Neekie 08:37 AM 01-10-2014
I have a two year old dcg who broke out in a rash while she was home with her family for Christmas break. It comes out in huge red bumps that looks like hives and it itches. Nothing has changed as far as we know. Nobody has changed soaps, lotions, cleaners or anything like that and she has not had any new foods or medicines. It usually appears while she is at home or if it appears at day care it usually shortly after she arrives or she is already broke out when she is gets here. The doctor seems to think it is some type of allergy. Benadryl seems to help. I hope her parents don't have to keep giving her Benadryl though because it makes her so wired and she won't sleep at naptime and she is so hard to handle. Does anyone have any ideas on this one?
cheerfuldom 09:31 AM 01-10-2014
I would insist they keep this child home and figure out the rash on their own. I dont care for kids that have unexplained rash. you could be exposing your and your family to all sorts of illness.
mountainside13 09:54 AM 01-10-2014
Are they using cloth or disposable diapers?
harperluu 10:05 AM 01-10-2014
Although the family may say they haven't made any changes to products like shampoo or detergent, many families like mine use generic brands for many things that the child might come in contact with. Vendors of generic brands often change as they look for contracts with less expensive manufacturers. This is always the first question I ask parents that have a fussy baby all of a sudden that is using a generic formula. Eventhough the packaging is the same, what is inside could be vastly different. Ask them if they use any generic brands like the target UP brand for things like bath soap, shampoo, wipes, lotion, detergent, fabric softener, etc.
itlw8 10:22 AM 01-10-2014
It can also be a food allergy even if she has had it before she may be eating MORE of it of more often
I would cut out all milk and citrus double rinse all bedding clothing that the child come in contact with Plus products change all the time.
If it is not just in the diaper area I would bet food allergy or pet. My sister was allergic to my dad.. Really she was he was a dentist and had to start showering at work The dust residue from drilling on teeth effected her asthma
Neekie 10:41 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by cheerfuldom:
I would insist they keep this child home and figure out the rash on their own. I dont care for kids that have unexplained rash. you could be exposing your and your family to all sorts of illness.
Yes, I did send her home at first, but after the doctor said it was an allergy and that it may take a long time to figure out what it is from, I let her come back.
Neekie 10:43 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by mountainside13:
Are they using cloth or disposable diapers?
Disposable diapers, but she doesn't have any rash in her diaper area. Only on her face, arms, and legs. And it comes and goes many times in one day and some days it is not there at all.
Cat Herder 10:46 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Neekie:
Disposable diapers, but she doesn't have any rash in her diaper area. Only on her face, arms, and legs. And it comes and goes many times in one day and some days it is not there at all.
It is starting to sound like Hand, Foot, Mouth. The rash can become more obvious during physical activity when elevated bloodflow creates more pressure on the skin surface (flushing). Has she recently been moody?
Neekie 10:47 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by harperluu:
Although the family may say they haven't made any changes to products like shampoo or detergent, many families like mine use generic brands for many things that the child might come in contact with. Vendors of generic brands often change as they look for contracts with less expensive manufacturers. This is always the first question I ask parents that have a fussy baby all of a sudden that is using a generic formula. Even though the packaging is the same, what is inside could be vastly different. Ask them if they use any generic brands like the target UP brand for things like bath soap, shampoo, wipes, lotion, detergent, fabric softener, etc.
This is true. I just experienced that with the glass cleaner and dishwasher soap that I have been using. All of a sudden they don't work the same and then I found out that they changed the ingredients. And the glass cleaner was not even generic. So thanks for reminding me of this. I never gave that a thought in relation to her rash.
craftymissbeth 10:49 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Neekie:
Yes, I did send her home at first, but after the doctor said it was an allergy and that it may take a long time to figure out what it is from, I let her come back.
Did this info come from the parent or did you actually receive a written diagnosis/treatment plan from the doctor? If the parent is just telling you it's an allergy, but you don't have an actual doc's note then
you don't actually know what it is, kwim?
Neekie 10:49 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by itlw8:
It can also be a food allergy even if she has had it before she may be eating MORE of it of more often
I would cut out all milk and citrus double rinse all bedding clothing that the child come in contact with Plus products change all the time.
If it is not just in the diaper area I would bet food allergy or pet. My sister was allergic to my dad.. Really she was he was a dentist and had to start showering at work The dust residue from drilling on teeth effected her asthma
Yes, her mom was thinking it was maybe citrus and I am wondering about milk myself.
Neekie 10:58 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
It is starting to sound like Hand, Foot, Mouth. The rash can become more obvious during physical activity when elevated bloodflow creates more pressure on the skin surface (flushing). Has she recently been moody?
