dd allergic to gatorade?

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

Dh had a red gatorade with his dinner tonight. Katie has never had gatorade before but she wanted a sip of DH's. In total I think she had 4 or 5 sips. After dinner I was washing her hands and face and realized she had a red blotchy rash covering 1/3 of her face. It was around both of her eyes and down one cheek. She also had it around her mouth. I immediately gave her some benadryl. Gatorade is the only new thing she has had today.

 

It has been about 30 minutes and she seems to be doing fine but I'm still freaking out. The rash has started to go away already. None of the kids have ever been allergic to anything before. Does it sound like she is allergic to gatorade? Do I need to do anything else besides keep an eye on her? We usually start getting ready for bed in 30 minutes. Should I keep her up late tonight to watch her?

 

Thanks for any advise. Sorry if my post is all over the place. I'm still in freak-out mode.

 

Sabrina

[ChristusG]

Could it be the dyes? Such as Red 40? Does she normally eat things with artificial coloring in it?

[Marsha]

The red dye was the first thing I thought of too.

[Unicorn.]

Yes, it's the dye. My son used to get hives from the blue dye (#1) found in gatorade. Just give her benadryl and she'll be fine in a day or two.

[Mrs Mungo]

If it *is* an allergy it sounds like it's just a contact allergy. My son has a skin allergy to apples and pears (as do many people with tree allergies). He can eat them cooked but not raw. Some juices or applesauces are OK and others break him out. Ultimately, it's not the sort of allergy one dies from, it's just a skin reaction.

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

Thank you both for your quick replies. The food dye does sound like a good suspect. I'm not sure if she has ever eaten anything with it before. I'm off to google and look at the ingredients in the pantry and fridge. Thanks again.

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

Well that didn't take long. :glare:

 

She has had Doritos before as a treat. They have red 40 just like the gatorade. Does that mean it's not the dye? Or do different manufacturers have different ingredients in their dye?

 

Thanks again for the help.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Dh had a red gatorade with his dinner tonight. Katie has never had gatorade before but she wanted a sip of DH's. In total I think she had 4 or 5 sips. After dinner I was washing her hands and face and realized she had a red blotchy rash covering 1/3 of her face. It was around both of her eyes and down one cheek. She also had it around her mouth. I immediately gave her some benadryl. Gatorade is the only new thing she has had today.

 

It has been about 30 minutes and she seems to be doing fine but I'm still freaking out. The rash has started to go away already. None of the kids have ever been allergic to anything before. Does it sound like she is allergic to gatorade? Do I need to do anything else besides keep an eye on her? We usually start getting ready for bed in 30 minutes. Should I keep her up late tonight to watch her?

 

Thanks for any advise. Sorry if my post is all over the place. I'm still in freak-out mode.

 

Sabrina

 

I would see an allergist and also check the ingredients in the gatorade and save the bottle to be sure which specific dyes are the culprit. As a RN with a ds with severe food allergies this does not sound like a contact allergy. It sounds like a food or dye allergy. Also I would write down and save labels for everything else she ate or drank within 2 hours of the episode with approximate time eaten.

 

This very serious since if it is red dye then that is found in many foods, candies, and medicines including benadryl. However, many medicines can be found that are dye free or for prescription meds your pharmacist can often order and/or make it dye free. I also am not sure exactly which red dye is in benadryl and it also depends on the type of the same. I prefer Benadryl meltaways (film strips not tablets), but that is really up to your doctor especially since it seems from your signature that she is 1 years old.

 

You really need to call your pediatrician and see an allergist to determine what she is allergic to and for advice. The doctor may want to prescribe an epi-pen for severe reactions and benedryl for slight skin reactions only, but again that is up to the doctor.

 

http://allergies.about.com/od/preservativeallergy/f/foodcoloringallergy.htm

 

http://www.foodallergy.org/

 

:grouphug:

Edited January 26, 2010 by priscilla
spelling

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Well that didn't take long. :glare:

 

She has had Doritos before as a treat. They have red 40 just like the gatorade. Does that mean it's not the dye? Or do different manufacturers have different ingredients in their dye?

 

Thanks again for the help.

 

You really need to get an allergist's advice since Doritos contain other things that could be allergens and unfortunately a person can develop an allergy at any time to things that did not bother them previously:(

[Chrystal]

I agree with going to the pediatrician or allergist.

Allergies only get worse the more someone is exposed.

And an allergy is an allergy, if your skin reacts to something your body is telling you there is a problem. What might only give you a rash this time may give you an anaphylactic response the next time. Allergies are not something to play around with.

Call the pediatrician and make an appointment.

[GoVanGogh]

DS used to be allergic to sunflower and - of all things - that was an ingredient in Gatorade. We found out the hard way, as never in a million years would we have thought it to be in Gatorade. I don't know if it is still an ingredient, though.

(Sunflower allergies also go hand-in-hand with peanut allergies, we were told.)

