Help! Urgent Care or wait?!? ~Update pg 3~

[StephandOwen]

Mods- please please don't move this. It's 11 at night and I need help quick, which is why I didn't post it in health.

Owen woke up this morning with a rash on his back, stomach, and a little one his face. This is what his back looked like this morning. Now it's about 13 hours later and this is what his back looks like. And his face. I don't know what it is. My only guess is he had almonds for the first time yesterday evening (around 5pm). At 1am when he went to bed I didn't notice any rash. At 10ish this morning is when the picture above was taken. Could this be an allergic reaction? I've been putting benedryl cream on it because it itches him like crazy. He wasn't playing outside yesterday (we were driving much of the day from Kentucky to Michigan), though he did play outside on Saturday.

My biggest concern is how bad it's getting. He's had allergic reactions before (not to almonds) but they've never gotten this bad. Could it be something other than an allergic reaction? Any rash experts here? No fever, not acting ill. He seems perfectly fine, other than a rash covering his back, butt, armpits, stomach, chest, face, behind his ears, and on his head. It definately itches him.

[gilamama]

why dont you give him oral benedryl?

[Leilamus]

Is there anything like an "Ask A Nurse" number near you? I would call the local ER or urgent care if they are open just to tell them his symptoms at least and see what they say. I'd just be worried about his breathing and the swelling of the rash-that it's getting worse.

When in doubt get it checked out!!! IMHO. at the very least they should be able to calm down the itching and make Owen comfier. BIG mama!!!! sending healing vibes to your little guy.

[MamaPam]

I would call either your peditrician or urgent care center and describe the sypmtoms and ask if they think it needs immediate attention or if you can wait till morning.

-Pam

[StephandOwen]

Oral benedryl- easier said than done with an autistic child. Getting the benedryl on him? Not so bad. Getting it *in* him- impossible. He maybe got a drop or two.

No nurse line that I know of. Actually Urgent Care is closed by now too. The ER is the only option. I guess my thoughts are if he's going to need to go in I'd rather do it now instead of in the morning (for multiple reasons- the morning will be a longer wait which will be harder on Owen. Also I just had over a week off work. Tomorrow is my first day back. If I call in sick my boss will kill me).

[guestmama9908]

I'm a pedi nurse. Looks like an allergic reaction to me. If he is breathing ok and able to swallow well right now then I would say wait until morning. However, I would keep him close tonight in case he went into any distress. If you start to notice a squeaky sound when he is breathing, this is called stridor, then you need to get him help ASAP.

I second giving a good dose of oral benadryl.

[guestmama9908]

Originally Posted by StephandOwen

Oral benedryl- easier said than done with an autistic child. Getting the benedryl on him? Not so bad. Getting it *in* him- impossible. He maybe got a drop or two.

No nurse line that I know of. Actually Urgent Care is closed by now too. The ER is the only option. I guess my thoughts are if he's going to need to go in I'd rather do it now instead of in the morning (for multiple reasons- the morning will be a longer wait which will be harder on Owen. Also I just had over a week off work. Tomorrow is my first day back. If I call in sick my boss will kill me).

Just read this.....in that case I would probably take him in. Hugs mama! They should be able to get it under control in the ER in no time.

[ollineeba]

Originally Posted by MamaPam

I would call either your peditrician or urgent care center and describe the sypmtoms and ask if they think it needs immediate attention or if you can wait till morning.

-Pam

I would try to talk with someone before taking him to urgent care.

[Naturalyst]

Benadryl comes in a children's chewable - grape, not bad tasting. The chewables may be easier to get into DS than the liquid. If you are able to explain to DS that it will stop the itching, he may be motivated.

If you take DS to the ER, they are probably going to dose him with Benadryl to see if it starts to resolve because it looks like hives (an allergic reaction). If you can do that at home, you might be able to avoid the visit and take him to your regular ped later.

[alegna]

Looks like hives to me. The first thing the ER will want to do is oral benadryl as mentioned by a pp. If there's a way to do that at home I'd try it first. (perhaps squirted in with a syringe? Think about how they would do it in the ER)



Hope he feels better soon.

-Angela

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by Naturalyst

If you take DS to the ER, they are probably going to dose him with Benadryl to see if it starts to resolve because it looks like hives (an allergic reaction). If you can do that at home, you might be able to avoid the visit and take him to your regular ped later.

Looks like hives to me too; I would get them when I took Sulfa drugs or amoxicillian. If the hives get worse and remain untreated it could cause breathing issues (that is what got me to go in); I must have looked really bad because I was given a needle of something almost the minute I walked into the ER.

[lalaland42]

It looks like hives to me too. In fact it looks just like the reaction I get from tomatoes when pregnant.

I will defer to the more educated people (in medicine) here but *I* would probably give him Benedryl if he will take it and take him in if not. I would also call my pediatrician on call.

GL.

[mamaverdi]

They now make benedryl that you can dose under the tongue. It's a little piece of paper, and it dissolves very very very quickly. I don't know the dose for a child, but you could even tear it in half. The pharmacist should know. Do you have a 24-hour pharmacy?

My son was/still is sometimes orally defensive. So I get it. But if you have to get it into him, then you SIT on them. Have you ever had to give a cat medicine? It's much the same way.

The advantage to the ER is that there will be people there to HELP you get the benedryl into him.

[myjulybabes]

Definitely looks like hives. I might wait and watch because it seems like they're progressing really slowly, but allergies are not my area of expertise.

I'd second the recommendation of Benadryl chewables. I know a lot more about autistic kids and medicine than I do about allergies. And around here, chewable anything goes over much better than liquid. Does he understand bribery? A chewable pill in one hand and a jelly bean or 2 in the other works wonders with my little guy, who we can't get liquids into even if we sit on him.

Really, if you take him in, that's probably the first thing they'll do is give benadryl in one form or another...I'm pretty sure there's an equivalent injectable form, so if you can get him to take it orally, he'd probably be better off.

[PikkuMyy]

Any updates?

Even better than the chewables is that they now make Benadryl in meltable strips (sort of like those listerine strips) which you can pop into his mouth with your finger and stick to the roof of his mouth whereupon it melts really quickly and starts to work right away. I have some of these in case I start to get an allergic reaction.

I haven't heard of any allergic reactions which took 12 hours to turn into anaphylaxis but if it keeps getting worse, then def. take him to the ER after trying the benadryl.

eTA: Looks like I cross-posted with Mamaverdi. They melt the meltables in both children and adult strength.

[Serendipity]

hope your babe is ok!

[Haydee]

I hope Owen's doing alright!!

[rabrog]

Any update? :

I hope Owen is doing better and your night went smoothly.

Jenn

[Maple Leaf Mama]

How's the poor boy doing this morning? I felt bad seeing those pics. I will NEVER forget the rash I got from Sulpha. I wanted to scratch my skin off.
Even worse for kids that don't understand why their itching like crazy.
I hope you had a restful night.

[KnitterMama]

Hope the little guy's feeling better!