Yes, she is very moody and her behavior is off the wall. That's interesting about the blood flow. I thought maybe she had an allergy to cold at first because she would have it on her arms and face when she came in from outside. Maybe elevated blood flow from the body trying to stay warm. But then when we got that -50 degree wind chill I didn't see in when she got here in the morning. This is really confusing. I thought about Hand, Foot, and Mouth, too. But then wouldn't she have bumps inside of her mouth? Not sure. I have never seen a case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth.
Neekie 11:02 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by craftymissbeth:
Did this info come from the parent or did you actually receive a written diagnosis/treatment plan from the doctor? If the parent is just telling you it's an allergy, but you don't have an actual doc's note then you don't actually know what it is, kwim?
No, I don't have anything written from the doctor, but I probably should get it. Her mother is a nurse at the hospital/clinic and is around the peds all day. So she can get me whatever I need pretty quickly.
Cat Herder 11:19 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Neekie:
But then wouldn't she have bumps inside of her mouth? Not sure. I have never seen a case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth.
It would depend on what phase of it she is in. She can be infectious for weeks after getting it but CDC exclusion is only 24 hours fever free. It is not reportable and incubation is usually around 3 days. It usually comes with lethargy and muscle aches with attributes to the mood swings. They say it is harmless and has no long lasting effects, though. This is why dealing with diaper diggers pronto is a big deal.
Here is a photo of it on legs... It does not just effect hands, feet and mouth. That is the "common" way it presents, but not the only way.
Neekie 11:38 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
It would depend on what phase of it she is in. She can be infectious for weeks after getting it but CDC exclusion is only 24 hours fever free. It is not reportable and incubation is usually around 3 days. It usually comes with lethargy and muscle aches with attributes to the mood swings. They say it is harmless and has no long lasting effects, though. This is why dealing with diaper diggers pronto is a big deal.
Here is a photo of it on legs... It does not just effect hands, feet and mouth. That is the "common" way it presents, but not the only way.
I typed the word "hives" into the search bar and I found a post called "The Welts On DCG" by Oneluckymom. She posted some pictures of the girls legs. The rash on my dcg looks very much like the one in the bottom picture, but not so much the one on the top. It looks like that girls rash only more pronounced. I thought it might help if you could see a picture.
Cat Herder 11:46 AM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Neekie:
the bottom picture, but not so much the one on the top. It looks like that girls rash only more pronounced. I thought it might help if you could see a picture.
Raise/plateau (allergy) or pin prick (prickly heat) variety? Does it blanch when you press it?
Neekie 12:18 PM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
Raise/plateau (allergy) or pin prick (prickly heat) variety? Does it blanch when you press it?
It is the raised/plateau allergy type. These are huge bright, red welts...about the size of a quarter Kind of looks like she has boils all over her arms and legs. I am not sure if they blanch. I did not press on them yet.
Neekie 12:34 PM 01-10-2014
I don't know if this would be related or not, but up until she was about eighteen months old, she had very foul, runny BMs all the time and they were very acidic and burned her skin very bad upon contact. Her parents thought it might a lactose intolerance and so we were giving her lactose-free milk until just a couple of months ago. Now she is back on regular skim milk and no more runny BMs, but now the rash.
itlw8 12:48 PM 01-10-2014
We are a family of milk allergies and for some reason they are worse in the winter for us. If I was them I would immediately remove ALL milk from her diet for 2 months. If in 2 weeks it is better then they know. BUT it can be more than one thing. Ds was Milk and pork fat. Still as an adult he cannot have bacon, pork steaks or fatty pork/
mountainside13 01:32 PM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by Neekie:
Disposable diapers, but she doesn't have any rash in her diaper area. Only on her face, arms, and legs. And it comes and goes many times in one day and some days it is not there at all.
Whoops. Just assumed it was a diaper rash. I had a dcg break out in a rash a few weeks ago. It was the laundry soap they were using. The company changed their ingredients
Neekie 05:03 PM 01-10-2014
Originally Posted by itlw8:
We are a family of milk allergies and for some reason they are worse in the winter for us. If I was them I would immediately remove ALL milk from her diet for 2 months. If in 2 weeks it is better then they know. BUT it can be more than one thing. Ds was Milk and pork fat. Still as an adult he cannot have bacon, pork steaks or fatty pork/
I just talked to the parents and we are going to try removing all dairy from her diet for awhile and see what happens. And craftymissbeth, the parents are going to get all the paperwork from the doctor for me and a statement signed by the doctor that the rash is due to allergies and is not contagious and at this point at least, not life threatening.
Thanks to everyone for all your help and suggestions. I will update later.
Neekie 05:38 AM 01-15-2014
We seem to have narrowed it down to dairy products and /or Sorbitol which is a preservative. So we are making some headway I hope!
SunshineMama 06:05 AM 01-15-2014
I have found that a combination of melaluca essential oil and coconut oil are great topically to help heal rashes. Aside from that, I would look at diet modification first, and maybe add a probiotic. IMHO, most skin rashes come from an imbalance of healthy bacteria in the gut.