rash-white irregular raised clusters that's itchy

[nycmom02]

Hi,
My daughter is 1 1/2 and yesterday she started having localized rashes on her legs and torso and neck.....they are clusters of flat, raised, irregular shaped white- surrounded by redness....its' very itchy.  I gave her children's benadryl and that seems to do the trick but it comes back.  Everytime it comes back, it's in a different location.  Is this an allergic reaction?  

[tornadobird]

My 5 year old son has an intermittent rash appearing randomly, they are raised in very odd shapes and sizes, (some in circles and some like what u see under a microscope like a splat), in the same colour as his skin, but now they are appearing on his legs above his knees as well that start out white and change to pink (raised), all of these are itchy. I cannot pinpoint what it is that is causing it as they come and go.  I would be very grateful for any advice you could offer me. Thank you.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms it looks like hives. Hives (medically known as urticaria) are red, itchy, raised areas of skin that appear in varying shapes and sizes. They have a tendency to change size rapidly and to move around, disappearing in one place and reappearing in other places, often in a matter of hours. Many cases of hives are "idiopathic," meaning no cause is known. Others may be triggered by viral infections or medications.

Keep on giving her the Benadryl and also apply some calamine lotion on the itchy rashes. If the symptoms are severe then she needs to use topical steroids for which you should consult a dermatologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.