Infants, Toddlers, and Children with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: funfourty on January 14, 2009, 11:13:45 PM
Hi – My daughter is 13 years old and 8 months ago she began having extreme hives. It happened twice in May and we thought it was peanut related. She got an epi-pen and she had a few months of no reaction. Then in late August she began having hives almost daily. When school started it was worse.
The nurse started calling me every day – she was covered in large welts and hives. Tons of allergy tests – had her eat at a special table to be away from peanuts – then the allergist said try eating peanuts – NO reaction.
We went to the beach – massive reaction. We figured that she kept having these reactions right after exercise. So we stopped her going to PE. The anaphalxis has stopped but not the hives. She is on 4 medications and sometimes the hives come anyway. I am searching and found this forum. Any ideas are welcome.
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Title: Re: My daughter
Post by: ww2 on January 15, 2009, 05:14:17 AM
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Sorry to hear about your daughter’s condition. Do you know if her reaction is to exercise? Because it there are other forms of urticaria such as solar and cholinergic which are reactions to sunlight and increases in body temperature. Was she on any medication before she began having hives? When I first got Cholinergic Urticaria, I had solar urticaria for a while but that went away by itself and now I only have Cholinergic Urticaria. Do the hives itch?
For starters, you can try an antihistamine and see if it helps. Make sure somewhere on the box it mentions its for hives/urticaria.
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Title: Re: My daughter
Post by: HivesGuy on January 15, 2009, 08:22:40 AM
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Hello funfourty and welcome to the forum,
First of all I am really sorry to hear about your daughter. You sound like a great parent that is really concerned, and I hope you are able to get everything resolved soon. Please let your daughter know that there are lots of people with similar conditions out there, and she is not alone.
Now, regarding her hives. I agree with what ww2 said and it seems as if she may have a different subset of “physical” hives than what we have on this forum. We have cholinergic urticaria, and typically our symptoms are that we get really itchy and prickly sensations when our bodies become heated or warmed. It is extremely itchy, and in most cases we can get flushed and develop small pinpoint hives that will go away after we cool back down.
It seems that your daughter has some type of “physical” hives. It could be exercised induced anaphylaxis or even another type of physical urticaria. In the case of exercised induced anaphylaxis situation people start swelling and getting welts after exercise or physical activity. So it is somewhat similar to cholinergic urticaria since they both happen after exercise, but there are differences between them.
Doctors don’t always know why hives are happening, but I would encourage you to keep having them test for different things to rule out other conditions. I would also recommend taking a very close look at her diet, and try removing common allergens. It may also help to go to a dermatologist, allergist, and also a primary doctor.
I have read one time that some people with exercised induced anaphylaxis are having a strange reaction to gluten or wheat. So you may consider getting her tested for a gluten intolerance or wheat allergy, and possibly removing all gluten or wheat from her diet for a while to see if her condition improves.
If that doesn’t help and they can’t find any cause, then it could just be a hives condition that developed due to immune system issues or other unknown factors. Sometimes people will get hives for a few years, and then they magically go away on their own. Even the type of hives I have (cholinergic urticaria) seems to go away on its own for most people eventually. So hopefully the same thing will happen with your daughter if they can’t figure it out.
Also, make sure she avoids situations that cause her to go into shock and hives as much as possible.
I hope that helps and best of luck to both of you!
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Title: Re: My daughter
Post by: dice on January 15, 2009, 11:32:59 AM
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There really isn’t much else left for me to say (that hasn’t already been mentioned) so I’ll just welcome you to the site and hope that you and your daughter can find a solution to this problem.
Also I’d suggest that you let your daughter spend some time browsing through this (and other) site(s) herself, that way she’ll be more able to understand how we deal with such issues and in-turn will probably find it easier to do the same.
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Title: Our story
Post by: HiveMom on March 28, 2009, 02:39:13 AM
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Thanks for the forum. I am so glad to have found your site, but at the same time so very, very sad that it is needed. Our story may sound very familiar.
My daughter’s journey with hives started about six years ago when she was in pre-school. When she came in from playing outside during the fall and winter she often got hives on any exposed skin. Her cheeks looked almost like the beginnings of frost bite. We live in Minnesota so cold and being outside in winter is part of life. They didn’t happen all the time so she just lived with them. We didn’t even know they were hives at the time, just a reaction to the cold – or maybe to coming into the heat from the cold.
Throughout grade school she got hives on and off. Usually flairing up during winter. My daughter never got a running nose or cold like the rest of us in the winter, just hives. Stress was and still is also a trigger. Sometime around kindergarten or first grade we had allergy tests done. Although the scratch testing was painful, nothing indicated allergies. For seven years we saw the flair ups once in awhile but nothing consistent enough to figure out a cause. Just winter and stress made them worse. We had hoped she was outgrowing them with age. Were we wrong!
