Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Good & Bad

We survived the 1st pediatric allergist appointment. Overall it was a good experience. The Dr. was great and spent a lot of time with us, and answered our questions as best she could. I would definitely recommend her to anyone. The office was clean, colorful and welcoming. We felt like we were in the right place as soon as we walked in.
Ok lets get down to business. I'm going to start with the bad first. There are no real answers for food allergies, and where they come from and how to prevent them. The skin test was not so fun. In fact it broke my heart, but is was quick. The results came back positive for tree nuts. So I was disappointed. She also confirmed that Cormac has a mild egg allergy, but not much to worry about right now. He can't have scrambled eggs (which we already eliminated from his diet), but can still have it in things.

The good news is we don't have to eliminate anything else from his diet! We were worried he may be allergic to tomatoes, but nope he's in the clear! We are very happy about that. We were also told that we are doing everything right, and that were not just being over protective. The confirmation makes me feel like I'm not crazy, believe it or not. So we will just keep on doing what we are doing. It's been 3 months now and we have gotten a handle on some things. However I know there are many more challenges to come. Our Food Allergy Action Plan (FAAP) is all done! It's not as aggressive as I thought it would be. I'm glad we waited for the Dr to help us with it.

We took pictures for our own records, but I thought about it and think it would be good to share. I hope this helps others get an idea of what the skin prick test is.

The samples before the pricking
The skin pricking. This was not fun for anyone.
Right after the pricking.
Waiting for the results.
Getting the results. He was scared but not in any pain.
The Results
Pizza for our brave boy!






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6 comments:

  1. What kind of reaction does he have with tomatoes? When I was younger, I'd get a rash around my mouth any time I had tomatoes (sauce, raw, anything) or citrus. No swelling or breathing problems, though. I've grown out of it, more or less, but I can't have a whole lot without a bit of a flare-up. The doctor said it was common with pale skinned kids.
    Just thought I'd share...

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  2. Sometimes he breaks out around his mouth when he eats pizza or sauce. It doesn't happen every time but enough to notice. The most likely cause is the acid in tomatoes.

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  3. It broke my heart to see him being pricked like a little pin cushion :( Cant believe how big Cormac has gotten!!!

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  4. So happy to hear the appt went well. I never thought to capture those moments on film. Great idea. I am guessing that's what Jack looked like while we were holding him during his visit. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Laura, how did your visit go?

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  6. The appt was ok. We met the new doc, but spent most of the time with the physician's asst. Which was fine, having been there several times already. Jack was miserable during the scratch test and the blood drawing. We had to try both arms and he wiggled free from screaming on the third vial of blood. The results came back and we have to avoid more foods and the scores stayed the same from 7 months ago. The bright side is soy was negative on the scratch test, but showed up in the blood. We are on the waiting list to try a soy challenge and depending on the outcome we can sign up for a wheat challenge. I saw your sunbutter post and was really hopeful we could have it, but for now we tested positive and have to avoid.

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