Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Mystery Hives

Of the possible lifelong illnesses, food allergies aren't too bad. They are manageable--just avoid the foods you're allergic to and everything is fine, right? Except for mystery hives. Mystery hives are the bane of my existence. Those days when Sophie has a rash and an itch and who knows what else, but we examine her diet and there is NO cause, drive me insane. And the thing that makes me even more crazy is when a non-allergic person in our family has hives. Seriously, what is going on here? Starting in September (I remember specifically because the first one was on my birthday), my husband began a pattern of hives. He got 1 to 3 at a time. Usually they were on his hand or arm, although he had some on his abdomen too. We still don't know why. Sometimes when he got them, we'd been out to eat, but other times he hadn't eaten out in days.

A few weeks later, my oldest daughter started getting hives, too, a few at a time. It's been several months now, and my husband's hives have abated--he hasn't had any for at least 3 or 4 weeks. But my daughter's hives are getting worse. Yesterday she showed me at least 12 hives--on her back, abdomen, and shoulders. We have racked our brains to come up with causes, but to no avail. The best I can do is suggest that she use body lotion after her showers to improve the health of her skin and thereby offer it a little more protection. It probably won't make any difference.

:( Mystery hives. :(

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