My daughter is now almost 14, for the past 4 – 5 years my daughter has been a swimmer – varsity level in school and then in a swim club during the rest of the year. This past January she starting breaking out in hives along her arms and legs during dryland training. That is where the kids exercise with the medicine ball and do other training outside the pool but on the pool deck where it is pretty hot and humid. Days they were only in the water she was fine. Between school phy ed and swimming she has broken out almost daily since January.
The dermatologist perscribed Xtzal. Alone it didn’t do much but combined with a histimne 2 blocker, she uses generic Zantac, the hives start but don’t get so bad she can’t funciton.
We recently had thryoid and other autoimmune testing done, all tests were normal. It is sad when you are disappointed that your child doesn’t have a disease! We try allergy testing again next month. I am hoping that we will find a cause, but the more I look around the web the more I think she may just have to live with these horrible things. Summer is slowy coming to Minnesota may she once again find relief!
Thanks for listening,
HiveMom
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Title: Re: Our story
Post by: mik on March 28, 2009, 03:13:16 PM
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Hi!
This is intresting. Are you sure the condition is Cholinergic Urticaria? I’m just curious because your daughter started very early. I only started when I was about 14.
You say winter makes it worse – I find all year round, it comes. However, i totally agree that stress is a major factor. Infact today, I’ve had my worst outbreak in ages, if I sitll look at my arm in certain light conditions, I can still see remains of large bumps on my arms from an attack almost 2 hours ago – this particular one was due to stress and getting nervous.
Could you explain what the length of attack is, the type of bumps/spots which occur? Thanks.
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Title: Re: Our story
Post by: HivesGuy on March 29, 2009, 04:43:43 AM
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Hello Hivemom,
Excellent post & welcome to the forum!
I am so sorry to hear about all of those terrible reactions your daughter has had! I know how difficult it must be for her at such a young age having to deal with such strange symptoms & hives reactions.
I can totally relate with her having to deal with this in school, and how it interferes with her sports & activities. I too have had to deal with the hives making it nearly impossible to function normally.
I am glad that she has been able to get her hives under control a little with that combination of medicines you mentioned. Thank you for sharing that with us. That reminds me of another post someone (bbroom) mentioned a while back, and just like with you, a combination of 2-3 different meds seemed to keep her condition under control.
I can also relate to your disappointment about her test results. I have been the same way with mine! On one hand, I am glad there is nothing major wrong, on the other hand, I wish they could find the cause & provide an easy fix. But unfortunately that isn’t the case.
I am glad that your daughter has such a supportive mom, and I know that probably means so much to your daughter. I know it means a lot to me when my wife is always here for me, and trying to help.
I honestly think that your daughter probably won’t suffer like this her whole life. She still may “grow out of it.” Even if it takes a few more years, I am optimistic she will be able to overcome it, and I hope the same is true for all of us.
Thanks again for the great post, and welcome to the forum!
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Title: Re: Our story
Post by: HiveMom on March 31, 2009, 03:04:17 PM
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Hi mik,
Sorry to hear your had a bad outbreak. You may want to talk to the pharmacist about combining an over the counter antihistimine (such as Zyrtec) with another histimine 2 blocker (Zantac). This is relatively inexpensive if you get the generic brands and although it doesn’t cure anything it can help with the severity of an outbreak. Unfortunately I have heard you can build up an immunity to these rather quickly so you may not want to use unless you feel an outbreak coming on.
To be hoestly no one seems to be sure of anything with my daughters hives. The doc she saw when she was around 7 called them chronic hives because the kept re-ocurring. The most recent demrotologist said they appear to be heat induced chronic hives. No cause as of yet, just treating the symptoms. We may be trying to connect dots that aren’t there just to find answers.
For the past few months the hives have been pretty consistent. After about 10 minutes of strenuous exercise her arms and legs begin to itch. She then gets red blothes all over her legs and arms. The blocthes are anywhere from the size of a pencil eraser to a slice of bread. The don’t appear to welt up. When younger, there were welts associated with hives. These current blotches do go away after about a half hour, that may be due to stopping the exercise and her body cooling off. (Her coach will sometimes have her stop and take a cool shower or even just put her hands and feet in cool water) The itching usually continues awhile longer.
Might be unrelated but hot showers have always caused top of hands and feet to turn red and slightly swell. Her nose has started to get red in the past few weeks also. As most teenagers do she also has some acne issues. Red dots almost like the start of acne appears on her face when warm. The two type of antihistime also seems to help these problems. Unfortuantely that usually means extra doses. Although not hives, these issues seem to be associated with histimine release.
