Persistent hives on my baby

[Beth1231]

UPDATE #13

wo weeks ago,I put N in a rashgaurd that was still damp and filled with chlorine from the previous night's trip to the splash pad. We went to the pool. Later that night,I noticed the skin around his belly button was inflamed. The next morning,he had hives all over his stomach,back and neck. I assumed it was the rashgaurd but the hives spread to his legs and arms over the next few days. And at every shirt change,he stands up and scratches his chest. We flew to PA for a week but the hives remained. It's been two weeks now and no change. His belly button area is still the most inflamed along with patches on the inside of his elbows.
No fever,no runny nose,no red eyes,just a normal happy baby.
He sleeps in a bedroom with our guinea pig. That's a suspicion of mine.
He eats all kinds of food and fruit,specifically, has been a big part of his diet this month.
Husband wants me to take him to our pediatrician. I suspect she is going to diagnose hives and suggest I take him to an allergist.
Does anyone have experience with persistent hives and no other symptoms?

[sweetpeasmommy]

I would want him to be seen, just to see if he could be given benadryl or something to help clear it up. Google says it's able to be used at 12 months and your siggy says he is 11 mo, so perhaps the Dr would allow it. They may or may not refer to an allergist. FWIU allergy testing is pretty unreliable on infants.

[deena]

Mine had a ton of food allergies that caused persistent hives. Before the hives came along, he had acid reflux - our first clue. I definitely wouldn't eliminate environmental causes from your suspicions. Try removing the guinea pig from his environment.

[Beth1231]

So y'all think the timing of the chlorine filled bathing suit was just coincidence?
Or can chlorine make food/environmental allergies worse?
Both of my sons seem to have my husband's skin issues and allergies and it's not my field of expertise. From my internet reading,hives are complicated and even if I remove the guinea pig from the house entirely,it could be months before I see a change.
I just really hate this stuff. My husband's candida diet,my three year old's bowel issues and now my baby with mystery hives.
Woe is me today.

[OnAMission]

Is baby still nursing? Ds1 was covered in terrible eczema all of a sudden, and it turned out that I had been drinking more almond milk. No almond milk plus stuff to get the inflammation down for a few days and he was a new kid. allergies are no fun!

[deena]

Yes, the food you are eating* is far more likely the cause then the chlorine.

*if you are breastfeeding. Otherwise, the food your baby is eating.

[Beth1231]

The food I am eating.....
That didn't even occur to me. Yes,N still nurses about 5xs a day and my diet has changed in the last month but not by that much
I started giving him all kinds of fruit the week that the hives came. Strawberries and blueberries. When the hives came,I nixed the strawberries because they are a common culprit. He also had canteloupe that week.
I did a closer look at his skin today and it looks like they are healing...or at least changing. His skin is rough and almost flaky opposed to all the red rash bumps.
I'm trying to think of what I possibly ate that week that was so radically different.... Nothing comes to mind.

Eta: would rubbing breastmilk on him hurt anything?

[Katigre]

I think it could be the chlorine. I'd moisturize the areas and see if they clear up.

[deena]

The reason I'm skeptical of the chlorine theory is that when my baby was having severe rashes from food allergies, the allergist gave us instructions on putting him in water+bleach soaked footies to "moisturize" and disinfect his skin. I never resorted to it but the fact that they would recommend it to the most vulnerable, indicates to me that it's an unlikely instigator of reactions.

---------- Post added at 10:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 PM ----------

Like katigre said, moisturize it. If lotions are painful to him or cause a reaction, Crisco is the recommended traditional-medicine treatment. I'm sure there's something more "crunchy approved" like coconut oil. I don't, personally, know.

Breast milk wouldn't hurt, but if he's being continually exposed to the allergen it definitely won't cure him.

[Katigre]

Fwiw, my dd gets skin rashes from chlorine. That's why I thought of it.

[sweetpeasmommy]

I could see that, but why hasn't it healed? If he was away from the guinea pig for a week, why didn't it start to heal?

C got hives from tree pollen before starting allergy drops. He didn't this year. But even so the hives took a full 2 weeks on rx antihistamines to go away because he was being continually exposed. It sounds like it may have turned to eczema. I'd want him seen, not because they are going to figure it out, but for treatment options.

ANd I would pull the fruit for both of you asap and see if that helps, since it's the biggest dietary difference recently.

[WanderingJuniper]

2 rashes are so confusing.

Some thoughts:
Chlorine is possible. My son has a reaction to chlorine nearest his glandar areas. We wash suits between swims now.

Fruit can be a culprit. Berries are common but so is allergy to melons. My aunt can't eat fruit from a fruit tray if there is melon on it at all.

Sensitive skin was/is an issue with my middle. Places her clothes would rub were notorious for dashing for no apparent reason. Connected to this was laundry detergents and other cleaning products. There are more detergents and soaps (including natural brands) that we can't use than we can use.

What you eat can effect your nursing. I wish someone would have been more encouraging to me withy babes about this.

Guinea pigs: my middle is very allergic to Timothy hay which is commonly encouraged for guinea pigs as part of their diet. We could not have it in the house at all. But the guinea pigs themselves were not a problem.

I would see if an appointment could be made. Even if testing is unreliable they may be able to ease your mind or have suggestions that help.

[Beth1231]

UPDATE: We took our kids to a sprinkler park last night.
This morning,N's back and stomach were covered in red,inflamed hives.
I felt horrible when they wouldn't let him in the church nursery (although I understand).
The upside to this is that he doesn't seem to notice at all. No scratching this time.
I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow morning because the reaction was just that bad.

[deena]

Hmmm. I wonder if there was chlorine in the water there.

[sweetpeasmommy]

I use a homeopathic chlorine remedy when c swims in pools. He doesn't have skin reaction though. We mainly swim at a lake now.

Spray grounds are heavily chlorinated. I assume you have chlorine in your tap water as well, unless you have a well. We used to have a shower filter and use that to fill the tub but ran out of refills and tap water doesn't seem to affect him.