Eczema flare post IVIG?

[Kiera]

Anyone have hives or eczema post IVIG? My ds normally gets a few eczema patches and the odd hive here and there, no big deal, but we are 3wks post his first IVIG and the eczema is all over, tiny little patches and a hive popping up daily that itches and drives him crazy. I'm thinking it's gotta be related to the IVIG? Anyone else experience this?? Thanks.

[MomWithOCDSon]

Sorry . . . no IVIG here, but we have dealt with eczema frequently and, at times, ferociously! It's an auto-immune thing, so it might be the result of those donor autoantibodies kicking in?

 

If your DS is uncomfortable, I would try Pepcid. It worked wonders for our DS's eczema, unlike any standard antihistamines or topical creams, etc. It seems to stop the histamine-related eczema reaction where it starts (in the gut, at the H2 receptors). DS's eczema cleared up within about 5 days of starting a daily Pepcid.

 

Good luck!

[sf_mom]

We have had eczema flairs with antibiotic rotations. I asked our LLMD about it.... the response was 'when we see eczema we think viruses and when we see acne we think detox'. You might run a viral panel to see if its an issue. We have/had positive results for HHV6, Coxsackies and XMRV for the kids. You can run a basic viral panel and Coxsackies titers via Lab corp.

 

We have always known younger DD had high Coxsackies 'foot and mouth' titers but never express any physical symptoms. Recently we switched her to tindamax in combination with other antibiotics and she had a huge Coxsackies outbreak. She is also on two different antivirals. Tindamax will treat cyst form of Lyme and also get at biofilms. I am assuming the Coxsackies was bound up in the biofilms and why we had the huge response finally.

 

Per our Dr., viruses are often smaller than antibodies so its possible to pick up a virus via the IVIG as the screens are not small enough to filter.

 

Hope that helps.

[fightingmom]

I've been on Diflucan for a week and noticed mine is started to clear up --- maybe there is a yeast component.

[bigmighty]

DS has had IVIG twice. Both times, his entire scalp flaked off afterwards and required very strong prescrip shampoo to treat.

[sf_mom]

Our older DS also had a flaky scalp... similar to 'craddle cap'. He had this symptom for almost a year prior to sudden on-set and our pediatrician said not to worry about it. It resolved completely with first hdIVIG. Eczema didn't appear until much further into Lyme treatment.

[pansmom]

My son is 9 and has severe eczema. His actually gets better after the IVIG. They believe his is the same as the PANS instead of his antibodies attacking his brain though they are attacking his skin.

[Kiera]

Thanks for all the replies! I think if it doesn't settle down I'll start with the H2 blocker and see it that helps. (he's already on zyrtec and steroid cream for the patches).

[fightingmom]

I have found relief with organic coconut oil. Works wonders -- just not always convenient in places like the scalp. Though I have been known to slather it on for an hour or so and then wash off.