the outbreak

We're not sure what caused it,
but yesterday Elijah had a terrible outbreak of something resembling hives on his stomach, chest, sides, and thighs. They were red welts covering most of his torso that looked like they should be really painful. He didn't try to scratch himself, so they mustn't have bothered him. The only reason I saw them when I did was because he lifted up his shirt and said "boo boo".
We tried all day to pinpoint the cause but haven't been able to come up with any good explanation.

He had been playing outside at my mom's house, but nothing out of the ordinary. We hadn't changed anything at home like soap or detergent, and he wasn't exposed to any foods or chemicals that he hasn't been around dozens of times before.

Because it continued to worsen, I took him to the Dr. to have it checked. He didn't have any great ideas about the cause either, other than to say that the "rash" appeared similar to a chemical "burn". He ruled out hives due to the concentration on that area of his body. He also said it wasn't something he ate, touched, or breathed in because there was no reaction on his face or other exposed skin. So, he prescribed 4 days worth of oral pediatric steroid and sent us on our way.

The good news is that after only one dose of the medicine Elijah's skin was totally back to normal. Now, I'm just concerned that he may still get exposed to whatever caused this reaction. I've stopped giving him the meds, but I'll keep them in case this happens again. As with everything, we'll just have to keep a close eye on him.