How serious are my kid’s reoccurring, non-itchy, no pain hives?
August 6, 2023 1:43 PM Subscribe
I can’t figure out a better way to phrase the question. More details inside.
When he started breaking out we cleaned everything, changed things potentially causing it but couldn’t/haven’t found the cause. But we’ve come to find a pattern which is that they start appearing at 8:30 pm-ish then subside during the night, only to have a new small batch in the morning. Luckily they aren’t itchy but have still been giving him anti-histamines and hydrocortisone cream. Now it’s been two and a half weeks, and they are starting to show on his neck and by his ears where before it was only arms, legs, torso, and back.
I started a new job and our health insurance doesn’t kick in until September 1st, so I admit I am trying to assess if we can hold out until then or not. He has no pain or itch, so I don’t want to overreact but I also don’t want him to develop something because I waited too long. But, of course, I’ve been told that it is common for kids to get hives without cause, and I’ve read that night hives may be auto-immune related. And that sometimes hive can last months. So all in all, I’m spinning and can’t figure out what to do. Anyone have experience with this?
When he started breaking out we cleaned everything, changed things potentially causing it but couldn’t/haven’t found the cause. But we’ve come to find a pattern which is that they start appearing at 8:30 pm-ish then subside during the night, only to have a new small batch in the morning. Luckily they aren’t itchy but have still been giving him anti-histamines and hydrocortisone cream. Now it’s been two and a half weeks, and they are starting to show on his neck and by his ears where before it was only arms, legs, torso, and back.
I started a new job and our health insurance doesn’t kick in until September 1st, so I admit I am trying to assess if we can hold out until then or not. He has no pain or itch, so I don’t want to overreact but I also don’t want him to develop something because I waited too long. But, of course, I’ve been told that it is common for kids to get hives without cause, and I’ve read that night hives may be auto-immune related. And that sometimes hive can last months. So all in all, I’m spinning and can’t figure out what to do. Anyone have experience with this?
If they are triggering when he is in bed, have you considered getting a dust mite proof mattress cover and washing all his bedding and pillows with hot water?
If you take him out for a walk after bedtime, do they get worse quickly? It might be some tree or weed pollen that is being released at night by a plant that attracts night moths as pollinators.
I had a small son who was basically born with hives, and brought them home from the hospital. They never itched, but they were unsightly. He still had them when he left home in his early twenties, so I am inclined to see this as non-urgent. My son thinks that he is reacting to cats, and would rather have hives than not share his bed with the cat. But if he is picking them up at night time, it could be that your son is picking them up from a pet that likes to sleep on his bed and again washing the bedding, but also banning the pets from his bedroom would make a difference.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
If you take him out for a walk after bedtime, do they get worse quickly? It might be some tree or weed pollen that is being released at night by a plant that attracts night moths as pollinators.
I had a small son who was basically born with hives, and brought them home from the hospital. They never itched, but they were unsightly. He still had them when he left home in his early twenties, so I am inclined to see this as non-urgent. My son thinks that he is reacting to cats, and would rather have hives than not share his bed with the cat. But if he is picking them up at night time, it could be that your son is picking them up from a pet that likes to sleep on his bed and again washing the bedding, but also banning the pets from his bedroom would make a difference.
posted by Jane the Brown at 2:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [3 favorites]
My kid (now 10, then 6-7) had a similar series of hives like you're describing on and off for about 5 months. They started appearing around 7 pm, then got better during the night. In our case, they were slightly itchy for the kid.
I can't say that going to the doctor provided any kind of significant help for us--of course for the first appointment, the hives were gone by the time it came around, and even after their pediatrician saw the hives, we just advice to have warm baths, keep a food journal, etc. Which it sounds like you're already doing. I don't think waiting a month is going to make a difference. The hives ending up stopping as suddenly as they started, and haven't appeared again in three years.
However, my child did end up being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder about a year after the hives initially started--I didn't know about the possible connection until afterwards. I'm not sure if it would have made a huge difference in our treatment/response to the disorder (maybe we would have been more aware of it earlier?). It's unclear if there was a connection with the hives but I can say if my younger child started having this same profile of hives, I would be monitoring them very closely and probably requesting some blood work from their pediatrician.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 2:34 PM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
I can't say that going to the doctor provided any kind of significant help for us--of course for the first appointment, the hives were gone by the time it came around, and even after their pediatrician saw the hives, we just advice to have warm baths, keep a food journal, etc. Which it sounds like you're already doing. I don't think waiting a month is going to make a difference. The hives ending up stopping as suddenly as they started, and haven't appeared again in three years.
However, my child did end up being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder about a year after the hives initially started--I didn't know about the possible connection until afterwards. I'm not sure if it would have made a huge difference in our treatment/response to the disorder (maybe we would have been more aware of it earlier?). It's unclear if there was a connection with the hives but I can say if my younger child started having this same profile of hives, I would be monitoring them very closely and probably requesting some blood work from their pediatrician.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 2:34 PM on August 6, 2023 [2 favorites]
If they're serious enough for routine Benadryl, they're serious enough for a doctor, ideally an allergist. Take pictures. Keep a log of when they show up, and foods for the day. If you ask for an appt. now, you may get one in Sept.
