This picture (obviously) has nothing to do with hives...other than to say...my life is not all big bowls of watermelon and popsicles on hot summer days.
Nope. Unfortunately, my life often has a whole lot to do with HIVES.
And for the life of me, I can't figure out why.
Here's how it went down.
A little over a week ago Sterling had a minor oral surgery. I was going to blog about it, but the only episode of note was when Sterling had to take an Ativan prior to the appointment and then proceeded to stumble around like a drunk man for a few hours. It was both entertaining and disconcerting. The appointment took less than an hour. He went home and slept it off. No biggie.
The endodontist had prescribed a prophylactic antibiotic. I actually just put those two words together and have no idea if they really mean -- a just-in-case antibiotic. But that's what it was. Just. In. Case. Maybe he would need it. Maybe he wouldn't.
Amoxicillin. Oh how I loathe thee.
Sterling dutifully took his amoxicillin thrice daily for an entire week. On Saturday morning he told me, "I was so itchy all night. And look!" (at which point he showed me that his torso and arms were covered in hives.
Because I happen to have three daughters who hive up ALL THE DANG TIME I started immediately running through the list in mind, that list being THOSE THINGS THAT CAUSE HIVES.
I didn't get too far down the list before it hit me. Amoxicillin. He's having an allergic reaction to penicillin. And why wouldn't he? Rebecca is super, duper allergic to penicillin. As is his mother. As is my mother (which has no bearing on him...I just wanted to say).
I immediately started him on Benadryl and told him the hives would get worse before they got better.
I have been through just such an episode twice before with Rebecca. She reacted to penicillin in kindergarten. And then just last year she reacted again to a sulpha-based antibiotic. Both reactions were fairly severe and she was quite miserable. But I knew to just dose them up on antihistimines and wait it out.
Except Sterling was not just covered in hives. He was sick. And getting sicker. He was running fever. He was dizzy. He was shaking with chills. He looked as if he had been severly sunburned. On Sunday evening when he couldn't even make it to the dinner table I knew we had crossed into new territory. I told him we were heading to urgent care. He balked. I put my foot down.
At urgent care they gave him two big shots -- one antihistamine and one chock-full of steroids. He almost passed out in between injections, and it was just little old me there to catch him. I was definitely stressing at that point and wondering how being squashed flat by one's spouse could fit into my post on THE BEST FOURTH OF JULY EVER.
Fortunately, the steroids have done the trick. He's definitely on the mend...although still a bit spotty. As in bright red splotches all over him! I'm just glad to have to have my husband back (and functional). We're calling him the leopard. And I do love a good nickname.
