Over the course of the winter, the boys seem to catch every sickness. I guess it was our time because we had been so healthy beforehand. It all started with the flu then strep throat then the stomach bug (all Henry). Finley seem to just catch bad colds and then get ear infections. He did, however, get the stomach bug the day Henry was finally feeling better. It was not a fun 2 weeks.
For some reason Henry broke out in hives when he had the flu and again when he had strep throat. We were extremely concerned and, with the pediatrician, decided he was allergic to tamiflu and penicillin. These first 3 pictures are what his skin looked like when he broke out.
Well, then the pollen came out on exactly March 11 and Henry woke up with hives again for no reason. He continuously had those hives for 4 weeks and they would only go away with Benadryl. After 4 weeks they had calmed down and I came to the conclusion it was something in the air (pollen). After visiting and calling the doctor constantly we decided it was time to see an allergist. Unfortunately he had to be off Benadryl for 7 days prior to going which I was dreading. His hives had improved but would occasionally flare up if he got really sweaty or he was hot when he was sleeping. I was just worried I could not control the itching if I could not give him anything. Our appointment was the week after spring break and on Easter, which was the beginning of spring break( and also Henry's birthday) he got the horrible stomach bug that is going around (the Noro virus) and his hives went crazy....so we gave him benadryl and they went down. Those hives lasted 4 days and even though he was not off the meds for 7 days, I took him to the allergist. He diagnosis was he had one of three things:
1. Urticaria -commonly referred to as
hives, is a kind of
skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives might also cause a burning or stinging sensation.
[2] Hives are frequently caused by
allergic
reactions; however, there are many nonallergic causes. Most cases of
hives lasting less than six weeks (acute urticaria) are the result of an
allergic trigger. Chronic urticaria (hives lasting longer than six
weeks) is rarely due to an allergy.
2. Idiopathic - is an adjective used primarily in
medicine meaning
arising spontaneously or
from an obscure or unknown cause. it means approximately "a
disease of its own kind". It is technically a term from
nosology,
the classification of disease. For some medical conditions, one or more
causes are somewhat understood, but in a certain percentage of people
with the condition, the cause may not be readily apparent or
characterized. In these cases, the origin of the condition is said to be
idiopathic)
3. Viral- meaning when he gets a virus, the hives come out.
He said it may be element of:
Dermatographism : is a skin disorder seen in 4–5% of the population and is one of the most common types of
urticaria,
[1] in which the skin becomes raised and inflamed when stroked, scratched, rubbed, and sometimes even slapped.
[2] It is most common in young adults, ages 20-30
Cholinergic Urticaria- is one of the physical
urticaria which is provoked following sweating events
***Thanks Wikipedia for the definitions**
Basically, there is not a definitive answer and he is taking Zyrtec twice a day
because once a day was not enough. Now he will have a few on his body everyday, but it does not seem to bother him as long as he takes Zyrtec. Hopefully this is just a stage and he won't have to deal with this the rest of his life! The following 3 pictures are when I felt like they were at their worst.
All in all, he may not be allergic to any medicines if they are viral hives, which would be fantastic. I guess we will eventually try the meds again.