Just an FYI a friend at work was having trouble with chronic hives on back and arms, for about 4 months straight. Finally got allergy testing done. Due to change in diet for another condition they found an allergy to nickel – often found in potatos, beans, oats, etc.
HiveMom
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Title: Infants, Toddlers, and Children with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: Jennasmom on April 09, 2009, 07:22:00 AM
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Hi everyone my 11 year old daughter’s first breakout was Easter Sunday 1999. Her pediatrician gave her Zyrtec and it seemed to work. She broke out for about 2 weeks and then it went away for about a year. That pediatrician retired and the guy that took over his pracitce was a jerk.
She would breakout and I’d run her to the DR so he could see it. After waiting in his office for an hour in the airconditioning the hives would go away before he could see her. I finally got him to send us to a dermetologist. He showed me a book that had pictures of Cholinergic Urticaria. He wanted to see a breakout because he had never seen it personally. Well she never broke out again until we moved. She would have breakouts ocassionally but they would go away for a year or two and then pop up again without warning.
She is a competition swimmer and she never had a problem until they moved her to a higher level where the workouts were more intensive. At first she wouldn’t breakout until she got out of the water. Of course they went away when she cooled off. Now the workouts are so intensive that she is breaking out while still in the water. Took her to a new deratologist he said he had heard of Cholinergic Urticaria but had never seen a case and that it was very rare and it was genetic.
He put her on Atarax at night and Allegra in the morning. The hives weren’t as bad but still bad enough to interfere with her training. I have been to an accupuncturist for a problem I had and it worked, so I took her yesterday. She’ll have another treatment on the 10th & the 13th. She’ll be back in the water on the 14th (they’er on a break). The acupuncturist is also a chiropractor so he has a medical degree. He is treating her for the hives and an inability to sweat. I’ll let you know how everything turns out. So glad I found this site.
God Bless all of you!
Jennasmom
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Title: Re: Jennas story.
Post by: HivesGuy on April 09, 2009, 04:52:03 PM
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Hello Jennasmom,
Thanks so much for the excellent post & welcome to the forum.
I am so sorry that your daughter has suffered with this. It is frustrating, but let her know she isn’t alone! I can relate about your frustrations with the new doctor you had. I had similar experiences where I tried to convince my regular doctor I was having a bad attack. He insisted it was merely dry skin (yea right!). I too finally went to the dermatologist, and they were at least a little more knowledgeable.
I too have had periods where I didn’t break out, and then periods where I would start having attacks all the time. That helps me to get through this, the fact that it will probably go away again for a long time (or forever). I think that is something we should all remind ourselves of when we get down in the dumps.
I have heard of some people doing acupuncture with Cholinergic Urticaria, and it did help some, but didn’t make it completely go away. Thanks for sharing that experience with us.
I also want to thank you for helping your daughter. You are the 3rd or 4th mom that has stumbled on this site while trying to research info to help their child. I am really glad to know there are a lot of great people out there that are providing so much support for their kids! So thanks!
Anyways, thanks again for sharing your story & experiences. I hope everything gets better soon for your daughter. I konw she probably wont have this forever. Let us know if anything new happens. Thanks again.
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Title: Infants, Toddlers, and Children with Cholinergic Urticaria Hives
Post by: mom on a mission on September 22, 2009, 07:38:11 PM
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I’m new here, but I’m trying hard to gain some understanding in order to help him cope with this condition. He is 4, and we’ve been dealing with this since he was about 20 months old (maybe even longer, but this is when I really became concerned). We have been to 2 allergists, and the first told me I was crazy…that there was nothing wrong. At the time, I had suspected a food allergy (which runs in family). But, then it became evident that he was breaking out with hives and swelling with exercise and heat.
Ok…we live in the south, and our summers are VERY HOT. This makes it impossible for him to play outside without severe itching. He does swim a lot at grandma’s, and does great in the pool. But, begins itching and flushing as soon as he gets out. He complains of the itching, not so much “burning” or “pain”, but it scares me after reading some of the posts that perhaps he is really HURTING! We have tried numerous antihistamines, but he is VERY sensitive to meds, and he reacts with very wild, psychotic behavior.
