Dr. Hive Should I worry?

[Murmer]

My 16 month old had homemade applesauce with cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice and water. Within 15 minutes of eating/smearing it on himself, he broke out in some hives...there were 4 on his face and 1 on his arm. I think that is where he smeared the applesauce. We immediately gave him benadryl and now I am wondering if I should take him to the dr tomorrow to document that it happened or just wait until the next time it happens? We do have an epi-pen that is my dd's so I know that we could deal with problems if they arrive just not sure if I need to worry about it right now.

[joannqn]

My son breaks out in hives when he eats apples and pears during pollen season. It's called Oral Allergy Syndrome and is related to birch and alder tree allergies. Could be similar. Could be normal allergy to the apples or the cinnamon. Could be his skin is sensitive to the acid in it.

 

I personally would not give him any more applesauce for a while and keep an eye out next time he had apples.

[FO4UR]

I would certainly mention it to the doc, but I wouldn't necessarily pay for an extra visit just for that.

 

Also, I'd be extremely cautious about giving him foods that could possibly be an allergen...and keep that benedyrl handy.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Cinnamon breaks my dd7 out if she gets it on her skin. She gets red and blotchy. It doesn't affect her if she eats it. Everytime she uses my cinnamon toothpaste she gets this huge red rash around her mouth. It doesn't burn or itch and goes away within about an hour. I asked my ped about it and she said not to worry about it. If you are concerned though its best to trust your gut and talk to your own ped.

[lionfamily1999]

I wouldn't make a special trip to the doctor's office either.

 

It could very well be the cinnamon. All of my dc had very sensitive skin and spices like cin. would wreak havoc on them.

[Murmer]

He does have very sensitive skin such that we have had huge red marks left when certain foods touch his bare skin, like cheerios. But he has never had distinguishable hives before and never had a reaction to any other foods. We will see a dr. in Nov for asthma and then in Dec for his normal check up.

[Mrs Mungo]

My son breaks out in hives when he eats apples and pears during pollen season. It's called Oral Allergy Syndrome and is related to birch and alder tree allergies. Could be similar. Could be normal allergy to the apples or the cinnamon. Could be his skin is sensitive to the acid in it.

 

I personally would not give him any more applesauce for a while and keep an eye out next time he had apples.

 

:iagree: My son has this too.

[mhg]

I'd just call the pediatrician tomorrow and run it all by him/her.

Was this his first time to eat these ingredients? It may not have been a systemic reaction (hives) but more of a contact dermatitis. Were the red place just where the acidic mixture touched?

If it wasn't contact derm, then it was likely a mild systemic reaction that from hence forth will produce the EXACT symptoms you're seeing.

The following is the UNLIKELY worst case which only is applicable to what you do when you give the SAME ingredients in the future:

Apparently he didn't have a fullblown allergic reaction now, but it could happen in the future. You likely already know this, but here's what happens. The body ingests what it perceives to be an allergen and it mounts a fight/response. This allergic reaction can be mild to serious, but if the body perceives the thing to be a "threat" then it'll make antibodies (it's "army ants" so to speak) to match this antigen (food molecule). So, the first reaction may be mild because the body hasn't had time to create/build up it's "army"/antibodies. But, in the FUTURE, (days to weeks to years later), it will have had time to replicate and make a HUGE/VAST army of antigen ready to fight and mount up a battle if that same molecule ever comes on board again. This is when it's dangerous as the severity of this (over)reaction (aka "anaphylaxis) can be fatal. So....IMO, anytime a child has an allergic reaction to something it hasn't been exposed to before (or even has been exposed to one or two times), then you have to be on guard for this "worst" reaction (even though unlikely).

Once the child has had exposure and you verify that all that occurs is the hives/rash, etc. then you know that THIS is most likely ALL that ever will occur and you can give the Benedryl if you want or not. But, UNTIL you KNOW that it'll be this benign, then I'd consider doing what I did when I had the same issue.

I took my son to a park located one minute from the hospital ER and gave him the suspected food. I needed to see if this would cause such a reaction as I live too far from an ambulance to get to us.

