Mica had a birthday party on a Friday night. He went there saying, "I just itch really bad on my back! I must have gotten bit by something!"
When he was picked up by 9 he had welts all over his sides. I knew right away that it was hives. But what does one do at 9:30 PM on a Friday? Most Urgent Cares are closed by that time. We had him shower up, and rubbed Benadryl cream on his back.
He woke up at 1:30 AM with welts that spread all over his lower 1/2. I said, "Travis can you take him to Walgreens? Talk to the Pharmacist about what to do. The one closest to us is open 24 hours." He left. I got a call saying that there was no Pharmacist there; he'd have to drive clear across town to see one. That's what they did. The Pharmacist told him that Benadryl cream wouldn't touch what he had. He had to have pills.
We gave him a dose, and he slept all night, and woke up with just a few hives. I gave him another dose of Benadryl, and that morning we had to get on a flight to Arizona. After he took a nap that is.
As the flight wore on Mica's hives came back a lot! I didn't take the pills with me on the carry on or in my purse, because I knew his dose wasn't up until we got off the flight. But we had to wait...and wait...and wait for our luggage! I kept looking at Mica, and felt horrible for him! Hives covered him! It was no longer on just his sides and back, they were all over his face and neck too!
Once we got our luggage, we were off to eat, and Mica took his Benadryl. That dose didn't seem to touch his hives. They were horrible! Once got to the house where we were staying I said, "We should probably find an Urgent Care." We did. We have horrible insurance, and we were out of network. We were going to have to pay $150 just to see them. I was ok with that, but was still waiting on a call back from Mica's doctor. We opted to wait on the call instead of visit the $150 visit to the Arizona Urgent Care.
The doctor's office called right as we were grocery shopping. They said they couldn't do anything, and wanted him to see someone. It made sense because what he'd have to be on would be a Steriod. But flipping oh joy!
Why does it take offices so long to call back? Especially when Travis explained the situation to them. Then he kept having to retell everything, every time he talked to someone. Errr! By this time Mica's ears turned bright red from hives.
We dropped the groceries back off to the house, and went back to that Urgent Care. They were closed. It was 2:30 on a Saturday. The sign said they were open until 7. Their website said they were never opened on Saturday at all. I began to wonder if they just made up their hours based on who was in their clinic? What the heck! There was another Urgent Care in the same parking lot (weird), and it was closed as well.
His hives got better that evening, and he felt better after a baking soda bath. We talked with the home owner, and they were hanging out with a doctor who said to get Wal-itin Non-Drowsy 24 Hour Allergy Relief Tablets - Loratadine, and keep him on Benadryl. We did that. Then my Mom texted me to say she wouldn't put him on both. Too late!
Mica felt much better. We found a Urgent Care close to where we were going the next day that was open. Mica woke up with only 2 hives. We gave him his Benadryl. Because he was in the clear we skipped the Urgent Care. I was beginning to feel like Mica was a car that was broken, but the broken problem went away when we went to deal with the problem.
Then got really bad when his dose wore off at 1:30!
He took a nap, and was good again. What the heck?!
Finally day 3 of vacation he was good. It just sucked because he was so drugged up, not himself and looked odd. Once he was good, I wished he was drugged up again. Ha! I say that because he was goofy, and back to fighting with his brother.
So what I watched out for: Him not being able to breathe. If this happened, hives formed in his throat. A fever. That indicates a high white blood cell count. We would of had to have an ER visit! I just knew what to watch out for because I'm allergic to Sulfa, and have had an outbreak of hives. Also with sick babies, I know that a fever indicates a high white blood cell count.
What helped: Wal-itin Non-Drowsy 24 Hour Allergy Relief Tablets - Loratadine, Benadryl (even if my Mom said not to have him on both {she was a nurse for years} - a doctor said it was ok), baking soda bath in cold
ish water, a frozen pack of peas placed in spots on his back, and sleep!
An oatmeal bath would have been good, but we didn't try that. I feared trying oatmeal because we weren't at home with a screen in the drain to collect the oatmeal.
I'm pretty sure it was a plant allergy of some kind. To what? I have no idea. Something in Nebraska. Travis kept trying to see if he ate anything different. Mica kept going back to a birthday party, but I remembered he was complaining about being itchy before going to that party.
If there's some skin issue, my kids will get it! They've had rashes from mud at camp, Ring Worm from the mats at the Y, a Staph Infection, toe nail infection, eczema, warts and more.
I really hate health care right now! Independent and small work places can't provide it. Poof we have to go with government insurance. There used to be other independent options, but now there are not any. When I need it, it's not there. I cringe with having to use it. Health Care shouldn't be that way!