Last week, I traveled to my daughter’s (April) house in Arlington, Tenn. She, my son-in-law, Brandon, and my three grandchildren, Paige, Gwynn, and Landon had just returned from a short vacation, where Gwynn had been sick with a virus the entire time. They enjoyed themselves immensely; it’s just difficult being out of town with a sick little one.
Gwynn (two years old), must have caught an intestinal bug just before they left because she got sick the day they left and was sick the entire time. The youngest one, Landon, also caught it once they got home, only he had to make a trip to the hospital and have I.V. fluids due to dehydration. Dehydration in infants comes on suddenly during a virus. Hence, the reason I went to help – I kept the girls while she was at the hospital with Landon.
Early the morning before I arrived, Gwynn started jumping around from foot to foot, and complaining about her feet burning. The bottom of her feet were red, but there was nothing else going on, so the decision was made to just watch and see if it happened again.
It did happen again – only this time it was her hands and mouth. I used to work for a dermatologist and immediately saw the problem. She had hives, or urticaria (the medical term). She had hives on her feet, hands and arms and around her mouth. And it was 9:30 at night, so we had to think fast about how to handle it on our own.
I stuck her hands in a sink full of cold water and then poured every cube from the icemaker into the water. Gwynn loved this! Instead of going to bed, she was getting to play in water! The cold water stopped the burning and itching immediately.
Gwynn also has asthma and allergies, so April had some children’s Benadryl and Zyrtec on hand. We gave her a dose of Benadryl, and after about 15 minutes, the swelling and itching subsided.
However, not knowing what caused the onset, we started doing some research. We found that when children, especially allergic ones, have a stomach and/or intestinal virus, it can cause a reaction that produces hives around the mouth and on the hands and the bottom of the feet.
We also found that illnesses are the most common cause of hives in children. The body actually has an allergic reaction to the virus or illness. Histamine, a chemical found in our cells, is released under the skin and causes areas of swelling, or welts. The most effective treatment for hives is Benadryl and Zyrtec.
Some of the other triggers of hives are drugs, painkillers, insect stings, food allergies and physical contact to certain substances.
Symptoms:
• Raised, pink bumps with pale centers (welts)
• Hives look like large mosquito bites.
• The size of hives vary from half an inch (12 mm) to several inches (centimeters) across
• Shapes of hives are variable and change repeatedly
• Itchy rash
Call 911 if:
• Your child has difficulty breathing or is wheezing
• Your child has hoarseness or cough with rapid onset
• Your child has difficulty swallowing, drooling or slurred speech with rapid onset
• Your child has had a severe life-threatening allergic reaction in the past to similar substance
Call your doctor if:
• Your child looks or acts sick
• Hives appeared after a bee sting, taking medicine or eating a high-risk food likes peanuts or fish and the child had no previous reactions
• A child under one year old has widespread hives