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Wow! I have cold urticaria, and I take zyrtec daily for it. Pp, I got bad hives, and I got prednisone to treat them. They went away and didn't come back, and my doctor has no idea what caused them.

To have a kiddo with hives for 6 weeks and no treatment is crazy! I would request a 3-7 day steroid plan, and see if it works. If they come back after treatment, then see an allergist!

@autumnlove: A year or more ago I had terrible hives for months on end, I went to allergists etc. Anyway, eventually they gradually disappeared more or less on their own (I took zyrtec to somewhat control them).
I strongly suspect in my case that the cause was a few rounds of antibiotics that I had to take for a cough - not sure if that could be happening with your LO but something to think about if they have had antibiotics recently. Hope they feel better soon!

I have food and environmental hives (lucky me). It didn’t start till was a toddler. I also have eczema which gets worst when I break into hives (super lucky me). I also have normal seasonal allergies (water eyes, sneezing) which are triggered by environmental reasons (triple lucky!).

First my parents tried to get rid of all environmental stuff for my hives… they only washed my clothes in all (I think that was the only brand that had a clean and clear version – now every big name has a “pure” version, I still use all). They washed my bed sheets, they washed my stuff animals, they replaced all the filters in the house and got a fan in my room. That helped a lot actually. Also I get hives from my own sweat, that’s fun. So my parents changed me a lot when I did anything active.

I was still getting hives though. This time they would only show up for a few hours at a time. Their doctor suggested that I might have some food allergies at that time. My food allergy hives will appear about 1-6 hours after I ate the item that gives me hives, I believe it depends on the quantity I ingest. They usually last about 4-8 hours. Normally by the next day I don’t have hives anymore.

What was tough for me was my food allergies changed over time. So I believe when I was little I was allergic to shell fish, grapes, strawberries, types of chocolates and then it went to almonds / nuts, more types of chocolates, but was okay with fruit and shell fish. Currently I’m allergic to all types of citrus (lemons, oranges) and legumes (peanuts, soy) but okay with everything else.

So for me if I have hives now, I think back to my last meal and think maybe something was made with citrus or legumes… let me tell you those are hidden items in a lot of restaurant food… like things cooked in peanut oil or things favored with a lemon or even drinks with a splash of lemon. Luckily I know by the next day I’ll be fine. It’s just something I have learned to live with.

I believe my hives were never bad enough to give me anything for them. Most of the medicine I had to endure as a child was related to my eczema and my seasonal allergies.

@autumnlove: Hi there! I was wondering if your LO's hives ever resolved. My DS (5 years old) recently broke out in hives and was sent home from school last week. I had given him Benadryl, and it resolved. The hives reappeared everyday since then. The doctors said that it can be due to number of factors, including stress or a virus. After the second visit, they did give him a tapering dose of steroids. It seems to be better, but if I don't give him his Benadryl or Claritin on time, the hives start to erupt. He's never had a food allergy growing up. I washed his sheets without any fabric softener. I'm thinking of trying Zyrtec now. Not sure if you have any more insight with your experience.

Thanks @kaykay. This is the first time it's happened to my DS, so I'm just lost. Since my son just started kindergarten, I just want to reassure the teachers that it's not contagious, and that he can continue going to school. I'm also wondering if the stress of starting a new school/routine is causing these hives, too.