hives

A new health issue has introduced itself to our family over the past couple of weeks.

 Olivia has started breaking out in hives.

I took her to the doctor about a week and half ago because she had the stomach virus (for the 3rd time) and had a rough sounding cough. The day before the dr appointment she started developing whelps on her neck. By the time we had the appointment the next day, she had them all over. The dr said it could be from the viruses but to call and she would refer us to an allergist if the hives didn't clear up. Olivia continued with the hives and we ended up at the allergy clinic last Friday. The dr there had to draw blood to test for allergies because Olivia's back was already broken out in hives by the time the dr saw her. The dr explained that if they did the needle prick test, it would not be conclusive due to the fact that she was already reacting to something.
The nurses prepared for Olivia to freak out when they had to draw blood. One nurse held Olivia's arm, the other got the needle ready, and they had me hold her legs and other arm. Olivia whined when they stuck the needle in, and then proceeded to talk about the Olivia cartoon and watch the blood as it came out of her arm. She was the biggest girl ever! The nurse gave her a coupon for a free pizza at Pizza Hut for being so good.
I had prepared for it to be a rough day for Sissy and told her we could go to Build-A-Bear if she was good. (I had a coupon for that too) And she was!

She decided on a bunny that she named LilLil. Livi picked out skinny jeans, a Disney Princess shirt, and Sketcher Twinkle Toes to go on LilLil. She had a great time.

We went to Pizza Hut for lunch to use her coupon and I had to take a picture because this was the first time that I remember being able to sit down with her at a meal and have a conversation. If you notice, she is talking in the picture. We talked about her Build-A-Bear and how her arm hurt from going to the doctor. It was an eye opening experience for me.

We are supposed to get the blood work results back this week. In the mean time, Olivia is on Zyrtec during the day and a prescription Benadryl before bed. The Zyrtec isn't working so I called the dr today and she will be on steroids for 5 days along with her regular meds. I hope we pinpoint what the culprit is soon.