Advice for "Allergic Type" Symptoms

My 10 year old son has the same problems. Try keeping the shower or bath water not so hot. The hot water will dry out their skin. I also use the Walmart brand of Eucerin cream. Put it on right after they get out of the bath. You could also try oatmeal baths. My son really enjoyed that and it made his skin soft. It also might help to have her drink more water.
Have you tried giving her Benedryl (not the cream) when she has a reaction? You could also use Hydrocortizone cream for the itching. I've found that keeping my son's skin hydrated with lotion or cream helps stop the itching and inflamations.

Eczema is what it sounds like. I have it as an adult and had it when i was younger. Ive got a foster baby and he too has it. The heat irritates it. Aveeno is great for taking out the itch!

I am sorry this is happenning. I too can understand the frustration. My daughter was getting small bumps, that turned into hives and something the Dr called skin writing. They urged an allergy test which we did. It came back that she was mildly allergic to milk. I couldn't understand that because I have never seen any symptoms before. It had just started this winter. However the allergist did some digging and it seemed to begin about the same time she started taking her first antibiotics. She has been great since then, however she has had to take Zyrtec every night too. Lasts night we skipped the dose and she was back to running nose and watery eyes but no hives.

I could only suggest maybe a second opioin.

Certainly she's allergic to something -- it can be her environment, too (pollens, synthetic fragrances or detergents). My son has eczema and allergies to foods. we see an homeopathic dr. in naperville, Dr. josephine polich. she's giving a free seminar on saturday in naperville from 10-12. you can even bring your daughter. she'll be talking about how homeopathy can help chronic illness. and the best part about homeopathy is that it doesn't have any side effects like zyrtec and other Rx. i've started studying it so i can use it at home for colds, flu, other illness, headaches, first aid, even on my dog. ha ha!
here's her website: www.dupagehomeopathic.com. email me offlist if you want to talk more about it. It's so wonderful that my son can take a sip of his remedy when he has a reaction like what your daughter experiences (and only when he has a reaction, not every day). and the symptoms disappear in minutes. he still struggles with his eczema and we're working toward true cure, but at least he doesn't have any side effects from his medicine!
best wishes....

I get something similiar but it is much milder and it is usually happens in warmer weather or when I am out in public places like shopping. Sometimes it is triggered by new things too, like a new shirt that hasn't been washed. It always starts in my hands and they begin to itch and swell. Mine is generally very mild, but I definitely identify with those symptons. It might help you to keep a journal of not only what she eats, but if you go anywhere and surfaces she might touch. If it is starting in her hands, I would guess it is something she touches firts and then it just spreads to the rest of her. Just a thought, hope this helped.

Sounds like she is touching something that is setting off her reaction. Could be anything from pet dander/saliva, to latex, to cleaning products. Check what she has been playing with the next time she has a flare up. Good luck. We have to deal with a lot of allergies, too. I know how frustrating and scary it can be.

Hi Grace my name is L.. I have a 19 year old son who had the same symptoms when he was about 7yrs. to about 8yrs. old. His hands would swell one day with hives to follow, his feet would swell another day with hives to follow, or it would be his lips to swell with always the hives to follow. He also had the itching. He also had very high fevers with these outbreaks which you did'nt mention your daughter has. We went to an Allergist and keept a food log, but the outbreaks did'nt coincide with the foods he ate. He was also tested for Lupus and various blood disorders including cancer, all came back negative. After going to several different specialist we felt exasperated.
The end result we were told to keep him indoors out of the sunlight as much as possible while he was having an outbreak. We spent about 6 weeks that summer indoors. We don't believe the doctors knew what was wrong with our son, we think his body just fought off what ever was happening or he out grew it. It was very difficult to watch because our son was also born with a heart problem, so that was an added concern. I don't know if this is any help to you at all, but it might be of some comfort to know someone else experienced some of the same symptoms and came through okay. I hope you find some answers to your questions, good luck!!!

I would seek a second opinion... it would not hurt. This may be just an allergy but a second opinion would also be warranted.

Have you ever tryed using glycerin free soap? It may help. My son would break out with dry patches all the time. I took him to a natural Dr. and he said to give it a try. It is hard to find glycerin free products but they are out there. It does take a while to see results but if you find a glycerin free moisturizer it will help. Hope I was some help.

Sounds like my 10 yr old son and myself. We've had a family history of some sort of allergies and it does seem to worsen when the weather is changing. We've never figured it out--we just call it seasonal allergies. He is on Allegra and I am on Zyrtec and we are both nasal sprays daily. We've also have begun using some organic products. Many chemicals and frangrances can also bother the skin. You may want to look at laundry detergent, bath soaps, hand soaps, etc. Also, some reactions aren't necessarily immediate. You many also want to keep a diary. It's kind of a pain, but it's worth it.

