Who may you ask? Who has been taking my time and put me through the wringer? Why….our washer and dryer of course!
Unfortunately Hannah had 2 more bouts with hives last week, the first one quite severe! I put her to bed Wed night and she seemed fine but woke up around 11:00. We were rocking in her chair and she was wiggling around, whining and just not herself at all. I turned the light on and was shocked by what I saw. Poor lovey!!!
This time rather than being just on her legs and stomach they also covered her chest, neck and portions of her face. Even the bridge of her nose was covered with welts. (Sorry, this next one is a sad pic you may want to skip but it shows how swollen she was too. I took them to take to our doctor when we go see him later this week.)
Thankfully Benadryl works like a charm on her and within 10 -15 mins she was back to normal and all signs were gone. Thurs she started to scratch her head as I was giving her her bottle and by the time I was about to lay her down I noticed her neck was bright red and the welts were starting again. I quickly gave her Benadryl and thankfully that’s the last we’ve seen of the welts and rash.
Since we’re staying away from all nuts right now I was trying to figure out what else might be causing it. I analyzed everything and one possible theory I’ve come up with is the Tide Free that I’m gradually introducing her clothes to. Until now I’ve used Ivory Snow on her clothes and only Tide the odd time. Because of where the welts are and when they’re showing up I’m questioning the laundry detergent.
So….for the past 4 days I have laundered every single sheet, towel, blanket and piece of clothing that we own. I went from doing 3 loads a week to 3 loads a day for 4 days in a row! Each time I thought we were coming down the home stretch I’d find more things that needed laundering. I’m using a hypo-allergenic detergent and so far she has not had any reaction to it. Yay! It may not be this at all but for now it’s working and I feel like I’m doing something to help. Oh how it broke my heart when she broke out last week and I’ll be honest that by the 3rd time I was really scared too! So concerned that the face swelling could begin to affect her airway and that I’d be downstairs when it happened and unaware of her struggle. Thankfully this has NOT happened! As a nurse friend gently shared with me that if she’s swelling on the outside where we can see, the concern is what’s swelling on the inside that we can’t see? Another reminder that until we find the source and with the increased intensity of the second attack that I must carry the Epipen with me at all times. Hopefully I’ll never need it but until we know more it will be our ever-present companion.
Oh yah, and if the Tide Free is the cause ya wanna hear something cool? Mom told me that my Grandma was also allergic to Tide. Guess it’s genetic!
Hi, my children break out from Tide too, we use ALL free w/o any problems. We have allergies to wasps and ants. Amazing what one little ant bite will do! Even sent us the ER once, scary. Hope your sweet Hannah bounces back FAST!
ReplyDeletePoor little bug. Hope the doctor can find out what is truly causing her discomfort so that you can each rest easily (and her Auntie can rest easily too).
ReplyDeleteAnaphylactic shock is scary. Bone chilling scary. I've walked that path with Lily.
ReplyDeleteI hope you never need the epi-pen and that your sweet baby girl doesn't have another outbreak.
Sending hugs for Hannah and you.
Poor little Hannah. Hopefully it is the Tide and you'll not only have your answer but a everything clean too!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what parents have to go through to keep kids healthy! I had no idea there would be so much trial and error. I thought everything had an answer! I guess everything does, but it sure takes a lot of effort to get to it sometimes! Good luck. I hope Hannah doesn't have any more scares and that you get some definitive answers.
ReplyDeletePoor, little Hannah! We have our fingers crossed that everything is alright.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to hear what your doctor has to say about Hannah's hives. As I wrote earlier, Charlotte saw 3 different doctors--2 pediatricians and 1 ER doctor--and none seemed overly concerned about them. We did what the last doctor said and tried to limit medicating with Benadryl so that Charlotte could rid her system of whatever it was that started the flare-up. Well over a month after the first flare-up of the 2nd episode, they just disappeared and haven't returned (knock on wood). I'd still like to know why it happened and what caused them, but still no answers.
As a mother wanting to ensure a break-out doesn't happen again, especially if it something that I can do to prevent it, the doctors' cavalere attitude is rather unsettling to me. We're hoping it never happens again, but we've always got Benadryl with us, just in case.
Fortunately, most of the time, Charlotte was unaware of the hives; however, when she started to scratch, sometimes it was uncontrollable. Lathering her in cream was a temporary relief. I was especially fearful when Charlotte's face was completely covered with hives, even right up to her bottom eyelid. I was afraid to take her anywhere because of the looks we received. It looked like she had a skin disease of some sort.
I know it's hard, but try to stop Hannah from scratching. Charlotte has a sensitive spot on her one arm left over from the bout of hives that she tends to scratch a lot, even now. Sometimes she scratches it so much that it starts to bleed. A thick moisturizing cream usually settles the iritation long enough to get her engaged in another activity.
Fingers crossed that you receive answers from your doctor.
So sorry for her! I went through this years ago -- it took a long time to figure it out. Finally we figured out that it was to aspartame (artificial sweetener - also called Nutra sweet). I've since met numerous others who share the same allergy and react in the same way - just a thought. you'd be amazed what all they put it in -- including medicines and 'adult' cereal (and of course kids foods).
ReplyDeleteOh poor baby!!! She has certainly had a go of it these last few weeks. Benadryl does work like a charm. So glad you had her feeling better so quickly.
ReplyDeleteI will be thinking about you both.... hope those nasty welts stay away and never come back again.
xo,
Lisa
How awful...we experienced something very similar with our daughter and we totally believe it was the Tide Free that we purchased by accident. Noella
ReplyDeleteI also have problems with Tide making me itch. I have never broken out like Hannah does from it but I also didn't start having problem with it until I was in my late 20's. I'm sure hoping that's all it is. You are such a great Mommy.
ReplyDelete-Jen-
Fingers crossed that this is the answer!
ReplyDeleteKeep smilin!
I'm also allergic to Tide! Poor baby,and poor you!
ReplyDeletePoor Hannah!! I am glad that you seem to have found a solution. We don't use Tide in our house either.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping the the hive free trend continues!
For folks with skin sensitivities it is important to rinse really well no matter what you use for laundry detergent as new allergies can develop to even the stuff you think is safe. Perhaps if you moved your dial back to the rinse cycle again after the load is done it's first wash and rinse it would help get all the residue out. I do this for my hubby who breaks out every so often also we use no dryer sheets since those chemicals remain in the clothes. Hope she is soon better.
ReplyDeleteSorry to make mine a two part comment but it has been on my mind since I read your post. There is another laundry thing you can do that may help and that is to cut the amount of detergent to half of what the manufacturer calls for, in most cases that will be enough to get the clothes clean especially if you double rinse. Detergent builds up in the fibre of clothing an eventually makes it look grey, vinegar is a good additive to the rinse cycle that cuts the soapiness allowing it to released from the fibre.
ReplyDelete(Hubby and I were once the owners of a commercial laundry/dry cleaning plant so I know of what I write from long experience)