Try washing bedding in just water. Assess playgrounds, friend' houses if applicable.
posted by theora55 at 2:45 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Try washing bedding in just water. Assess playgrounds, friend' houses if applicable.
posted by theora55 at 2:45 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Where are you physically? I know someone that started being bedtime hives, and it was due to a tick bite and the alpha- gal protein reaction, he would eat meat for dinner, then get the hives a couple of hours after dinner. Can you eat vegetarian for a few weeks to see what happens?
posted by kellyblah at 4:04 PM on August 6, 2023
posted by kellyblah at 4:04 PM on August 6, 2023
This happened to me when I was in high school, except they were painfully itchy hives that were chicken pox sized welts that showed up and disappeared over my whole body. My dermatologist said that it could be a reaction to anything, and that I’d probably never know what I’m allergic to. I so wish I’d been treated better and we’d at least tried to get to the bottom of it. I now think it was related to an undiagnosed auto-immune disorder. I did go to an allergist and was deemed too reactive to the control test to do skin testing. All I found out is that I’m highly allergic to dust. I definitely have some ideas of what to do in the meantime. It could be hives, it could be a rash, it could be something else (I would think hives are by and large itchy).
Take photos of the hives every day, just to keep a visual diary to show your provider at your appointment.
Buy a dust mite proof mattress cover and pillow covers.
Do you have anything new in your diet, a new brand of laundry detergent, new sheets, new clothes, new hair gel, new anything?
How old is your kid? Are they buying things on their own, or are you in charge of everything in their environment? What is happing before and around 8:30? Are they taking a shower or bath around that time? There’s a form of urticaria that is an allergy to water. It truly could be anything, so if you can, keep a written diary along with the photo diary. Write down/ have your kid write done everything they’re eating and drinking every day. No detail is too small to include. Make sure you are using unscented free & clear laundry detergent.
That’s all I can think of for now. I know how frustrating this can be, and at six weeks it’s considered chronic urticaria, so I hope you can get in to see a dermatologist and a GP appointment if it’s still going on by then! Wishing you and your son the best of luck!
posted by Champagne Supernova at 4:22 PM on August 6, 2023
Take photos of the hives every day, just to keep a visual diary to show your provider at your appointment.
Buy a dust mite proof mattress cover and pillow covers.
Do you have anything new in your diet, a new brand of laundry detergent, new sheets, new clothes, new hair gel, new anything?
How old is your kid? Are they buying things on their own, or are you in charge of everything in their environment? What is happing before and around 8:30? Are they taking a shower or bath around that time? There’s a form of urticaria that is an allergy to water. It truly could be anything, so if you can, keep a written diary along with the photo diary. Write down/ have your kid write done everything they’re eating and drinking every day. No detail is too small to include. Make sure you are using unscented free & clear laundry detergent.
That’s all I can think of for now. I know how frustrating this can be, and at six weeks it’s considered chronic urticaria, so I hope you can get in to see a dermatologist and a GP appointment if it’s still going on by then! Wishing you and your son the best of luck!
posted by Champagne Supernova at 4:22 PM on August 6, 2023
I had guttate psoriasis begin around puberty - psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, and guttate (droplet - that is, spotty) psoriasis is one, somewhat unusual, presentation.
The spots were scaly - sort of with a silver top, but it's subtle, and they'll flake a little if scratched - and tended to show up more obviously after a bath or shower (the bloodflow turns them red) but were there all the time. They're not itchy, but can bleed in the right circumstances, as the edges are a bit more fragile than the surrounding skin and easier to catch.
You might mention it to your doctor simply because it is quite unusual and wouldn't necessarily come to mind. But it's easy for them to rule in or out.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:33 PM on August 6, 2023
The spots were scaly - sort of with a silver top, but it's subtle, and they'll flake a little if scratched - and tended to show up more obviously after a bath or shower (the bloodflow turns them red) but were there all the time. They're not itchy, but can bleed in the right circumstances, as the edges are a bit more fragile than the surrounding skin and easier to catch.
You might mention it to your doctor simply because it is quite unusual and wouldn't necessarily come to mind. But it's easy for them to rule in or out.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:33 PM on August 6, 2023
I would 100% see an allergist asap because it's spreading and the most obvious contact stuff you've already largely addressed.
posted by openhearted at 4:29 AM on August 7, 2023
posted by openhearted at 4:29 AM on August 7, 2023
I had it related to reaction to mango, MSG (Doritos), and poison ivy,oak,sumac, and trumpet creeper. Usually it was a reaction and a couple hours of pain and reduced swelling. Watch what you eat or over consume. Oh it was only one bag, but repeatedly the body will start to react to some irritant.
posted by brent at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2023
posted by brent at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2023
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Since it will take you a month to even get an appointment these days, you probably can wait until your health insurance kicks in. Talk to your pediatrician and try to get an appointment, because it likely won't happen until after September 1st.
Could also be bugs. Dust mites are impossible to actually see, and caused this problem with one of my kids.
posted by Windopaene at 2:33 PM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]