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Advice for my 16 year old boy who has hives & due to go to spain

Posted , 9 users are following.

claire88560
claire88560

Hello everyone, first I want to say I'm so sorry for the desperation you guys are going through, it sounds fing awful xx

My son devolped a rash about a year ago, it would get reallyitchy, little tiny bumps would appear but would then go after 20 mins or so. He had this on and off but it got worse.

We finally went to the doctor, we had a picture of the bumps and showed the doc, he thinks its hives. So he put him on 180mg fexofenadine, which to start with helped a little but now does not work as well.

My son says sometimes he gets the rash but other times he doesnt, but regardless of rash or not he gets the feeling of painful needles in his skin, this lasts for around 15 or 20 mins, he can get up to about 4 attacks a day sad

(He also suffers with anxiety a bit, and he lacks self confidence and is not very positive at all and he gets stressed)

We are due to go to Majorca for a well earned family hols, but he doesnt want to go now. He recons the heat over there will make the hives even worse. He says changes in tempreture bring on the hives. I said to him "you can either be here in the uk with your hives or in spain with the hives". 

Is there anyone out there who gets moderate hives but who also went to a hotter country? Did it makes things worse for you? how did you cope? Is there anything i can do for my son to help him better deal with an attack?

We are due to see the doc tomorrow cos i want him to reffered toa dermatologist and i want him to try a different antihistamine.

Any help is much appreciated xxx

0 likes, 28 replies

28 Replies

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  • claire88560
    claire88560

    Posted

    btw i thought id say he's just finished his gcse's. So i wonder if the stress of the GCSE year leading up to his exams started this off??
  • mrsmop
    mrsmop claire88560

    Posted

    Hello Claire, strees does trigger all sorts of things, including skin problems.  A referral to a Dermatologist sounds a good idea.

    You mention anxiety and I wonder whether some sort of medication to help with this might relax him and then the hives might disappear.  They seem to use  Amitriptyline.

    I have an autoimmune skin disease - nothing like your son's problem but, it was extremely itchy and one of my GPs prescribed a sedating antihistamine, called Hydroxyzine.  It helped with the itching and slo sent me to sleep!  I found that I needed to take it at about 7pm, otherwise, I didn't wake up until atbout 9am the following morning.  It may be worth asking about the Hydroxyzine before going down the Amitriptyline route.

    I know exactly what your son means about heat bringing on the hives but perhaps swimming might keep him cool enough and he can disappear inside if he gets too hot.

    I wish you well and I hope everything goes well for your son.

     

    • claire88560
      claire88560 mrsmop

      Posted

      thank you mrs mop, his anxiety is not at levels that require meds cos we saw someone in the child mental health dept. Its not constant itching but when it does flare up its very uncomfortable for him.

      Im thinking even tho it will be hot in spain the sea water may do him some good, who knows............and there lies the problems, neither me, my son or his dad knows what his hives will be like when we are over there in spain........i think with my son "the fear of the unknown" has a big part to play in this 

    • claire88560
      claire88560 mrsmop

      Posted

      hes also started a week of no dairy to see if that helps too
  • laura20204
    laura20204 claire88560

    Posted

    Stress and heat can be a trigger for hives, as can pressure on the skin. I feel bad for your son. I don't know that avoiding the trip will help, but maybe he can load up on OTC medications so he has them if he has a flare. Also consider getting him on prescription for steroids so he has them if hives get unbearable. Hopefully he can take oatmeal baths there since that helps me when I have a bad flare. The more he can get a handle on psychological stress, the better he will be, so he needs to focus on calming his anxiety and practicing meditation. Emotional upset triggers hives. Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
  • lorraine34338
    lorraine34338 claire88560

    Posted

    If you are hot you sweat, sweat on the skin can be itchy for a person without hives, if you have hives or urticaria the anxiety that you will itch can make it happen. Anxiety and stress can be triggers for urticaria, as can episodes of ill health, bad colds, sickness & diarrhoea etc. The thought that you cannot live normally like other people can be very depressing.  I have found that on hot days as long as I am outside or in a well ventilated room my urticaria is not an issue, so I'm sure your son can enjoy his holiday if his room has air conditioning or he can have a breeze through windows etc the heat should not be an issue.  Your son needs to see a dermatologist who specialises in urticaria.  Ask your son to bath the itchy areas with very salty water.  This relieves any itching I have.
    • claire88560
      claire88560 lorraine34338

      Posted

      yes the appartment has air con and we are right by the sea, like 50 meters away so im sure there will be a breeze smile
  • marysa
    marysa claire88560

    Posted

    I've been suffering with this for almost a year, the only medication that works for me is 300mg Ranitidine and 10 mg Montelukast in the morning and another 300mg of Randitidine around suppertime, since taking this medication, I haven't broken out in months. My lips, hands, feet ans eyes would swell and my hives were literally all over my body and no amount of Benadryl would help. So far, I've had no side effects from these medications and strongly reccommend them, but of course I'm not a doctor, this is just what works for me.
  • marysa
    marysa claire88560

    Posted

    I don't reccommend steroids, I was taking Prednisone when I was first seeing a doctor about this and the side effects were awful.
    • laura20204
      laura20204 marysa

      Posted

      I agree that side effects are awful but steroids can be a life saver in times of intense flares. They should be a last resort.
    • mrsmop
      mrsmop laura20204

      Posted

      You're right Laura and they are unlikely to give them to your son Claire, unless he needs steroids. 

      I have been taking Prednisolone for over 3 years, along with steroid sparing drugs but I am being carefully monitored and haven't suffered from extreme side effects.

       

  • mrsmop
    mrsmop claire88560

    Posted

    Laura mentions oatmeal baths, these have been shown to work well to relieve itching

    The Hydroxyzine might also help and sea water too.

    Perhaps you should tell your son that if he isn't happy when you are on your holiday, you will come home.  

     

    • claire88560
      claire88560 mrsmop

      Posted

      How do i make an oatmeal bath, ive never heard of them?
    • mrsmop
      mrsmop claire88560

      Posted

      It's really easy Claire, just buy unadulterated porridge oats from your Supermarket, take about a cup full and put it in some muslin, tie it with string or whatever and run a bath, with the water running over the porridge and leave the oats in the bath while your son soaks in it.

      And if you also eat the porridge [not out of the bath!!] you have the bonus of lowering your cholesterol too.

      I buy Mornflake Oats, they are easy to find.

       

    • laura20204
      laura20204 claire88560

      Posted

      You can either buy oatmeal powder by Aveeno, or what I do (because it's cheaper) is buy a cannister of ordinary oatmeal by Quaker, and a mesh metal kitchen strainer. As the bath water runs, I run the water over the oatmeal in the strainer and squish it so the oatmeal milk comes out (and the tub doesn't get clogged with oatmeal). It's important to use warm and not hot water because hot water dries out the skin and can result in worse hives. Taking a soothing oatmeal bath before bed helps calm my skin and my mind. I hope it helps for your son!
    • laura20204
      laura20204 mrsmop

      Posted

      Hydroxyzine is one of my go-to meds. It helps me a lot and I agree it might help this woman's son especially at bed time!
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