Talking Allergies

Well, my previously nonallergic son was covered in hives last night. Pretty much his whole body. This nut-allergic mom is trying not to hyperventilate today. He had peanutbutter early in the evening, so I am scared this is the cause. But he also spent most of the evening lying in the grass, so I am hoping it was from this. Any thoughts from anyone? Have you seen a grass allergy show up as hives? Please keep a good thought for my little boy. I will be calling for an allergist's appointment today.

Soccermom

I don't see why grass couldn't cause hives...

I hope you get an appointment soon and get to the bottom of it all.

Thinking positive thoughts for you!

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

How scary! My one sister does get hives sometimes when she comes in contact with grass. .. but she only breaks out at the point of contact. I hope your child can get an appointment soon!

It could be trees, it's a bad year, apparently and I have been covered in hives for about 3 weeks now. It has never happened to me before.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

It could also be a mould allergy. My sons have broken out in severe hives after lying on the ground, or running around outside, and the dr. thinks it is from their mould allergies.

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1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

My Son who is not allergic to anything spent the day rolling around in the grass with his brother at a picnic for my hubbys company. He started complaining about being itchy. So int he car on the way home I tell him to take his shirt off and he is covered with hives. It was the grass. fyi

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Karen in Ohio mom of 7
Allergic to tons and tons of food as well as perfumes, scented air sprays and cleaners. Hubby to Fish, ds #2 Shellfish, youngest to Eggplant, potato, Caesin, Raw Tomato & spinach.

i know that i tend to get itchy if i sit in the grass, so it could very well be that

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

Thank you all so much for your quick replies. It is reassuring to read your thoughts. My son has hives again tonight after playing in his friend's backyard and he has not eaten any peanuts today. Even though I feel sorry for his uncomfortable state, I am relieved to see that they are probably caused by something environmental rather than food. I read him some of your posts and I think he found them comforting to know he is not alone. Thank you all,

Soccermom

Could it be pesticides or fertilizer? There are so many things in either that could irritate skin. Grass is starting to come into pollen season now so it could be just the grass too.

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11 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
9 year old son - no allergies

The continuing saga: My son was fine most of the day, then developed hives after walking home from school. This is 4 hours after lunch, so I assume it wouldn't be from something he ate? Can you develop hives from food that long after? I just wonder why he didn't get hives outside at recess etc. Unless it's a tree only in our neighbourhood? Sorry to continue on about this. I'm terrible for always wanting to figure things out. I'm an "I want answers now" kind of person!! This drives my hubby crazy sometimes!

I think it could be something eaten 4 hours later. Maybe that's how long it took the allergen to enter the blood stream and flow to the skin.

If it is peanuts, I know that some grass seed contains peanut. My husband came home with a bag of grass seed that said "peanut free" on it a few years ago and we use that. But...if your son is reacting to peanut, that would be on the grass too if grass seed containing peanut was recently put on it.

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DD age 9 1/2 -peanuts, nuts,
DD age 7 1/2 - milk, eggs, chicken, peanuts, treenuts, cats, dogs,
DS age 2 1/2
Husband- asthma, eggs, treenuts, fish, shellfish environmental
Self - penicillan, eurithromiacin, mild laytex allergy.

Can you keep a food, activity journal with him? Maybe one week write down where you go for how long and what he ate? I know when I first realized I had a shrimp allergy I got hives four to 6 hours later. Then it got sooner and quicker now its deadly. Don't want to scare you but best to figure it out now.

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Karen in Ohio mom of 7
Allergic to tons and tons of food as well as perfumes, scented air sprays and cleaners. Hubby to Fish, ds #2 Shellfish, youngest to Eggplant, potato, Caesin, Raw Tomato & spinach.

Thanks for the ideas, ladies. I have been keeping a bit of a journal. I already stopped the peanuts after the very first reaction. I think today I will stop milk to see if that helps. We have an appointment with the family MD Tuesday, but who knows how long until we can get in to see the allergist.

As an aside, I did some reading on the internet last night, and they mention some people having hives that last months!! And that many people can never find the cause of their hives. How yucky is that!!
Thanks for all your support; it helps to reduce the panic. Have a great weekend everyone.

Soccermom

It does sound like it could be something environmental (that's what I would guess), but yes, it could be a delayed reaction to food. If it ends up that his allergy is to pollen, I would wonder if it was a coincidence that his increased sensitivity occurred at the time when the air quality in Ontario was so poor. (you can see the archives at airqualityontario.com)

I agree with the idea of keeping a food/activity diary if you have time. Hopefully whatever it is will show up on the scratch tests--that is probably the fastest way of figuring it out--but if the hives still remain a mystery, I'd recommend Dr. Janice Vickerstaff Joneja's book on _Dealing with Food Allergies: A Practical Guide_. (She isn't a medical doctor, but she has a PhD in the sciences and is a dietician and professor at UBC)

This book really helped me when trying to figure out the causes of my mystery hives. (I went on an elimination diet which my allergist supervised.)

She even covers topics not related to food allergies . . .i.e. sometimes people get hives when they eat too much histamine. So if a person sensitive to histamine eats, say strawberries, wine, yogurt, tea separately she might be okay, but if she eats too much or too many of these foods at once, the extra histamine might cause hives.

Sometimes people have "chronic idiopathic urticaria." i.e. there is no trigger. the hives just occur spontaneously.

Let us know how things go! I hope the hives aren't too scary for your son.