Moments in My Life

My boy was attacked by hives last week.  The good news is that it lasted for only 3 days.  *touch wood*  I personally think it might be the viral infection that caused him the fever and then later released the histamine (after the fever was gone) that caused the appearance of hives on his legs and hands. 

I fed him a total of 3 doses of Chidlren Diphenhydramine HCl (common name Benadryl). Instead of Benadryl, I bought the generic brand, Equaline which cost me half the price by paying only $3.39 plus sales tax. At first I wasn’t sure if I should go with the generic but then the Pharmacy technician as long as the active ingredient is the same, they work the same.

The first day (Wednesday), I gave him twice, exactly 6 hours apart. The second day (Thursday), I gave him once at 2pm after his afternoon nap. I noticed he had hives on his thigh Thursday morning but it didn’t seem to bother him so I skipped the morning dose. I’ve read online that if given too much anti-histamine, later the body may not response to it. But when he woke up from his afternoon nap, I saw his hands and legs with hives, that’s why I gave him the dose again. On the third day (Friday), there was only one spot underneath his thigh that had hives. And then, they were gone!

Hives on his hand.

Hives on his calf.

Hives on his thigh.

Hives on his thigh.

With this viral infection gone, I hope his body has built and increased his immune system by one notch. I am not sure if I am ready to send my kid out to school yet. I’ve heard, kids usually get the most infection when they start school. Sadly, but this is one way to build his immune system. And I definitely can’t be keeping him inside all his life.

His fever was gone but now he has hives.  We call hives in Chinese - “Fong Mok” or “Fong Lan“.  I know what it is because I had an attack before and my whole body has hives.  I was able to withstand the itch and not scratching them but they grew more some how.  I had to take steroid that time and it kinda helped a little but then the hives came back.  I went to see a Chinese doctor and she told me to put down all dairy and chicken related products (including eggs, cheese, milk, etc) and HOT SPICY food.  She explained that my internal system was overly heaty.  She gave me some herbal medicine to boil at home.  Then later I was put on mung bean water.  I find the mung bean (green bean) water help a lot. 

When I was pregnant with Brandon into the 3rd trimester, the hives came again.  Then I wasn’t suppose to take any steroid so the Chinese doctor told me to make the mung bean water.  It helped and the hives went away in a week or two. 

So I made some mung bean water for Brandon, but he hated it.  I asked him to drink a little bit at a time or else we had to go see the doctor.  He drank but very very little each time.  So I had to call the doctor.  The nurse told me to get Children’s Benadryl to give him 5mL every 6 hours.  I drove out to the nearest store to get it and fed to him at 10:45am.  The hives that were there disappeared within about 1 hour or more.  But on his body, I could still see tiny red dots that haven’t developed into hives yet. 

At around 3:45pm, the hives came back … it was close to 6 hours.  I had to give him another dose of Benadryl around 4:40pm.  I dislike giving so much medication to a young child but I had no choice at this time.  I called the nurse again and she told me to continue giving him Benadryl every 6 hours if the hives come back.  She said they should go away by themselves.  The Benadryl only helps to reduce the symptom and not to cure the problem.

I searched online on Toddler and hives and found an article on KidsHealth dot org titled Help With Hives.  This problem may be caused by allergic reaction to food, viral infection, heat, cold or stress.

After eating some big, red strawberries, you decide to walk to your friend’s house. Just as you’re turning the corner, you notice reddish bumps and patches on your arms and chest. What are these itchy welts or blotches on your skin? Should you turn around and head home?

What Are Hives?

Hives are pink or red bumps or slightly raised patches of skin. Sometimes, they have a pale center. Hives usually itch, but they also can burn or sting.

Hives can occur anywhere on the body and vary in size and shape. They can be small like a mosquito bite or big like a dinner plate. Hives also might look like rings or groups of rings joined together. Hives can appear in clusters and might change locations in a matter of hours. A bunch of hives might be on a person’s face, then those might go away. Later some more may appear on a person’s arms.

Hives are common - between 10% and 25% of people get them at least once in their lives. They are usually harmless, though they may occasionally be a sign of a serious allergic reaction. (So, yes, you should go home and tell your mom or dad.)