The doctor has agreed that he cannot take the antihistamines. We try to keep him cool in the A/C, take baths in tepid water, etc. to minimize the urticaria outbreaks. I just wonder if the Texas heat is going to be a problem for him. I wonder if he would do better in a cooler climate…although I don’t know if that’s even a real possibility because of work, and other kids in our family to consider. I’ve read and been told by the allergist that this is very uncommon for such a little guy, so I wonder how long it will last and how bad will this get. Hearing from some of you who can tell me how you feel, and how he probably feels, could help me to help him. I’m blessed to be at home with him daily, so I can help manage this. But, since I’ve never experienced it for myself, it’s important for me to gain a better understanding so I can make him as comfortable as possible. Thanks for your input!
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: mojtaba on September 23, 2009, 01:01:14 AM
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Hi, I hope He’ll get better as he growns up a little bit, As I always heard from doctors that If you get Cholinergic Urticaria in early age, You’ll probably get better, and you won’t have this problem when you’re an adult anymore.
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: mollythompson28 on September 23, 2009, 07:49:46 PM
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Hi! I know it is incredibly stressful to be a mom dealing with this issue, my urticaria started near birth, so my mom went through a lot as I was growing up dealing with this. I also lived in Florida as a child. We went through years of doctors telling us we were crazy or giving misdiagnoses. I am now 22 and still have the condition, as much if not more than I did as a child. Growing up with it gives me the benefit of saying that it can be manageable (even in a HOT climate).
There are many things that I do that help me deal with the symptoms, #1 for me is zyrtec, as ALL other antihistimenes make me extremely lethargic. But, before I was taking medication (for the entirety of my childhood) i just changed clothes a lot, drank lots of water, rested, etc. with the occasional benedryl. For me, hives are not “painful” just extremely uncomfortable, from head to toe, this is usually accompanied with “excitedness” because of the itching. One of my biggest triggers is a quick temp change, like going from a air conditioned store into a hot car.
So I would be mindful of the temp of the car, use sunshades, bring a cold pack or a change of clothes/shoes (something really loose and flip flops) that can easily be changed into if the need arises. I still bring clothes with me in the car all the time and use them up to once or twice a week. Another possibility would be to have a fan/mister, just to help him regulate temp. Another thing that I notice is that it usually comes on really fast, so I don’t really how bad it will be and by the time I can communicate it, it is already pretty uncomfortable. So I really look for consistent warning signs, in my case, slight dizzyness and nausea is usually a sign. Anything you can do to minimize drastic changes in temp, i think, is my best suggestion, wearing a light jacket in a cold store to minimize the reaction to the heat outside, wearing a hat, being mindful of shady locations or bringing a uv beach umbrella on an outing to create shade if needed.
Anyway, I just want you to know, that it is manageable, and knowing the triggers and getting to know the condition in your son will get easier. I have had it all 22 years of my life with little change and so its norm for me. Most people don’t even have a clue that it is going on , unless i specifically tell them. (i have also found it helpful to have someone other than myself be fully aware of the signs and symptoms just as a precaution when a family member or good friend is not there with me) I am happy to give any advice I can or just talk it out, i have experienced it all 🙂 PE at school, beach outings, exercising, theme park days…. you name it.
molly
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: mom on a mission on September 23, 2009, 08:11:56 PM
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Thanks Molly! You are the FIRST person I’ve found that has had it since they were tiny…it seems to be almost unheard of in the preschool years. So, just knowing we are not alone really helps.
My little guy is having a terrible time with medications. We just feel stuck. Every antihistamine we’ve tried seems to make him feel very wired…to the point where he is uncontrollable in behavior and cannot live normally on them. We are still trying, since there are so many available, but so far, no luck. We started Singulair yesterday, and had a horrible day today with absolutely WILD behavior from him. I am home daily with him, so I know this is not his normal self. I plan to keep trying it for a while to see if he can “warm up to it” and in time tolerate it.
You did have some good tips. I too have noticed that in and out of stores poses a huge problem for him. However, we went to a theme park this past weekend, and he seemed to do fairly well. Once he warms up and stays warm, it’s not so bad. More the sudden changes that cause the itching and hives.
If you think of any other ideas, I am completely open!!!! I just want desperately to help my little man live as normal of a life as possible.
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: mollythompson28 on September 23, 2009, 08:40:54 PM
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You are definitely right about the “getting used to it” factor… my hives are much less severe when I have gradually gotten used to a temp… so… if i am spending the day outside or something along those lines, i would ride with the windows down in the car to create a less drastic change from inside to outside or plan a gradual onset of activity.
I have tried many med without help, thankfully for me, zyrtec takes a little of the edge off. I am the total opposite reaction though, most antihistamines make me incredibly drowsy, where i am useless or sleeping for about 4 hours.
