Hives

You read it correct. Hives.

Last night around 6 ish I noticed Riley feverishly scratching her belly. I quickly realized she had a case of the hives. I gave her some Benadryl and she was fine.

I thought about what could have caused them and nothing came to mind. She didn't eat anything new so I was baffled.

She woke around midnight scratching again with more hives. More Benadryl and some cream and she was back in bed.

We woke this a.m. to nothing. I was going to call the Dr. but decided against it b/c she seemed fine. Well- this afternoon she started up again. I called the Dr. and thank God I did.

Our pediatrician seems to think that Miss Riley might be allergic to fire ants.... UGH! She has several bites on her feet that I didn't even notice (she always has scrapes and stuff on her legs from falling, scratching, etc...). He told me to give her some Zyrtec and recommended an allergist to see right away.

On a bad note it seems that the venom from fire ants is in the same family as bees and other buzzing creatures. So- he prescribed us an Epi Pen in case she has a severe allergic reaction to one of these bites/stings. If you don't know what an Epi Pen is it's a needle filled w/ epinephrine (placed in a childproof bottle) that you activate for one use if your child has an allergic reaction to something. He told us to administer the Epi Pen and then call 911 if she has a reaction! OK- scary.

We have an appointment on August 14th with an allergist to verify if this is truly an allergy. If it is we do shots- gross. For the mean time we need to have our yard professionally treated and keep Riley is shoes and socks. That's a bummer. What kid - let alone adult - wants to have shoes and socks on in the summer time. Not me- that's for sure. But, we'll abide by the Dr.'s orders until we know for sure.

Until next time...