hives from environmental allergies?

melissa, my son has had this happen a couple of times with grass. One time the hives were so bad, I thought he was having a PA reaction and took him to the hospital just to have him checked out.

The only times it has happened to him is when he has been smooshed into the grass; rolling around in it and almost wrestling so that he was getting hard and direct contact on his skin with the grass. Quite a scare though.

My DH, he will get hives if a cat comes up to him and touchs him.

Not sure if this helps, but I do know Jess has had it happen a couple of times with grass - and then I was never sure if it was the grass itself or if there had been something put on the lawn to fertilize it or a pesticide that he was reacting to. But he does have to be careful when he's out playing in the grass.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Yes, DS and I both get them, and not necessarily from direct contact as above. It just seems like when we're loaded with histamine, we get hives on our faces, necks and arms.

In fact, the other night although I didn't have any hives, my whole face and head were so itchy I thought I'd lose my mind. (Of course I was sneezing my head off at the same time.)

This has been a really miserable allergy season in my house so far.

Amy

Both my DD's (EA's NKFA's) get frequent hives, my older DD attended sleep away camp last year for 3 weeks, it was her first camp experience. The camp nurses were "alarmed" by her hives and facial swelling especially after she told them her brother was PA, so much so they insisted she sleep in the infirmary. We took her to the allergist to be tested after and she was allergic to pretty much every tree and weed there was.

Same goes for my middle DD, except we add Oral Allergy Syndrome to the mix. We are running out of fruits and veggies that she can eat raw. At present she can't eat bananas, peaches, nectarines, melon of any kind, some apples, carrots, cucumber or she develops hives all over her lips and swelling. All this we learned through trial and error. Taking a daily antihistamine has helped them both (Reactine here in Canada) and oldest DD carries Benadryl along with her puffer, just in case!

Hives are always a worry, especially when you have LTA's in the family.

Take care,

Katiee

[This message has been edited by katiee (edited April 29, 2005).]

My 3 year old grandson gets hives from dogs and, we think, environmental allergies. So far, we haven't linked the hives to food, but I'm on alert! He has the family history for FA.

Last summer I was sitting in the grass with my ds (he was sitting on the sidewalk, thank goodness!). I developed quarter to half-dollar sized hives all over my legs and torso. They were there for a week. It was awful.

Melissa,

When I was younger I had frequent "mystery" hives. Always during the warm seasons (mostly spring and summer).

Some of my triggers were grass, ragweed, hay, and animals. I had allergy shots for 5 years in my mid 20's and that helped a lot.

Terri in the USA

Thanks everybody...this just never dawned on me and I think my guard is always up against PA and egg allergy that I dismissed the seasonal aspect. He's doing much better now that he's back on the Zyrtec...seems to feel better too.
Melissa

I sometimes get hives from EA, especially when my total allergen load is relatively high. Spring, summer, and fall are the worst times for me.

I'm now impatiently waiting for the first fall frost. I might luck out and get one more killing frost before fall, but May is sizing up to be relatively mild here in Virginia.

ygg

I had to go back and re-read all the posts...DS started Zyrtec the day of my original post and had no more hives...I thought we were "cured" LOL! Yesterday, he had a few when he got up in the AM, and this AM he has a lot...we have been outside a lot lately and the pollen count where we live in VA (our town is one of the 10 worst in the country for allergies BTW) has been high. I just assumed Zyrtec would do the trick...do you all still have SOME problems w/ hives from seasonal allergies even on a daily antihistamine? I'm trying to put this in perspective...if he did not have the food allergies, I don't think I'd be so on guard about this, but it just bothers me and makes it harder when I have to leave him w/ someone...you know, "watch for hives, but ignore those hives"!!!
Thanks,
Melissa

My 5 yr old dd has been on Zyrtec for about a year. She's had unexplained hives. We did have her tested and she's allergic to mold and ragweed. From last April to this January she had done well on the medication. In January she began having hives even on the Zyrtec. We had her tested again and could find nothing else she was allergic to. January in MN is certainly not ragweed season, and our allergist said that mold allergies usually show up as runny nose and itchy eyes, not hives. We ended up doubling her dose of Zyrtec. That worked for about a month and then she began having hives again. They get worse when she gets warm or plays outside. All I can do is give her Benadryl and hope we figure it out someday. I can relate to your frustration. Several times a day I try to casually lift up her shirt or look at her legs to see if she's getting hives. I have to tell her preschool teacher not to worry if she sees hives, I know that they are there and we're treating them. Her allergist finally said that there are some people who just have hives for "no apparent reason", and that she may grow out of it. I'm waiting! I hope you find an answer.