I have not tried it, but my allergist has recommended that I look into a drug called Ketotifen, since i had had no positive results with many common allergy meds. It is not perscribed in the US as a pill, though. Since I found that zyrtec is ok for me, i am sticking with it for now. I know that it is mostly used in the form of a liquid eye drop but is also available as a pill from canada, but may be worth asking your doctor about. The other thing that you could try is an H2 blocker like zantac/pepsid… H2 is just a different kind of histamine that the body produces. Definitely check with your doctor, and if you haven’t see an allergy specialist, do, because that is who will have the best info for you about medication. My allergist is also the first to do blood testing to actually rule out other conditions with hives as a symptom.
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: HivesGuy on September 24, 2009, 11:08:33 AM
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Hello Mom on a mission,
Excellent post and welcome to the forum! I am so sorry to hear that your young son is dealing with this. I know that it must be so hard and frustrating with him being so young. It makes me happy to know he has great parents (and a great mom) that is working hard to make his condition more bearable.
I agree with mojibata, and it does seem that younger kids with allergies tend to outgrow them. So perhaps if you can continue to manage them the best you can, he will outgrow it at any time and be a healthy boy again. So that is a positive thing to keep in mind.
As far as managing it, I agree that I would absolutely avoid antihistamines if your doctor says so. I think they can be quite dangerous for younger children, especially given his history of bad reactions.
I would really focus on keeping very soft and thin clothing on him. Also, a good moisturizing cream can help (such as eucerin calming or itch relief creme) can help a lot. Just read the label or check with a doctor. Also, helping to get a spray bottle of water or something to keep him cool while he is playing outside may help you manage it and prevent him from getting too heated. Other than that, you may just want to try your best to keep him in cooler temperatures.
I don’t think moving would be of much of a benefit, because I get people from all over the world (hot tropical climates, and even cool climates like Alaska) visiting this site with this condition. So while cooler weather might seem like it would help, he would still have reactions when his body heated up, even if there is snow on the ground.
Anyway, thanks again for the great post. I hope he gets better soon, and please let us know if anything changes.
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: funkysiren on October 13, 2009, 04:37:24 AM
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Hi from one mummy to another… I cant imagine how worried you must be BUT you can be proactive here. I suffer from it but my kids are all ok so far and I pray they never have this. Keep damp even wet towels small ones in a ziplock plastic bag. keep in a little esky when out and about and if your young fella starts rashing up wrap the limp or area with the damp cool towel. The esky could have a cooler bottle that frozen making the towel really cold.
I find the shock of something or cold sometimes just stops the episode in its tracks and i recover quickly. Im finding Eucalyptus oil to be working also as it keeps bacteria down on the skin. mix a couple of drops with some olive oil and bottle this …rub a little on the hives or rash spots and it really does take the stinging out. In his bath water a couple of drops not too much will be quite soothing …Im finding that its works as an antiseptic and is good for stings and bites so why not hives I thought and its great. Do not let him get it in his eyes and since he is so little maybe a sponge bath rub down with dilluted amounts of this oil will be good.
I mean 1 drop per 2 litres really dillute it. I use it neat on my itchy spots and wash my self down with it once a day its really helping. Im also exploring the homeopathic remedies to do with itchy skin and hives talk to a homeopathic practitioner about this if your inclined as its amazing what it does and it works great on kids. I how something I wrote here helps even in a small way. take care dont stress or you will be scratching along with your baby. smiles
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: dice on October 15, 2009, 10:57:34 AM
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Welcome to the forums mom (if I’m allowed to call you that lol).
I had hives when I was young also, I DON’T recall this happening back then so I must have been younger than 5 years old but according to my mum it was so servere that I had to go to the emergency room. There they administered me with a TYPE of steriod (the specific name escapes my memory) on a few occasions (It is NOT recommened that your son takes this although it is an option should you feel the need to do so).
After that the hives went away until my early teen years, this time without the rashes that appearing all over the body like when it first happened in my early years (they haven’t since returned). I’m now 19 and still suffer from it, although my main way of coping with it is mentioned. I’m not going to recommend that you make your son exercise, or take antihistamines for the reasons you’ve already mentioned but most people here seem to think that the cause of the hives comes down to one of two possibilities:
– Your skin not sweating enough.
– The release of (exessive?) “histamines” in the body causing the itching sensations.
Either way to understand your son’s condition better I recommend checking to see if has these hives “attacks” whilst being able to sweat.
Everyone’s Cholinergic Urticaria will be different but I find that getting my body to sweat on a regular basis helps considerably with the effects of Cholinergic Urticaria.
