Question:
I am not looking for medical advice, but for those of you who have
dealt with allergic reactions I am curious of your opinion. My
youngest has allergies. She had a slight rash
around her mouth and she started developing hives at some point
thereafter. The hives continued to develop Saturday evening (she had
a dose of Zyrtec at bedtime) and more showed up Sunday evening (she
had another dose of Zyrtec at bedtime). This morning, the hives have
almost disappeared. A few of the larger ones are still red. I called the doctor this morning and got an appointment for 10am. I
want to have this occurence in her medical record if for no other
reason to pay my copay. Regardless, I am wondering how concerned I
should be at this point. She developed an awful lot of hives
considering that she was on antihistamines. I am a bit worried about
the result of eating blueberries if she were not on
antihistamines--should I be carrying an epinephrine pen for this
child? Is allergy testing indicated at this time? I am aware that there is
not a lot of supporting data, but will it help in helping her stay
away from things that may cause a problem?
Answer:
I don't know about an Epi Pen, but I do know that blueberry allergy is VERY
VERY common in small children, and for that reason, BB's aren't recommended
to be given to little ones just in case of a reaction. How is she now? My
husband had the same problem as a child, and is now able to eat them, thank
goodness. I agree about getting it in her medical record, but I don't think it should
be of too much worry to you.It is a good idea to have this documented by the doctor. Most likely he
will tell you to avoid feeding your daughter blueberries. My experience is that, while the new antihistimines go a fair distance, if
either the pollen count is very high, or if I have some other exposure (like
putting on a T-shirt laundered in a cheap detergent, some component of which I
reacted to), I still have a reaction, albeit milder. Warning - I am not a
doctor; I am simply reporting what I do and my physician OK'ed: When I still
have a reaction, I take Benadryl although I have already taken the Allegra for
the day (or last year, Zyrtec). It does induce some drowsiness, but it's more
effective. I would definitely consult a phsycian - I certainly did for similar issues of
allergic reactions while taking the new antihistimines. Preferably, get a
referral to a pediatric allergist. We saw the Physicians Assistant at the office. She thinks my daughter
(who is 27 months by the way) has some type of non-specific viral
illness. She commented that the hives did not seem raised enough to
be caused by a allergic reaction. So far, I am not swayed by her diagnosis, as my daughter is not
otherwise ill (temp is 98.4, no malaise or other symptoms) and has
been taking an antihistamine which would reduce the severity of her
reaction if I am not mistaken. The spots are going away awfully
fast--she is down to maybe 10 or 15 at this point. The other issue is
that her older sister has not been affected at all.