The medical term for hives is urticaria (say: ur-tuh-kar-ee-uh). When a person is exposed to something that can trigger hives, certain cells in the body release histamine (say: his-tuh-meen) and other substances. This causes fluid to leak from the small blood vessels under the skin. When this fluid collects under the skin, it forms the blotches, which we call hives.

Why Do I Get Hives?

People can get hives for lots of different reasons. Often, the cause is not known. One common reason for getting hives is an allergic reaction. Some common allergic triggers are certain foods (like milk, shellfish, berries, and nuts), medications (such as antibiotics), and insect stings or bites. Other causes of hives are not related to allergies and these can include:

• exposure to the cold (like diving into a cold pool)
• exercise
• sun exposure
• nervousness or stress
• infections caused by viruses

No matter what the cause, a case of hives can last for a few minutes, a few hours, or even days.

What Will the Doctor Do?

Doctors usually can diagnose hives just by looking at you and hearing your story about what happened. The doctor can try to help figure out what might be causing your hives, although often the cause will remain a mystery. If you’re getting hives a lot, or your reaction was serious, your doctor might send you to another doctor who specializes in allergies.

Sometimes, doctors will suggest you take a type of medication called an antihistamine to relieve the itchiness. In many cases, hives clear up on their own without any medication or doctor visits.

Less often, hives can be a sign of a more serious allergic reaction that can affect breathing and other body functions. In these cases, the person needs immediate medical care. Some people who know they have serious allergies carry a special medicine to use in an emergency. This medicine, called epinephrine, is given by a shot. Ordinarily, a nurse gives you a shot, but because some allergic reactions can happen really fast, many adults and kids carry this emergency shot with them and know how to use it, just in case they ever need it in a hurry.

Can I Prevent Hives?

Yes and no. The answer is “yes” if you know what causes your hives - the strawberries at the start of this article, for example. If you know they cause you trouble, you can just avoid them. If you get hives when you’re nervous, relaxation breathing exercises may help. But if you don’t know why you get hives, it’s tough to prevent them.

Some kids get hives when they have a virus, such as a bad cold or a stomach flu. Other than washing your hands regularly, there’s not much you can do to avoid getting sick occasionally. The good news is that hives usually aren’t serious and you might even grow out of them. Who wouldn’t want to give hives the heave-ho?

Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
Date reviewed: October 2007

His fever started on Saturday afternoon.  As usual, I was the one whom found him having higher temperature than normal.  After we came home from running errands on Saturday morning, I was busy preparing lunch for him, Hubby and me.  Hubby was looking after Brandon and he was watching DVD.  They were eating lunch together while I had mine last.  I only realized his elevated temperature after lunch when he came running to me.  The ear thermometer recorded a temperature of 100.4° F.  It wasn’t that bad but it is still a fever. 

Later on it went up to 102° F, so I gave him 5mL of Children’s Motrin at 1pm.  Then at night, I gave him again around 8pm.  He woke up around 5am this morning with a high temperature, and I gave him the medication again.  Two more times at 11am before we went to Ikea and at 4pm.  He was basically himself most of the time, a little whinny. 

But just now his temperature shot up to 103.9° F (39.9° C) right before he went to sleep.  So I gave him another dose of ibuprofen medication.  I called the hospital to find out if we need to visit the ER but was told to monitor his temperature after an hour he took the medication.  Each dose of ibuprofen medication will only help to lower the temperature for 6 hours.  If the temperature went down after an hour taking the medication, then not to worry as long as there are no other symptoms.  But the nurse (Mary) suggested for us to visit Urgent Care tomorrow morning since our doctor office will be close tomorrow for Labor’s Day.  Now I need to go find an Urgent Care that will open on Labor’s Day. 

As I was searching for information on fever’s temperature, I found an interesting article about A Kid’s Guide to Fever from KidsHealth dot org that I would like to share with you all. After reading this article you will have a better knowledge what is fever and why your body’s temperature is elevated to fight with the infection.