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Title: Re: my 4 yr old has been diagnosed with Cholinergic Urticaria
Post by: jamesmacin on November 03, 2009, 08:24:55 AM
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Dear mom on a mission,
I also have the same itch problem as part of Cholinergic Urticaria that I have had for the last 4+ years. But itch is more severe then rashes or hives in my case. Going out in the sun means death sentence to me. I fully understand what your little one is going through.
Please check the following first…
1. Does he seat normally like any of us?
2. Does he sweat at all?
3. Check his heamoglobin level in the body.
4. Go for some liver tests and try to find out the amount of a substance called Serum Bilirubin in the liver.
You can read my story here for further guidance.
Although there are so many reasons for itch and many more serious ones for chronic or prolonged itch. I do not want to scare you, but please do whatever you can as a good and loving mum.
Thanks
James
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Title: Mom of 10 year old with cholinergic urticaria
Post by: momofhivesgirl on December 14, 2010, 01:56:09 AM
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Hi,
I’m the mother of a ten year old girl who was diagnosed with cholinergic urticaria a year and a half ago, and it’s been a really rough experience so far. Last summer we noticed strange rashes developing on her neck and shoulders and it just became increasingly worse – quickly. Soon she was breaking out in massive wheals all over her body and with the advice of her doctor she was taking a steady diet of Benadryl. After waiting 6 weeks to see if it was viral, she was referred to an allergist who diagnosed her with cholinergic urticaria. I guess I thought that with a diagnosis at least we’d know how to take care of it, but what I’ve learned is that cholinergic urticaria doesn’t seem to adhere to any rules or guidelines.
We keep her cool, limit her exercise, avoid hot showers, and yet she will still break out in a cool room sitting on her bed reading a book. She takes a second generation antihistamine in the morning, but has to down Benadryl tablets several times daily to manage the breakouts at school. Pharmacists are horrified at the amount of antihistamines she takes, but her allergist doesn’t want to have to give her anything stronger yet because she’s only 10. Today, breakout number 3 of the day happened while she was doing bedtime reading. This resulted in me putting my bawling child, who was covered in puffed up, angry red welts from head to toe, into a cool bathtub and having her swallow 2 tsps of Benadryl, then putting her back to bed, only to come out of her room again 45 minutes later covered again from head to toe in hives, and back into the bathtub with another 2 tsps of Benadryl..
Just wondering if there are any other parents dealing with this and if someone can offer some insight. I find it incredible that so many adults seem to think this condition is funny, or that my daughter is just looking for attention, or that it’s just a minor inconvenience and that we’re blowing it out of proportion.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! 🙂
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Title: Re: Mom of 10 year old with cholinergic urticaria
Post by: HivesGuy on December 14, 2010, 03:28:11 PM
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Helo MomOfHivesGirl,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum!
I am so very sorry to hear your young daughter is suffering badly with this. Please let her know she certainly isn’t alone, and many of us have it just as bad as her. Some even have it a bit worse right now. Also, try to reassure her that the hives will likely improve with age, and it probably won’t be this bad her whole life. In fact, the odds are very good that it will get much better, or even go away altogether one day. This forum is filled with people who have been able to report that their hives have improved over time, or have even gone away altogther.
Also, I know first-hand just how frustrating it can be getting sympathy or understanding from others. Adults, friends, and even family sometimes brush this off as something minor, when in reality is it often a devastating experience to go through. On behalf of your daughter, thank you so much for caring and being proactive in trying to assist her.
Regarding her meds, that is definitely something you want to keep talking to doctors about. The only other thing I can add is that some people take singulair and have had good results with that, and as a last resort corticosteroids are sometimes used to knock down the intensity (although this is sometimes only temporary). Again, I am not sure if those would be appropriate considering her age, but I thought I’d mention those just in case you can talk to your doctor about it. If not now, perhaps those things can be considered in the future if the hives do not improve.
As far as others on here with children suffering from this, yes there are. There are people of all ages who suffer from this (toddlers,single digit ages, teens, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and even older). Here are a few threads in which a parent is seeking advice or discussing their child’s hives. There may be more, but I found those after a quick search.
I hope your daughter gets better soon. Please tell her we know what she is going through and to hang in there. Please let us know if things improve for her.
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Title: I think my 7 yr old son has this!!
Post by: amaysinn on July 18, 2011, 09:36:55 AM
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For the past 18 months or so, my 7 year old son has been having episodes of what I believe may be Cholinergic Urticaria. It usually happens in the middle of the night or when he wakes in the morning and only affects his hand/hands. He’s in such pain that he cries and his hand or hands are slightly inflamed, flushed and itchy. Sometimes the pain is so bad that it hurts to open his hand and he’ll keep it closed. Sometimes it goes away fairly quickly and other times it seems to keep flaring up over the course of a day.