Grace:
You have gotten some good advice from people who have experienced similar things. I think the best one was about finding out the source and not using the meds to just treat the symptoms. I agree with using products that don't have chemicals, fragrances, dyes, alcohol, etc. There is a great line that has a body wash, lotion, etc. for extremely sensitive skin. I've also learned that Omega 3's can help with inflammation as well as boost the immune system. There is a vitamin supplement that I take that has all of this and it works wonders for people with skin issues, asthma, etc. and is in a vegan capsule. So you are getting a really high quality product that does so much for the body and skin.

If you would like more information about these products, please let me know. I am happy to share with anyone as they are from Switzerland, but made in the US. The Europeans have much higher standards than the US. All products are 100% guaranteed as well. It would be a great start to anyone's health and wellness.

I know how hard this is on the whole family and wish you all the best in your search. I truly believe that going back to the root and eliminating things that are processed and that may contain chemicals, additives, etc. are a culprit to many skin issues. I have been researching health and wellness for years now and would be happy to share what I have learned.

Take care of all of you and here's to your health as well.

K.

It does sound like excema and some sort of allergic reaction. My son was having skin reactions and we knew that it must be something that we were giving him.

What we found is that doctors wanted to medicate and that's not the route that we wanted to go, we wanted to find the route of the problem and attack it from there. The medications treat the symptoms, but we wanted to find out where it was coming from. My son had severe patches behind his knees, on his arms and hands and on his cheeks.

Someone recommended to us the book "Is This Your Child?" by Dr. Doris Rapp. In there, there is an outline on how to do an elimination diet to determine what foods are causing the reaction. We were able to identify two foods that were causing a reaction. Once we eliminated these 2 foods from his diet, his skin cleared up. It was amazing.

Along with the weather change, it could also be some sort of environmental allergies. Kids can also have reactions to certain chemicals (cleaning products).

If you would like more information on a natural way to treat allergies, I would be more than happy to share with you more of what we did.

Good Luck,
B. :-)

I'd get a second opinion too

also www.kidswithfoodallergies.org is a fantastic site w/ over 10000 parents. I'd think someone there might have some insight for you

good luck!

My daughter has eczema. She has had similar issues. We can not find exactly what she is allergic to. I wondered at times if it might be grass or carpet. Anyway...Our skin doctor says that a lot of times kids are allergic to the metal in their buckels. They can cause reactions in other parts of their body when that happens. So put fingernail polish on the back of the metal. Other than that I have been using this great A&D salve for my daughter. She is on some steroids for her itches...but this salve really heals the skin. We have to pour on the lotion in the winter months.
Don't do Bubble baths...the is bad...or at least for my daughter it is.

Has the young one been to a skin dr? She may have psoriasis. That comes and goes seasonally. My hands and ankles swell and itch like crazy ending up red and so sore. It can drive you crazy at times. My skin dr. gave me antibacterial cream that cools the inflamed areas down and cuts down the itching. Summer is the best time because the sun, even though it's soppose to dry the skin, heals the affected areas the best. GOD bless summer. Good luck mommy

Grace,
Have you gone to a dermatoligist? It kind of sounds like enzema. My husband has it and it comes out really bad in the winter.

Roseann

Hi Grace,
have you ever considered a natural product like Melaleuca?They have amazing household cleaners and laundry soap. I know
you may not think, that they could effect her, but the chemical we spray, like "Oust air sanitizer, Bounce, Tide Dawn
all have harsh chemicals that you breath in and don't realize the harm we are doing to oneself.My daughter-in-law has high allergies and she has noticed the difference since she went natural. You can read about them....www.melaleuca.com, there products are made with tea tree oil, which comes from the melaleuca leaves (Austrailla) produced here in Idaho(USA)
After you look at the web site, you can email me at ____@____.com hope this helped little.
thanks
Pam

I don't know if this will help but I have always been rather sensative and I absolutely cannot use laundry detergent or fabric softener that has ANY fragrance in it or I itch terribly. I also had eczema as a baby. Perhaps a dermatologist is the next step. I would say, though, that diet IS a big factor in the majority of problems. Your skin is the largest organ on your body and when it has problems, it is usually pointing to a larger imbalance. Try to find a root cause and not just treat the symptoms. But I'm sure you already knew that! :D If all else fails, a naturopath may be able to help. I went to one and she shed a lot of light on some issues I had been having. Cheers!

Hello Grace,

My 14month old has the same symptoms. We were seeing a dermatologist first. We are now seeing a pediatric allergist. She had all allergy testings and she is allergic to milk and egg. Triamcinalone ointment has done wonders. You can't use it on the face so we have something different for that(Elidel)Also she has an oral medication atarax for itching. Her problem is eczema, I'm not sure if your daughter has been diagnosed with that but I hope this helps

I have a 7 year old who also for no aparent reason breaks out in hives (really mor like patches) I have done the eliminate certain foods thing and get no reaction. I think it is a stress related. When it happens I ask about school or the bus and there always seems to be " I had a bad day today or it wasn't fun at school" After further investigation I found out he was seated with a kid on the bus who was being a bully. I took me talking to other kids and thier parents to figure it out. I dont know if my little guy was scared to tell me but he kept it in and I think that was the cause.