Splotchy rash on hands, feet, elbows, chest

DD has had a rough last week...she vomited once on Thursday after breakfast and then had a few days of really bad diapers. The next issue we are dealing with is this strange, blotchy rash. I noticed it yesterday evening before dinner...it was localized to her hands, ankles and neck. I thought nothing of it as it seemed to disappear.

Today, her diarrhea is nearly cleared up (yay!), but this rash has me a little concerned. It flared up again during the day on her hands, ankles, neck. However, it is now also on her elbows and a few random splotches on her back and face. It also seems that her hands and feet are really red and a little swollen. However, after bath tonight, it seemed that everything had died down again and the splotchiness was decreased.

I called the ped and she suggested giving some Benadryl to get her system under contol. Maybe with her body being so out of whack from the diarrhea and lack of food, it is just doing strange things...we will consider the Benadryl in the morning.

So, has anyone had an experience like this? She doesn't seemed bothered by it and doesn't scratch it at all.

 

except for the lack of itchiness it sounds like hives to me. is there anything she's tried recently that she might be allergic to? :unknw:

 

It definitely looks likes hives...but, are hives usually round? These are more irregular in shape and size.

We can't think of any new food that she has had...especially since her diet has taken a nose-dive in the last few days with her illness.

Things that are new:
1) DH mowed the grass for the first time this season on Sunday. Both kids were outside that afternoon, exposed to the grass clippings. DS developed red-rimmed eyes and a few sneezes...we are thinking it might be some sort of allergy for him?
2) The laundry detergent...3 weeks ago we switched to Trader Joe's brand. Would a reaction show up sooner than this? Would it be more focused on the areas that are in contact with clothes?
3) The carpet cleaner...I had to use the new steam vac with carpet cleaner to clean up the vomit. I am leaning towards this as a possibility as the rash appeared the day after I cleaned the carpet...but, it still seems that the rash is in places that wouldn't come in contact with the carpet.

 

It does sound like hives, they don't need to be round. They do tend to come & go in different areas, unlike a lot of other rashes. Unfortunately, with hives, you will often never figure out what caused them. I have had issues with them in the past (almost always when I had been sick in previous days) & Lila had a horrible case of them last summer that lasted a couple of weeks & we still don't know what caused it. Benadryl is great at getting the reaction under control, especially if they start to bother her.