I’ve had him to the doctor but at the time it wasn’t flared up so we had nothing to show. The doctor ordered bloodwork and ruled out arthritis since that was the only thing they could come up with. I now have a new doctor and an appointment for my son next week and plan to take the information on Cholinergic Urticaria with me.
The other reason that I believe he may have this is because it seems to only flare up during the warmer months. He didn’t have an episode all last winter until about the first of June. Now it is occurring once or twice a week.
He’s also a kid who is always warm and prefers to run around in just his underwear even in the winter. However, he likes lots of blankets on him at night to start out even though he kicks them off eventually. I can’t help wonder if his body temp is going very high at night and bringing this on.
Any thoughts on why it is only on his hands? Sometimes just one hand, other times both at the same time.
Want to know something strange? My 16 year old son has Raynaud’s Syndrome, which is the opposite….his hands flare up when they get cold.
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Title: Re: I think my 7 yr old son has this!!
Post by: HivesGuy on July 18, 2011, 10:02:46 AM
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Hello,
Great post and welcome to the forum. I am so sorry that your young son is experiencing these symptoms. It always saddens me to hear of some youngster suffering with some illness.
I also want to commend you on being proactive and trying to resolve your son’s health issues. Sounds like a caring mom!
With regards to Cholinergic Urticaria, it can affect the back of the hands in some cases, and the palms are usually spared. I know that last summer my wrists and back of hands (and feet) would often get an itchy sensation that was really driving me mad. I know of at least 1 or two other people who also had some symptoms on their hands.
One other thing I would throw out there though–you may want to ask the doctor to rule out Fabry’s disease. Sometimes this manifests as a painful itchy/burning/tingling sensation that affects the hands (or feet).
I mention this because it is also sometimes associated with “Reynauld’s symptoms” from what I understand (and your other son has that).
Either way, I certainly hope you are able to resolve this. In the meantime, it may also be beneficial to really examine his diet for the small possibility of a delayed allergy type symptom.
By removing foods that I was sensitive to, the prickly feeling in my hands have stopped 100%. I also take a multi vitamin daily.
Good luck, and God bless
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Title: Re: I think my 7 yr old son has this!!
Post by: nowash on July 19, 2011, 11:46:35 AM
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Erythromelalgia. Says it can coexist with Raynaud’s. Might be a familial thing.
I bet capsaicin cream would help; I read it can reduce sympathetic neurons (well at least vasomotor neurons), temporarily. Nonetheless it would probably help with the pain. Could make it worse, who knows.
It doesn’t sound like cholinergic urticaria to me, since that would always trigger by heat or sweat and generally be around the trunk if not all over the body; if it’s any type of mast-cell-degranulating heat intolerance I would suggest localized heat urticaria, and it should respond to antihistamines. However localized heat urticaria should be just as consistent and widespread as cholinergic urticaria, and just having symptoms on your hands doesn’t sound like either.
I would go back to the doctor, but good luck getting a good diagnosis or convincing him. I’ve heard of Raynaud’s just from studying online, but erythromelalgia, if it’s that, sounds unknown to me.
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Title: Re: I think my 7 yr old son has this!!
Post by: nowash on July 19, 2011, 12:06:31 PM
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Rereading the wiki, seems like capsaicin would be a trigger, although potentially a treatment, if he could push through the pain.
Don’t listen to me, lol, just keep trying doctors.
Oh, cool; look at this: The use of capsaicin cream in a case of erythromelalgia. If you don’t find a good treatment, I guess you can keep this in mind. Capsaicin should be safe if handled properly, but there’s always risks. I’ve read it can cause cancer when applied with a certain chemical (one study), protect against cancer (one study), and that chili peppers increase the risk for gastric cancer (many studies). People use it all the time though.
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Title: Advice needed
Post by: New Mum on October 25, 2011, 11:43:35 AM
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My 2 month old boy has developed hives on his skin on all the pressure points during each of his breastfeeds for the past 2 days. The hives disappear a short while after the feed. It does not seem to itch or cause him any distress at all. Question 1: is this something to worry about Question 2: Is it just a phase that will pass, or is it likely to be a long term problem? Question 3: Should I treat it, or just let it take it’s course? I have photographs of the hives, but am not sure how to post them.
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Title: Re: Advice needed
Post by: nowash on October 25, 2011, 12:09:06 PM
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Pressure points? Like where he is pressed against something?
Could be dermatographism, delayed pressure urticaria, or even mastocytosis. If it’s only when he breastfeeds then perhaps he is allergic to something in your milk or perhaps something on your skin.
