Breakout!

AHHH!!! I started breaking out into hives Monday after having Banana Macadamia Nut pancakes. I noticed a small red itchy patch on the right side of my abdomen and thought it was a mosquito bite, so I scratched it a little bit. Bad idea! A couple hours later, it had spread to my entire right side of my abdomen. It began to clear up afterI took a Benedryl, but eating clams for dinner made it worse. By the end of the night, my entire midsection was covered in large red patches.

Yesterday, the hives began to spread to my upper arms and thighs. I took Benedryl throughout the day and after consulting my doctor friends and the pharamacist at Walgreens, I applied a Benedryl gel over the hives. By nighttime, my legs and arms were covered with red patches. If not for the Benedryl, I probably would not have been able to sleep with my whole body itching. During one of Lydia's early morning feedings, I noticed that the hives were on my toes, fingers, and face and not so much around my midsection. It is so crazy how the hives gradually moved away from my abdominal area out to my limbs. I'm just glad it does not affect my breastmilk, though I do have some stored up for emergencies. I would post pictures, but I'll spare you the horror.

The hives should hopefully clear up by tomorrow. Now, the question is, what am I allergic to? I've never been allergic to anything before, oh, except for bad shrimp, but those hives were only on my face and would go away in just a few hours. This was a pretty bad break-out and I definitely want to know what to avoid. I'm thinking that it was the macadamia nuts that done me in, and the clams just made it worse. Maybe one week when I'm not going out at all, I'll experiment and find the culprit. Until then, I'm avoiding all nuts and shellfish, which I oh so love...boo hoo hoo.