It All Begins in Your Brain

To really understand what a fever is, you need to say hello to the hypothalamus (say: high-po-tha-luh-mus). The hypothalamus is in the center of your brain. Think of it as your body’s thermostat — like that thing on the wall in your house that you use to set the heat or the air conditioning. Your hypothalamus knows what temperature your body should be and will send messages to your body to keep it that way.

Most human beings have a body temperature of around 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius). Some people will have a normal temperature that’s a little higher; others will have a normal temperature that’s a little lower.

Most people’s body temperatures even change a little bit during the course of the day: It is usually a little lower in the morning and a little higher in the evening. For most kids, their body temperature stays pretty much the same from day to day — until germs enter the picture.

The Germs March In

Remember that strep throat that made you feel so rotten? Or another time when the flu made you feel tired and achy? These kinds of infections are caused by germs that make their way into your body, usually in the form of bacteria (say: bak-teer-ee-uh) or viruses.

Once these germs march in and make you sick, they can sometimes cause certain chemicals to flow into your blood. When your hypothalamus gets word that these chemicals are on the scene, it automatically sets your body’s thermostat higher. Instead of saying your body should be 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius), your body’s thermostat might say that it should be 102° Fahrenheit (38.9° Celsius).

Why does the hypothalamus tell your body to change to a new temperature? Researchers believe turning up the heat is the body’s way of fighting the germs and making your body a less comfortable place for them. A fever is also a good signal to you, your parents, and your doctor that you are sick. Without fever, it would be much more difficult to tell if a person had an infection and how severe it was. That’s why grown-ups are concerned when you have a fever.

Shiver, Then Sweat

Once your hypothalamus sets a new temperature for your body, your body takes action and starts to heat up. When a fever starts, your body tries to get hotter and you may shiver without thinking about it to create more heat. You may feel very cold even though the room isn’t cold and even though you have your pajamas or nightgown on and lots of blankets around you.

If your body reaches the new temperature that’s been set by the hypothalamus — say 102° Fahrenheit (38.9° Celsius) — you won’t feel cold anymore. According to your hypothalamus, your temperature is where it should be!

After the cause of the fever disappears, your hypothalamus will set everything back to a normal temperature. When your strep throat medicine starts to work, for instance, your body will begin to cool down and you’ll no longer have the chills. You’ll begin to feel warm and will need to get rid of the extra heat that’s been in your body. You may sweat and decide to change into some lighter-weight pajamas.

Fighting a Fever

For almost all kids, fevers aren’t a big problem. Once the cause of the fever is treated or goes away on its own, your body temperature comes back down to normal and you feel like your old self again. Most doctors say that kids with a fever less than 102° Fahrenheit (38.9° Celsius) don’t need to take any special medication unless their fevers are making them uncomfortable.

It’s a different story for newborns and very young infants, though. They should be evaluated by a doctor for any fever that reaches 100.4° Fahrenheit (38° Celsius) or higher.

If a kid has a higher fever, the doctor usually will tell a parent to give the child medicine. The two medicines most often recommended are acetaminophen (say: uh-see-tuh-mih-nuh-fen) or ibuprofen (say: eye-byoo-pro-fen). The medicine blocks the chemicals that tell the hypothalamus to turn up the heat. Kids should never take aspirin to treat a fever because it can cause a rare but serious illness.

If you have a fever, your mom or dad will probably ask you to drink fluids. That’s important because as your body heats up, it’s easy for it to get dehydrated (say: dee-hi-drayt-ed), which means there isn’t enough water in your body. You have a lot of choices when it comes to fluids — juice, water, sports drinks, soup, flavored gelatin, and even ice pops. Before you know it, your mom or dad will pull the thermometer out of your mouth and say, “Your temperature is normal. No more fever!”

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD
Date reviewed: April 2007

You want to know what we learned in the first three days of Mommy and Me Swimming Lesson?

Day 1
Warm up song (Wheel on the Bus tune)

The children in the pool go up and down,
up and down, up and down
The children in the pool go up and down
All day long

Repeat the red phrase with “side to side“, “back and forth” and “round and round“.