[This message has been edited by mnmama (edited May 10, 2005).]

Three things:

When I was little I used to have hives and swollen shut eyes from cats and sometimes from other environmental allergies. Even now, my lungs seems like they close up around cats.

If you find grass is one of the main culprits, you might try sodding your yard with St. Augustine grass, which I believe is more common in the southern US. It sends runners to spread, so you don't have the pollen or the heads to worry about. Other advantages: it feels cool on the skin in the summer and you don't find stickers (burrs) very often with St. A. as you do with Bermuda grass. It's lush and beautifully green and tolerant to the hot Texas summers. I love it.

Now the third (a little outside the thread): For those who are allergic to ragweed, chamomile can be a problem. I carry an EpiPen for myself because of chamomile (also PA, but I've had worse reactions from a lotion containing chamomile at Origins). My allergist said that all chamomile allergic folks are also ragweed allergic, but not all ragweed alleric are chamomile allergic. Just something to consider--it's kind of rare, and it may not easily be thought of.

In my world, hives kinda have a mind of their own!

For me, environmental triggers include animals (especially horses), grass, hay, and pollen. I remember going swimming years ago and my neck just became covered with horribly itchy hives. The culpret - floating pollen. Too much chlorine also causes hives for me, as can sunshine and sweat.

Since I'm older, I don't worry too much about hives unless my throat feels funny or I have trouble breathing. Otherwise, Benadryl usually takes care of things. Hopefully your DS knows to get help if needed (such as throat and breathing trouble).

For itchy hives, I use original Listerine (the flavored kind doesn't work). Somehow, it stops the itch. I just dab it all over the hives. I smell funny - but it works!

Hope all this info helps. At least you know you're not alone!

Terri in the USA
Severely allergic to peanuts/walnuts and probably other nuts.

I need an anti-leukotriene (Accolate or Singulair), a first gen antihistamine once or twice a day (palgic, in 12-hour doses), and 24-hour loratidine to quell chronic urticaria.

Sometimes the hives still break through and I need to add chlorphenirmine (another first gen) on top of those. I'm allergic to diphenhydramine (benadryl), so that's not an option.

If all of those don't work, my doctor threatens me with Atarax (hydroxyzine), but it's a potent sedative that I'd rather avoid. I was on it a lot as a child. It allowed me to sleep without scratching myself raw.

ygg

My PA son has had mysterious hives in the summer, but not from grass or weeds. I think I've isolated the culprit, but it is unusual. He broke out in hives all over his legs and torso after going in our newly-filled backyard pool (one of those soft-sided ones). We hadn't even added chlorine yet so it couldn't be that. I thought about a possible latex allergy, but he's never reacted to any other latex exposure. It wasn't the sunscreen because he'd been o.k. using the same one for a while. The only thing I came up with was that the water was extremely COLD-he was jumping in as we were filling it from the hose! He has excema and is very sensitive...anyone else with a similar experience? I think I read somewhere that extreme cold can bring on hives..... Take care, Kathy

My DH has seasonal allergies.
Every time he comes in from mowing the grass, his arms and neck are covered with hives. Usually a good hot shower relives his symptoms.

Actually, when my son had his initial peanut reaction (he was 25 months old at the time), we thought it was due to pollen. He was sliding down a slide covered in tree pollen. When he came in his whole body was covered in hives. We gave him a bath thinking that would help. But he continued to get worse and his eyes began to swell shut. Then I remembered, before he had gone out to play he had a Resses peanutbutter cup (he had peanut products before with no problems).
His pediatrician advised us give him with Benadryl and to take him to the ER if he developed difficulty breathing. Thank God he improved with just the Benadryl although it took a few days to the facial swelling to go down. Thinking back, I should have just went straight to the ER. But at the time, I had no idea that allergic reactions could be fatal.