For those of us who've seen severe anaphylaxis, you know you have MINUTES before the person is in respiratory distress. So, I gave him the peanut butter right there and we waited until a sufficient amount of time had passed (I waited an hour which IS MORE than enough time to know if it'll trigger anaphylaxis). And, once we had our test behind us, we knew we were good to go on peanut butter from then on.

Some would say, --- why not just get an EPIPEN Jr. and "test" at home? Well, IMO, it's great for every mom to have an EPIPEN Jr. at home and be trained on when/how to use it, but we all know how panicked we might be to see our kid in such distress that we may forget how to use it or not administer it correctly. I just say it's safer to test near the ER as an EPIPEN isn't really a benign/neutral (Benedryl-type) medicine. It's a serious drug that can bottom out blood pressure etc. So...yes, have the EPIPEN Jr. on hand FOR EMERGENCIES, but I just feel this is so easy just to test an avoid ANY risk.

If it's anaphylaxis, they'll begin to react within a very short time (very few minutes). So...for example, you could give him the cinnamon then 15 minutes later the applesauce to isolate and FIND the "culprit" should he react (you'll know which likely did it).

Is what you have an EPI-PEN or EPI-PEN Jr.?

Definitely make sure it's the one prescribed for HIM (his age/height/weight) as misuse of epinephrine can be dangerous.

But, because I've SEEN real anaphylaxis and have a healthy respect for it (can you tell?!?), I carry 25 mg Benedryl and EpiPen Jr with me just in case as I live too far for an ambulance to get here in time. People have no concept how little time you have. I advise ALL moms who live more than 15 minutes away from a hospital (or from what you guess it may take for an ambulance to get to your house) to talk to their doctors about an EPIPEN jr. prescription as we never know what bee/wasp/bug/food/drink could cause it.

My 2 memories of anaphylaxis:

My next door neighbor got stung by a bee and her mother brought her over to our house in a panic as her face/neck were swollen so huge that she was having difficulty breathing. She was about 9years old. The neighbor had called 911 (this was back in the 80s) but we lived 40 minutes from a hospital. She brought her as my dad was a pharmacist and she was desperate. My dad thankfully was home and got the benedryl down her and knew the first aid. By the time the ambulance got there, she was wheezing as her airway was almost closed completely.

The second time my dad ate some soup and within minutes looked like something off an ALIEN movie (this isn't an exaggeration at all; he was unrecognizable and had whelps all over his entire body). When the ambulance arrived, he had passed out in the floor (no airway) and they gave him epinephrine and I overheard one of them phone the hospital (3 were working on him and the other phoned) and that 4th one told the dispatch that "we expect to arrive with him DOA (dead on arrival)." They had to administer the epinephrine twice and it bottomed his BP down to 80/40! So.....I don't say this to scare moms, but to let us know that it's serious.

I was at a playcenter a few months ago and a grandma told me that she was keeping her almost 2 year old granddaughter while the family (the child's mom/dad/siblings) were at Disney. The gm told me that the child had a severe peanut allergy that just the scent sends her into full blown anaphylaxis and went on to recount how the ambulance had to come to a picnic just a month ago as she reacted at a wedding reception and was BLUE when they arrived. The gm joked that the mom (who was in Disney) had asked her to keep the child's EPIPEN with her at all times and laughingly said, "..she told me to but I just keep forgetting it at the house." I went into my spill about it and begged her to take the mother seriously. (that play center had an eating area where another mom was feeding her crew PB&Js!).

So......I know I sound over the top, but------- err on the side of caution.

Again, it's likely just hives from hereafter, and you'll know this after giving the same stuff another time or two, but ----- this next "time or two" is when to look out for the more serious also and rule it out once and for all.

Edited October 27, 2010 by mhg
clarification

[songbirdie]

My children always got hives wherever they got anything with sugar in it. They weren't allergic to sugar, it just irritated their skin. So anything like icing, chocolate, etc. gave them a rash that resolved itself within a couple of hours after a good washing off. I wouldn't go to the doctor for a skin reaction UNLESS I saw any sign of difficulty breathing, swallowing, etc.

[Parrothead]

My god son got horrible rashes, not quite hives, around his mouth when he had cinnamon at a young age. If he got it on any other part of his body the skin would become red and angry.

 

ETA: Lemon juice is harsh also. I'd worry about that one baby's skin.