Kicking in the water (skill of the day)

Motorboat motorboat goes so slow
Motorboat motorboat goes so fast
Motorboat motorboat step on the gas

Day 2
Warm up song (see above)

Blow bubble (skill of the day)

Day 3
Warm up song (see Day 1)

Paddling with both arms (skill of the day)

Row row row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Remember in the middle of last week I wrote out the 9:30pm bedtime?  I was following a schedule for the whole week.  We have to sacrifice and have our dinner at 5pm.  By the time my son finishes his, it will be around 5:30pm.  Sometimes I started feeding his dinner before 5pm.  That means I started cooking around 4:20pm.  People in KL are just starting to have tea time and we here are having dinner.  But it all works out great!

1. Feed dinner at 5pm.
2. Some type of activity 6-7pm. (visit MIL’s house, walking around the block, park)
3. Bath time 7-730pm.
4. Mommy own time 7:30pm-8pm. 
5. Daddy play time with Brandon 7:30-8:15pm.
6. Mommy bath time 8pm.
7. Warming milk 8:15pm.
8. Milk time 8:30pm.
9. Mommy reading time 8:35-8:45pm.
10. Getting ready to sleep 8:45-9pm.

This schedule works for me now.  I will stick to this one.  So no going out later than 7pm for us anymore.  We have to be home by 7:15pm the latest. 

So now he sleeps early, it also means he wakes up early in the morning.  At 7am he will be up.  Before, he would sleep till raound 8-9pm.  I will have some morning time to myself.  Now I have the night time to myself for about 2 hours.  Same same. 

Almost forgot to note, by end of the week, I ended up sleeping (teman) with him in his room.  So no more running otut the room, screaming or crying session.  Being inside the room helps much more than the initial plan of staying outside the room.  He slept faster, no more crying and for me, it saved my energy meter.  Both happy.

We went out with another mommy and her boy to La Romeria Park this morning.  They were already there when we arrived at 9:50am.  We stayed till 11am.  I can see my son is start learning to play with another person.  Brandon loves others to chase after him.  He was trying to get Colin to chase him but Colin preferred to play with the other older kids at the playground. 

Brandon was on the slide, climbing the stairs … he is not a swing person.  He has shown no interested in it at all.  I tried to get him sitting on one, but his legs was pushing hard not to get inside.  I am guessing he didn’t like the ‘roller coaster’ feeling when the swing comes down. 

We played at the playground a little while and then went to the grassy field to run.  Brandon was running all the way.  I have to bring him here more often and let the running and playing tired him out for a good afternoon nap. 

We came home around 11:25pm.  Fed him his lunch.  I made fish porridge prior to the park outing this morning so I didnt’t have to prepare the lunch when we got home.  I just need to feed him.  He likes the porridge and finished two plates fast. 

It was at 12pm when I called MIL to come over but she has a guest.  It is now 12:30pm.  I will probably give him a bath at 1pm and let him nap at 1:30pm.  Will see how the napping goes.  I get a little worry everytime when nap/bed is around the corner.  *cross fingers*   

Brandon, he prefers to hard way than soft talk.  Sometimes I have to scold him until he cries then he would at least listen or go to sleep.  I tried being nice and friendly talking to him and he thinks is all play.  He likes to step on my tail and test my patience every single day.  I don’t have much of that left by now. 

For example - Going to sleep/nap.

Mommy says,

You are tired, then you go sleep.  Why do you want to fight to sleep when you are already tired.  You know the ritual.  After your afternoon milk, you go to nap.  After your night milk, you go to sleep.  But even you are very tired, you won’t want to budge.  

It is very simple.  All you need to do is just close your eyes gently and you will go to sleep.  But not.  You want me to scold you because you kept running out from the room thinking I am playing with you when I am nice.  You want me to scold you because I told you nicely to sleep on the bed and stay there, you don’t listen.  You want me to close the door, even I gave you plenty of warnings and try my best not to close the door but you force me to.  You want to cry and scream when there is no reason to.  You hurt your own lungs if you scream like that.  I tell you but you don’t understand.  The chalazion on right eye will not heal, if you keep on crying everyday like that.  All because you want to fight not to nap/sleep.