I’m not a doctor but personally, if it were me, I wouldn’t give my newborn an antihistamine unless he were going to go into anaphylaxis. They have other side effects besides just being H1 antagonists. But no one really knows if the lack of perfusion caused by hives is trivial or not to a newborn. You should try to go the doctor or a free clinic with your questions.
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Title: Re: Advice needed
Post by: HivesGuy on October 25, 2011, 05:16:53 PM
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Hello New Mum,
Thanks for your questions, and welcome to the forum. I can sense the loving concern that you have for your child, and I am glad you are doing what you can to help your son.
I’m going to have agree with the advice Nowash gave you. It would probably be best in this case to take your son by a clinic or doctors office as soon as possible if this persists. In all honesty, hives can be manifestation of so many different things, and can be caused by so many different things. I wouldn’t advise you try to treat him with over-the-counter solutions due to his very young age.
It could be pressure/contact urticaria, it could be that he is allergic to some soap/lotion you have on your body, or it could be a large number of other potential illnesses or conditions.
I certainly hope he improves. I just said a quick prayer for you both, and I hope that his symptoms resolve. Also, since you are breastfeeding, you may want to give consideration to the foods/medicines you may be taking. If it is allergy based, he could be reacting to something you are eating (milk, etc.).
Best wishes and God bless.
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Title: Re: Advice needed
Post by: New Mum on October 26, 2011, 03:53:40 AM
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THank you for your responses… I agree that it’s best to take him to see the doctor, I am just not wanting to give him any medication that he does not really need, as you have said, medications can have all sorts of side-effects, often worse than the original problem. I also believe in building up his immunity by allowing the body to deal with things in it’s own way.
I have been racking my brain trying to think of what could be causing this. The hives are so inconsistant, appearing on different places on the body each time. My original observation of pressure points appears not to be correct as the hives appeared on the opposite side of the body to which he was lying during his feed this morning. THe only constant is that appears during his feeds (No sign of it after his naps) which makes me think that it is most likely related to the breastmilk itself, in which case I will have to eliminate usual foods I eat/drink, one at a time, and identify the culprit that way. I will say that my diet has hardly changed at all since he was born, is it possible that something that has not affected him before could suddenly cause an allergy now?
My main concern is that the allergy could progress and cause anaphylaxis. Is this likely/possible?
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Title: Re: Advice needed
Post by: HivesGuy on October 26, 2011, 06:53:10 AM
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Hmm, interesting.
If you can find out that it for sure only happens during feeding, then that could signal a possible food allergy that he is getting from your milk.
As far as children suddenly getting allergies—yes, that can happen. If it does turn out to be a food allergy issue, perhaps he had a slight irritation from something in your diet, and as his immune system has built up, he has become even more sensitive to it over time. It’s possible, but of course you may still want to speak to a doctor in case there is something else going on, and he/she may give you some tips on how to monitor/treat it in the meantime.
Also, anaphylactic shock is always a possibility with food allergies I suppose. I am not sure how often this would happen in the case of an infant, but with any allergy, anaphylaxis is always a risk. But I don’t have a lot of experience/knowledge with infant types of allergic responses, so I cannot comment for sure about the odds of this happening.
I hope he gets better soon.
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Title: Re: Advice needed
Post by: nowash on October 26, 2011, 04:40:44 PM
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Food allergies give the highest risk of anaphylaxis I think, aside from mastocytosis and anaphylactic physical urticarias. There is always a probability that you can develop an allergy to something. In fact, that’s why all allergen-free diets require rotation, since eating the same food over and over is associated with an increased risk of allergy to that food.
There is probably no need for medication unless your baby is anaphylactic. You shouldn’t ignore it however, since allergic diseases breed other allergic diseases (asthma, rhinitis, eczema, etc.). You should try to stop the root cause, which is the antigen containing food/product. I don’t think antihistamines would stop the allergic development since if it did, we’d all be cured.
Make sure you’re getting enough sun.
Another possible cause could be a helminth or other type of infection.
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Title: my 3 year old has this
Post by: tiffany1 on January 11, 2012, 01:55:52 PM
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I was just told my three year old has this and it worry me because he breaks out for no reason if he is hot or cold sad happy he can get in the shower or sleeping or just watching a movie or eating I would love for other people who have it to let me know if it gets any easier because in two weeks the longest he has gone with out hives covering his body is one hour
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Title: Re: my 3 year old has this
Post by: engineer on January 11, 2012, 03:45:49 PM
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tiffany1:
Sorry to hear about the condition, the description does match, in terms of when it occurs.
Given the age of the child, I hope its a temporary allergic reaction to something in the diet or the body adapting to the environment.
Wish your child quick relief.