaaay to long for you to not have made any changes.

 

[tcufrog]

oops double posted

 

[Distinkt]

My son has had issues with chronic hives. So have I, although my trigger was never identified, and its not that uncommon. My son got hives every time he got any virus, from some antibiotics and also had exercise induced hives, as well as random episodes. As a child he might get the same virus his siblings had, but be covered with hives (ear, between toes, everywhere). One of the triggers that we found for him was food dyes. He loved Skittles and the red ones in particular gave him hives. To this day he can eat Skittles and get a few on his face. I ended up at the doctors a few time for steroid shots, etc. when he was covered. Zyrtec seemed to help a lot, and I have heard that Tagamet does as well.

Good luck, I don't think they feel good when they are itching. It drove him crazy, and when he started having the exercise induced version we were worried about the escalation.

 

[mom2rtk]

My son has had issues with chronic hives. So have I, although my trigger was never identified, and its not that uncommon. My son got hives every time he got any virus, from some antibiotics and also had exercise induced hives, as well as random episodes. As a child he might get the same virus his siblings had, but be covered with hives (ear, between toes, everywhere). One of the triggers that we found for him was food dyes. He loved Skittles and the red ones in particular gave him hives. To this day he can eat Skittles and get a few on his face. I ended up at the doctors a few time for steroid shots, etc. when he was covered. Zyrtec seemed to help a lot, and I have heard that Tagamet does as well.

Good luck, I don't think they feel good when they are itching. It drove him crazy, and when he started having the exercise induced version we were worried about the escalation.

My son got unexplained hives every now and then as a child. They never identified his trigger, but also decided it was probably a reaction to a virus. We finally found out Zantac was his wonder cure last time he had it a few years back.