I Don't Know What to Expect

This is not the post I had planned for today. I just saw this article on Janeen's website. It also came across my Google alerts. It is a tragic story of a man who lost his life from a bite of a cookie. All it took was one bite and 90 seconds. Unfortunately he chose not to carry an Epi pen and the life saving measures they did take were not successful. You can read the story here.

This story has got me thinking about my own kids. My son R. has a severe peanut allergy (98.9 IgE on his last RAST,) but I have no idea what kind of reaction to expect if he were to be exposed to a peanut. He has only every had one reaction almost 3 years ago. He ate some of my peanut butter toast and broke out in hives. He had eaten peanut butter before did not have a reaction. We do not have a history of allergies ,so I was surprised he reacted. I knew immediately what was happening so I gave him Benadryl and took him to the pediatrician. He was fine and we have been carrying an Epi pen ever since. I guess we are doing a good job avoiding peanuts ever since. But, I have this huge fear of the unknown. What would happen if he were to eat a peanut? Is he one of those kids who will drop right away? Or will his reaction be gradual? Not knowing what will happen really has me concerned. I do not think he is contact sensitive, but I can not think of a time he has even been in a room with a pure peanut product.

Does anyone else have this same concern?

I also wish I had insisted that he have a RAST test done as part of the initial diagnosis. I did not know anything about food allergies then, and figured that the scratch test was enough. I would love to know what his initial IgE levels were. Have they increased over the last few years? I suppose one piece of advice I would offer moms who are just starting on this journey is to get a RAST done. It may not mean much right away, you need to avoid the allergic food regardless. However, it can be useful to track the progress of the allergy from year to year.

Allergist Check Up

Well it was one crazy week for us. Long story short, it involved allergy testing, strep throat and, so far, 2 cases of pink eye. We will be house bound for the next day or two, so it will be a good time to catch up on many things. The first is our trip to the allergist.

There was a part of me that looked forward to the allergist visit. I knew that the actual test would be difficult, but I was eager for some good news. I am a very practical person, so I knew better than to expect that C. would have out grown any of his 7 (oops I mean 8) allergies. (I always forget coconut.)But there was a part of me that would love to be able to have ONE food back – is it too much to hope for? I know his wheat allergy is too high from last year, for him to have outgrown that. But, perhaps he would outgrow the egg??? It sure would make a world of difference in baking!

The first good news, the asthma that he experienced two weeks earlier was much better. Now for the fun part, enter the nurse with the needles. Now, the last time C. had skin pricks, he was 6 months old and did not know what was coming. At 2 ½ he is wiser and stronger. I am already struggling to keep him in the room – I have no idea how I am going to hold him still for the 2 dozen or so needles that need to be administered. C. had been coloring in a book quite happily, and put up a big protest when I tried to pick him up for the test. The nurse then called for reinforcements. Next, he really surprised me! I was able to get him to sit on the table facing me in a way that would enable him to continue coloring while the nurse pricked his back. He actually sat still this way while the nurse gave him every needle. I was truly amazed! Once the hives began to develop and become itchy, he did get fussy. It was a bit of a battle to keep him from scratching his back. I can not blame him; huge welts were beginning to develop. His entire back was enflamed! Poor guy – I did not think to take a picture to show his dad. We wandered around the offices a bit and played a stacking game with the basket of stickers to pass the time.

And the verdict – still allergic to wheat, egg, peanut, tree nut, banana, sesame, and. After we follow through with that RAST we may challenge him on the pea and coconut which showed slight reactions. Now we add the environmental allergies – trees (really big welts), grass, ragweed, mold and dogs. We will continue with the breathing treatments and put him on Claritin right away. I have to say that I really like my allergist. She is new to the practice, but we clicked. She really took the time to answer all my questions, which was great. The bad news – she is relocating out of state this summer. Mental note – get RAST done quickly and schedule appointments for R. and K. before she leaves.