Hives, Swollen Lips, and Swollen Penis (X-posted Toddlers)

[olliepop]

In the middle of the night, my 3 year old ds woke up with belly pain. When I turned on the light, I noticed that his lip was swollen. Since he was up, I then took him to the bathroom and noticed that his penis was swollen. (Actually it was just the skin around the shaft.) He also had welts on his belly, legs, and arms.

I sent DH out for Benadryl. We gave him a dose and he went back to bed. This morning the swelling is down slightly, but everything is still swollen and the welts are there (different spots) but still there.

I called the doctor, who returned my call, and said she would be in the office at 10am today (Sunday). She said to give him another dose of Benadryl and if he's not uncomfortable then waiting until 10 should be fine. He was a little scared when he saw his penis last night, but other than that, he's OK.

We've never had issues with allergies before and we weren't sure what he could be allergic too. After a little detective work, we realized that he first complained of belly pain on Friday. The common denominator for new things he's eaten since Friday morning is soy: Corn Pops, Chic Fil-a, and Clif Bar.

Does anyone know if this could be the case or could he be allergic to milk, something else he's had since Friday? Any BTDT stories to put my mind at ease until 10? TIA.

[mbbinsc]

Chic-fil-A uses peanut oil in their products (I don't know about corn chips or cliff bar). Prior to us realizing she was allergic to peanut, DD had a couple bites of chic-fil-A fries and ended up with hives all over her legs.

[balancedmama]

I'd say the soy and the peanut oil are both strong culprits. That said, I think the peanut oil Chik-Fil-A uses should be fine...DD had it one time on a road trip and had no issues (and she is very peanut-allergic).

[sbgrace]

Does the cliff bar contain nuts or sesame?

It sounds allergic and even anaphylactic honestly (belly pain, swelling and hives...you've got two or three body systems there). I think you need an epi pen.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I agree.

[sbgrace]

I looked at some ingredients. I don't know which one he ate but I'd suspect your clif bar. I saw nuts in some, soy pieces in others, peanut in some...look at that one strongly and suspect a serious allergy to something in that bar. That something could be trace nuts from equipment in production. They makes tons of nut and peanut bars. Even if they run a bar not containing it it very likely contains trace nuts/peanuts assuming it's run on the same equipment (they almost always are). My son's anaphylaxis was to trace nut.

[mbbinsc]

I agree with getting epi-pen. My DD did not appear to react to chic-fil-a, until she was exposed to peanut in a more direct way (via cookie from DS) and that exposure landed us in ER. Sounds like he had repeated exposures with cliff bar.

I wish I had acted sooner so that we would have had an epi-pen at home when we did need it.

[balancedmama]

I agree w/ everyone that you need to get to an allergist. It would probably be wise to try a scratch test just to narrow it down - not the type of reaction you want to be testing for at home.

[sbgrace]

Just to add--my son's very first anaphylaxis was to his first known exposure to nuts (and it was trace nut on a nut he's not allergic to at that). It was the first time he ever ate anything containing nuts. However, there is trace nut contamination all over the place--chocolate is very often nut contaminated heavily, ice cream is always nut contaminated, our flours had nut contamination, sesame trace in all bread and crackers can sensitize to either pistachio or cashew, eating nuts while breastfeeding can sensitize, oils often contain trace nut or sesame, and on. So even if this is the first time he ever had a nut or it didn't contain nuts he could still be anaphylactic to nuts.

Whatever it was it bears repeating that he needs an epi pen because the next reaction could be far worse.

[olliepop]

When the doctor saw him yesterday morn, she heard some wheezing and gave him Xopenex via nebulizer in the office. The hives had gotten worse that morning and she said she couldn't be sure if it was due to a virus or food allergy. We won't know for sure until he visits an allergist (something we'll do after he's off of the Benadryl).

She sent us home with a nebulizer and prescription for Xopenex. She told me to keep administering Benadryl. She also gave us a prescription for Epipen Jr. I have one in my bag and one in the house. (Thanks so much for suggesting that.) She said we can't rule out a food allergy right now and it's better to have the Epipen just in case.

She also checked for swelling of the knees and ankles, something that happened after we got home.

She wants us to come back for a follow up on Wednesday. The Benadryl has helped with the itching, but the hives are still there, spreading to different parts of the body and clearing up in others.

I feel like we should be doing more, but she wants to wait and see how he is on Wednesday. When I had an allergic reaction to penicillin, I got a steroid shot. Is that not something they want to do for toddlers?

I really think it might be a soy allergy, not only was he exposed to soy in the Clif Bar and Chic Fil-A, I just checked the pantry and it's in almost everything we have.

I just don't know if I should take him in today. The swelling of the knees and ankles scares me even though she told me to expect it.

[olliepop]

Does the cliff bar contain nuts or sesame?

It sounds allergic and even anaphylactic honestly (belly pain, swelling and hives...you've got two or three body systems there). I think you need an epi pen.

Here are the ingredients:
Ingredients: Organic Brown Rice Syrup, ClifPro® (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract], Organic Soy Flour, Organic Roasted Soybeans), Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Peanuts, Salt), Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Peanuts, Peanut Flour, ClifCrunch® (Apple Fiber, Organic Oat Fiber, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium), Organic Date Paste, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.

[mbbinsc]

I am glad that your MD gave you script for epi-pen. Does she know about the swelling? I'd at least call, and certainly, take him in if his breathing is not responding to the xopenex. It may be worth it to just take him in so that you can be sure he is doing ok. Do you know how to assess his breathing?

[olliepop]

Update

The hives and swelling went away and I scheduled an appointment with an allergist. He was Benadryl free 72 hours prior. They tested him for:

soy, peanut, poultry, flounder, dairy, and eggs.

They even gave him a Peanut Challenge (a TBS of peanut butter). The results were negative for all. They think the reaction may have been caused by a virus, but told me to keep track of what he eats and keep the epipen with me at all times just to be safe.

Thank you all for your help.