The Tuesday following the 4th of July the kids were sitting on the couch watching cartoons after breakfast when A asked me why he had polka dots on his legs. I immediately panicked at the sight of several hives covering his thighs. After a dose of Benadryl I quickly re-read the label to the Cheerios he had eaten earlier. There was no sign of nuts on the Cheerios label and he had eaten them several times prior so I was fairly confident that this was not a reaction to food.
The "polka dots" as A calls them did not seem to bother him and he showed nor felt any other symptoms. At this point we just had to wait it out as I went over every possible cause for his reaction. My first thought went to the new fabric softener we had switched to. Duh! How did I not know to buy dye free, fragrance free softeners. I felt terrible! My first clue should have been the lack of ingredients on the label. You would think I'd know better. Lesson learned!
The hives remained unchanged for several hours and more Benadryl was given as I kept a close eye on A throughout the day and that night. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. The following morning his hives had spread, now covering his entire legs, bottom, arms, arm pits, and behind his ears. The Doctor recommended a dose of steroids. This terrified me! I've heard the horror stories of steroids but the Dr reassured me that the low dose he was given wouldn't cause any side effects.
By the second day of using the steroids the hives where nearly all gone and A was finally comfortable. He was scheduled to see his allergist the following week. I hate not knowing what the cause of his reaction was. He had since worn a pair of shorts that I had somehow missed when re-washing his clothes in an attempt to rid them of the fabric softener. No reaction occurred. So we are now thinking the neighbors swimming pool that he had been in over the weekend may have caused the reaction.
The allergist agreed that the swimming pool could very well have caused the reaction. Unfortunately their is no accurate test other then to have him go into the pool again. The allergist also suggested testing the sunscreen he had used over the weekend on his arm. After having a reaction to Banana Boat sunscreen earlier this summer we had successfully switched to Blue Lizzard sunscreen
as suggested by his allergist. Unfortunately Blue Lizzard
can be difficult to find, so stock up when you do find it or order on-line. Another lesson learned!
Over the weekend I used a bottle of Aveeno sunscreen I had on hand. Though A showed no sign of an immediate reaction the allergist explained that chemical reactions can take several days to appear. So, do I risk another reaction and test the sunscreen on his arm as suggested by the allergist or not? I am fearfull of letting him swim again as well, but that can be a tough one to avoid. Ugh! What to do, what to do?
Related posts:
Whats in your sunscreen?
New Rules for Sunscreen Protection
The "polka dots" as A calls them did not seem to bother him and he showed nor felt any other symptoms. At this point we just had to wait it out as I went over every possible cause for his reaction. My first thought went to the new fabric softener we had switched to. Duh! How did I not know to buy dye free, fragrance free softeners. I felt terrible! My first clue should have been the lack of ingredients on the label. You would think I'd know better. Lesson learned!
 |
| Poor little guy with his "polka dot" arms. |
The allergist agreed that the swimming pool could very well have caused the reaction. Unfortunately their is no accurate test other then to have him go into the pool again. The allergist also suggested testing the sunscreen he had used over the weekend on his arm. After having a reaction to Banana Boat sunscreen earlier this summer we had successfully switched to Blue Lizzard sunscreen
as suggested by his allergist. Unfortunately Blue Lizzard can be difficult to find, so stock up when you do find it or order on-line. Another lesson learned!Over the weekend I used a bottle of Aveeno sunscreen I had on hand. Though A showed no sign of an immediate reaction the allergist explained that chemical reactions can take several days to appear. So, do I risk another reaction and test the sunscreen on his arm as suggested by the allergist or not? I am fearfull of letting him swim again as well, but that can be a tough one to avoid. Ugh! What to do, what to do?
Related posts:
Whats in your sunscreen?
New Rules for Sunscreen Protection
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