Yesterday evening I tried my toddler night time schedule again. I gave him a bath around 7:30pm and I remembered to remind him that we were getting ready for bedtime which would be soon. I took my shower a little later at 8:15pm. Finished up around 8:30pm and he was done with his milk. I went to his bedroom and again, reminded him that it would be bedtime pretty soon. We read two books and played a little bit with his stuff animal and by 8:50pm, I was ready for him to sleep.

Constantly, I assured him that I would be just outside the door and would come in if needed. Kissed him good nite and cuddled and I walked out the door. Pulled up the pink Ikea Mammut stool and sat down reading my Reader Digest just right outside the door. The light on the hallway was on. I only started reading the first line, I saw someone standing besides me. By looking at him, I know he still wanted to play. But I reminded him again it was bedtime and he had to be on his bed. I carried him to bid good nite to Daddy and down the bed he went. I gave him another cuddle and more kisses. This repeated for about 5 times. Towards the 4th and 5th time, I didn’t give him any eye contact or cuddling.

The next thing I gave him was a warning that I would close the door if he ever leave the bed again. And he did it. And close the door I did. He cried a little … I was all the time outside the door requesting for him to go on his bed and I would open the door but he would just stand behind the door crying. It was about 9pm then. He asked for Oh Shee (potty) about 3 minutes into the crying. I opened up the door and brought him sitting on the potty. He didn’t go. I put the pants on and wiped his wet face. He walked himself to his bed and laid down. I gave him kisses and cuddle and assured him I would be just outside the bedroom if he needed me. I walked out. He didn’t leave the bed. I was sitting and reading … and I heard no noise. I went about to do my chores.

About 9:20pm I thought he should have gone to sleep by then, so I went inside his room quietly to pick up some laundry to fold. He heard me and turned over. Our eyes met. I told him I needed to fold his cloths, took the unfolded laundry and walked outside. In about 1 minutes, I heard his anklet bells ringing louder and louder. He came to my bedroom. I left what I was doing and went to him. Eye contact with him telling him that is bedtime. I took him to potty and he did go. He went back to his bed on his own. I gave him cuddles and kisses again and left the room. It was about 9:30pm. He slept.

Before, my son’s afternoon nap was from 3pm onwards (could be 3:30 or 4) till around 5 or 6pm.  Now I am trying to get him sleeping earlier at night, I have to move his nap time earlier too.  He has been napping around 1-2pm.  It is better if we have an active morning and that will tired him out.  But sometimes even how tired he is, he still want to fight to nap.

I am also trying to get him taking his nap independently.  It works out fine today after a lot of eye to eye serious conversation as well as a door closing session for 2 minutes.  Initially, he wanted me to sit next to him. I did it for a little bit but he was not much into sleeping so I walked out. Then again he pulled me back inside. Then again requested for me to sit next to him. I could but I didn’t want it to build up as a habit. So I told him NO! Firmly! Then I walked out. He came running out to the dining room (where I work) to play but I again told him is nap time with very close eye to eye contact. It happened 3 times. I repeated the same thing for 3 times. After the last time, we walked back to the bedroom together.

Not too long after that, he left his bed again. I gave him another warning - if he leaves the bed again, I would close the door. I had to close the door for that short 2 minutes. He was asking for potty immediately the door was closed. He knows what to get me to him. I went inside and took him to potty, he did go. Then I took him to the bed and ask him to pretend the ducky is me and the moo is Daddy. I asked him to hug the duck to sleep and pretend that it was me cuddling him. Before I left his bedside, I told him I will be busy making dinner so don’t get up from the bed again. I walked out.

Five minutes gone by, it was very quiet and I knew he fell asleep already. I peeked inside and saw him in the same sleeping position as the moment I left his bedside.

There are so many costumes and we have yet to decide what we should dress Brandon up as this year for Halloween. The first year, we got him a caterpillar and last year, we dressed him as an octopus - very cute! We usually go out for trick or treat at this specific area in South Torrance. The homes are usually decorated very nice for Halloween. I am almost a witch all the time. I have the witch hat, a orange color broom, and a dark piece of fabric which I cut here and there to make it look like an old witch rag. Hubby always in his regular cloth, may be this year we will be able to get him to dress up as someone or something.