H-I-V-E-S spells Trouble

We are STILL struggling with Daniel's hives. A very perceptive friend pointed out to me that the trouble might be the new laundry detergent we started using when we got the new washer. She may be right! It was within the few days surrounding the arrival of the washer that Daniel started having problems. We just aren't exactly sure if the hives started before or after the washer was installed.

So I stopped giving Daniel the prescribed steroids after 3 days to try to solve the problem through the laundry. I didn't want to give him medication while he was still exposed to whatever irritant we were dealing with!

Unfortunately, I'm working with a 9-year-old boy and it's been hard to make sure that ALL the clothes he's wearing are clothes that have been washed in the right detergent. Every time he's broken out, there's been some question about something he's had on.

At first I thought the offender was the dye in one of the detergents we'd been trying out. But when the hives wouldn't go away, I thought it might be the perfume. While I washed Daniel's clothes separately from the others, I would mix them in the baskets.

Yesterday, I bought a dye and perfume free Tide liquid made especially for high efficiency washers. You can safely assume I didn't find it in the bargain bin! Since then, I have washed EVERYTHING in Daniel's drawers, the clean clothes not put away and the dirty ones in a pile. I have also stripped his bed, vacuumed his mattress and washed all his bedding. I even washed a jacket I found on the floor. Then I washed Nathan's dirty clothes. So the only things I haven't washed are the towels (those are next), Nathan's bedding, the clothes hanging in the closet and Nathan's clean clothes.

Where do I stop being "safe" and start being "obsessed"? Should I pull down the valances in their room and wash those, too? He does have a dust allergy (though it's never manifested itself in hives) and those things have been hanging there since before we moved in.

I wish the hives would break out in a particular pattern and spell out the source of the problem for me. Something similar to the "SOS" marooned travelers make with rocks on a sandy beach is what I'm picturing. Is that really too much to ask for?

If this marathon of laundry doesn't do the trick, and doesn't kill me, I'll have to call the doctor and ask him if I should continue the steroids (4 days left) or make an appointment with him. Heck, I already know what he's going to say to that! I'm thankful that we had Zyrtec in our food storage supplies.