Baby with Hives... help me figure out why

[47chromosomes]

Hello!  I have a question for those experienced with allergies...  I have a beautiful 17 month old DS.  Over the past week he has developed hives and congestion.  Poor guy can hardly sleep with his sinuses all stuffed up.  His health has not been great despite having a wonderfully supportive, healthy lifestyle.  He is very anemic, and we are treating with Ferrous Sulfate prescribed by the doctor.  He has been on the Fe for about one month.  The hives showed up on a day where the only new food he had had was an  Organic dried Mango.  Also new-ish to his diet this week was that he had a slice of cheese on several of the days.  We have been off dairy as a family for about a month (I decided to just take us off it while we try to get his iron levels restored to acceptable levels).  Nothing else is new in our diet except we have been juicing fresh vegetable, and DS has happily enjoyed some of the juice.  Environmentally, it is spring here and I have had mildly itchy eyes this week, so that is a possibility.  I thought at first it must be the mango, and plan to go down to the co-op to check the bulk bin for the ingredients.  The Mangos were brownish, so I was guessing it was sulfate/sulfite free, though.  And, could a sulfite reaction cause hives on and off for several days hence?  What about the Fe?  The medication does not indicate possible allergic reaction.  The reactions do not seem to happen immediately after consumption of anything, so it is very confusing.  He has been neither hotter or colder, no change in detergent of clothing items.  Does anything stick out here?  Anything I should consider I haven't thought of?  I appreciate the input!

[CoBabyMaker]

I would take him off all the new foods for a while and intro one new thing a week.  The window for reactions can be up to 4 days.

[SweetSilver]

One indicator of sulfites is the quickness of the reaction, within 5 minutes.  You can look up the symptoms online.  Flushing cheeks is the classic sign, though I don't remember if this happens every time.  

Mango itself is known to cause reactions like your ds showed.  

Tell me about the hives.  How long do they last?  Are they white whelps?  Little red bumps?  Do they show up in some areas after the skin has been touched?

[47chromosomes]

They are just general pink patches that kind of show up and disappear quickly.  There are often little round, blanched welts on the line where his diaper contact his skin.  No more hives so far Monday and Tuesday... if it was the mango, could the hives have lasted for 4 days (though in decreasing severity)?  That is really the only thing he had that he has not had before.

[SweetSilver]

I don't know about 4 days, but Mango can cause those reactions.  And I would think it cold last four days.

Here's another thought, one from my own experience.  I have dermographism, a histamine reaction to touch.  It sounds dramatic, but many people have it and they look for it at the allergists when they are doing skin prick tests.  My daughter has this pretty bad and when she was a baby I would leave 2 cherry-red hand prints on her skin after picking her up (I don't wear lotion, hardly ever).

Anyway, to the point: before I was dxed with an oat allergy my back would erupt in whelps so easily, especially after I scratched it.  Pure torture, but somewhat temporary.  (My allergist told me of a young man who would get hives over his whole body instead).  While I still have this condition, since I eliminated the oats my back no longer erupts in hives.

The occasional whelps on his diaper line also leads my thinking in this direction.

The best you can do is to keep the mango out of his diet for a while and don't introduce anything new,  See if he gets this reaction.  Then give him mango-- I suggest fresh mango to avoid any possibility of the presence of sulfites.  Mango is known to cause trouble.