[mom4him]

Dh had a red gatorade with his dinner tonight. Katie has never had gatorade before but she wanted a sip of DH's. In total I think she had 4 or 5 sips. After dinner I was washing her hands and face and realized she had a red blotchy rash covering 1/3 of her face. It was around both of her eyes and down one cheek. She also had it around her mouth. I immediately gave her some benadryl. Gatorade is the only new thing she has had today.

 

It has been about 30 minutes and she seems to be doing fine but I'm still freaking out. The rash has started to go away already. None of the kids have ever been allergic to anything before. Does it sound like she is allergic to gatorade? Do I need to do anything else besides keep an eye on her? We usually start getting ready for bed in 30 minutes. Should I keep her up late tonight to watch her?

 

Thanks for any advise. Sorry if my post is all over the place. I'm still in freak-out mode.

 

Sabrina

I would closely watch food colors, possibly high fructose sweetner, preservatives.

[katilac]

meh, I personally wouldn't run off to the allergist or dermatologist due to one case of hives. we have lots of experience with both food dye and contact allergies in this house; both dds and I get them often, dd11 and I have both had severe cases that took months to resolve (yes, we did see the doctor for that!). your dd might react again tomorrow, or six months from now, or this could just be a fluke.

 

not reacting to doritioes does not mean she didn't react to the food dye in this case; one dd in particular can tolerate a certain amount, but not too much. her father had a food dye allergy in his youth, also; his was restricted to orange, whereas she will react to too much of any combination, it seems (but red/orange is the worst).

 

benadryl and itch cream usually do the trick. both the ped and the dermatologist recc'd against doing an allergy test, as people who are susceptible to hives tend to react to tons of stuff. also, the tendency is to react to combinations or frequency - - one bubble bath might be fine, but two bubble baths in a week and scented lotion on another day will cause hives, or it could be some food dye and then scented lotion. they said it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint all the things we might react to, and it was just best to always be careful, and then react quickly if we do get hives.

 

limit all scents and fragrances (soap, shampoo, detergent, etc, very hard to do!), food dyes, fast food, processed food, don't take a daily bath. when hives do occur, treat with benadryl, itch cream, oatmeal bath, etc; no need to go to the doc if this controls it; go if benadryl 24/7 doesn't eliminate it in several days, or if the meds don't control it to a bearable point, or if your eyelids itch even with medicine or your breathing is affected.

[rafiki]

.

[katilac]

oh, I wanted to add that I wouldn't keep her up, but I'd check on her at the point the benadryl would wear off. if the hives have returned, just wake her up and give her another dose. if you're lucky, the benadryl will put her to sleep.

 

Hives are very rarely serious unless persistent and untreated. ((yes, sometime recurring or persistent hives can be a sign of an underlying illness, but if they're occasional or react positively to limiting common triggers, very very unlikely)).

 

A few more tips: yes, regular benadryl does indeed contain a common food dye trigger; yes, we did once make dd's hives worse by dosing her with benadryl. we had used the regular stuff before with good results, so it did take a while to figure that out (huh, it's not working, better give her some more :D). the name brand does come in dye free form, but I've never found the cheaper store brands in a dye free version. if you have hives, or have had them recently, anything rubbing on the skin, such as a belt or backpack, can aggravate or reignite them - - even if they weren't caused by a contact reaction to begin with. hives that seem to come and go should be treated 24/7 for a couple of days, even when they are not itching or visible.

 

this message has been brought to you by the I-know-entirely-too-much-about-hives commision.

[mom to 3 boys & 1 girl]

Thank you all so much for your responses.

 

She went to bed nicely and is sleeping now. I left a dim light on in her room to make it easier to check on her later. Before I put her down the rash had cleared up quite a bit. The benadryl I gave her was dye free. Thank goodness that just happened to be what I had. I didn't even think about the possibility that there could be red dye in it!

 

I checked all of the food in the kitchen and the only 2 things with red dye were the gatorade and Doritos, which are now in the garbage. I did save the empty gatorade bottle.

 

We lost our health insurance a while ago so I am planning on calling on ped in the morning and seeing if she wants me to bring her in. Thankfully she is really great and has no problem giving me advise over the phone. I'm hoping to have insurance for the kids in the next few weeks but if she wants me to bring her in before that I will.

 

On a side note I have decided I am completely changing the way I feed my family. I thought that we ate pretty healthy (Doritos aside) until I just looked at the actual ingredients in all of our food. The yogurt I feed the kids all the time had 4 types of sugar in it, along with several things I couldn't even pronounce!

 

Thanks again. I'm off to check on Katie. :001_smile:

[mel_sakura]

hi there

im also allergic to gatorade (red and blue). it is the dye that causes the allergic reaction, but i am still able to consume the dye in other foods without having a reaction. i think it’s from the concentration of the dye in gatorade. she’ll be fine just be weary of heavily dyed drinks in the future. 

[ScoutTN]

12 yo Zombie thread!