I like polka dots, but not all over my body. Monday I woke up with a fever and nausea. Justin stayed home from school to care for Caden so I could rest. In the middle of the night I woke up to Caden's cry. I rocked him and, feeling itchy, scratched my neck, noticing it was bumpy. I gave the baby to Justin and went to the bathroom to check it out. I turned on the light and saw red-hot hives all over my chest, neck, and lips. By morning, they were on my ears, face, arms, hands, stomach, and back. Justin couldn't stay home again, so I was going to wait until the evening for him to take me to the doctor. But by ten, they kept spreading and I was so itchy. I dropped off Caden at my visiting teacher's house and checked into the ER. The red bumps were now also sprinkled lightly on my legs, feet, hips, and behind. All they could do was give me medicine. No one knows the cause of the outbreak. The only thing new lately was a slightly different laundry detergent. I usually use regular Tide, but decided to try it with a color-safe bleaching additive. However, I don't know why it took me a few days to flare up. I washed the sheets in that detergent a few days earlier, but didn't experience the reaction until the night I wore pajamas washed in the new detergent. And it doesn't explain how it got on my face since the pillow cases were washed in the old detergent. It may not be the source, but it's the only suspect right now.
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| My arm; the bumps are brighter red in reality |
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| My mouth |
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| My chest; the white stuff is calamine lotion |
I'm on steroids and allergy medicine. I'm not taking the anti-itching pills because they're not breastfeeding-safe. I took one pill yesterday and had the worst night with Caden since I couldn't nurse him. So I'm using calamine lotion instead.
I feel like the Phantom of the Opera. I can't even imagine what it's like for Stephanie Nielsen (LDS blogger disfigured in an accident). I just hope it all goes away soon! At least so I'm not itchy all the time, if not to appease my vanity. Keep me in your prayers please!
5 comments:
I know jamie used to really have trouble similar like that with detergents when she was young. I could only use purex. Took a while to figure out. Spence gets hives when he is stressed. Benedryl was always the best help. Good luck...
Oh no! Please rest as much as you can, put on lots of safe anti-itch cream, and I'll keep you in my prayers!
It is definetly the TIDE! Tide, especially the stain fighter, uses fiber glass to agitate the stains out. Very dangerous for your skin and respiratory system. Stop using the Tide and you will see a difference. My family is super sensitive to detergents so I know the symptoms. The reason you didn't see the reaction right away was because you needed direct/constant contact ( your pjs) My family now uses an enzyme based all natural detergent sold by a company called Melaleuca. If you are interested in learning more email me.
rwattson218@gmail.com
Oh man, that's no fun. I hope it goes away quickly. Shaklee has a natural laundry detergent that is hypoallergenic, its really nice.
oooh you poor thing! That reminds me of chicken pox in the extreme. Oscar got hives from a softener sheet we used in the dryer, but never that badly.
Glad you are better now. Hope you don't get a repeat in the future - gosh. Fever and hives.
I'm glad Caden slept through the night as you were recovering.
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