red, angry welts, Part One

I got a call this afternoon at 3pm from day care saying that baby had woken up with angry red raised welts all over her body - face to toe. Other than looking unsightly she reported no other symptoms over the phone.

I stopped by the pharmacy and bought some more benadryl on my way to get her. By the time I got there she was sitting up in the high chair, making a mess out of Cheeze-its. She still had welts on her legs and face and on the backs of her arms. They were still raised, red, and warm to the touch. (They were between the size of her palm and my palm, and some of them had blister-looking places in the centers of them.)

Hmm... any new foods at lunch? She had beanie-weenies, which she'd not had before, and apple juice, which she'd not had before. She has, however, had apples before without problems - and every type of meat and beans, too. Next, any new laundry detergent? No. Maybe it's a late reaction to the shots she had last week? I'm clueless.

Meanwhile, she's playing and being herself without any signs of distress. She's happy as a lark. I called the doctor's office on the way home and left a message to be given to the nurse.

The whole way home I wondered between giving her benadryl or not. On one hand, she definitely had welts and it wouldn't hurt her. On the other, I halfway wanted to see what the natural progression would be (plus, it wouldn't hurt her). I sent text messages to some friends and nurses I work with - a poll, if you will, to see what the verdict should be.

It was tied. I took pictures of the welts. Then I gave her the benadryl around 4pm.

The Hater came home shortly after that. I'd already updated him, so it was just a matter of show and tell at that point. I'd poured over the discharge papers from when she got the shots last week (Hep A, MMR, Varicella). One of them mentioned the possibility of a rash, but this just didn't look like a rash to me. We played and got supper together.

During supper the doctor called. He said it sounded like she'd had a reaction to something. I asked if it could be a rash from the shots and he said it sounded like she'd had a reaction to something. He told us to get some benadryl cream and put on the red spots, then come to the office on Friday if it's still there.

After supper we sent The Hater to get the cream and I put baby in the bathtub. She's tired, but it's not out of the norm for her to be that degree of pitiful at that part of the day. Lubed her up with lotion and cream and put her down for the night at her usual time, about 6:30pm.

Hopefully it'll all be gone tomorrow morning. The next conundrum... do we wake her up around midnight to give her another dose of benadryl? Hmm... to poll or not to poll...