ALLERGIES

Well this has been a roller coaster ride for sure, but
finally we are getting more informed and things under
control!
He of course developed the eczema that seemed
constant for 9 months. We seemed to get control
of it though and he would have little flare-ups now and
then, never really knowing the cause.
When he'd get a mosquito bite - the spot would get to
the size of a loonie. It would become a real red, hard
lump. He had one just above his eye the one time -
looked like he'd had a nasty fall.

When he was about 2 he had some toast with peanut
butter and he developed little red spots. They
didn't last too long and we honestly didn't relate it
to the peanut butter that first time!  However there
was another incident with toast and peanut butter -
this time he had large hives on his face - he hadn't
had but a bite!! That is when we assumed it was or
could possibly be the peanut butter!  From that
day since he hasn't touched peanut butter. There
was another incident after that when he had toast
and margarine - he took it down the stairs taking a
bite and almost immediately came back up - his face
and neck were covered with huge hives and one
whole side of his face was swollen.  From that day
forward - NO peanut butter or margarine!<
Even Erik knew from early on he could NOT eat
them or he'd get 'chickenpox' (his name for the
hives). We have since put that incident down to
cross contamination with peanut butter - possibly
on the knife - because he is okay with margarine now.

During the Christmas holidays of 1999 the flu hit
our house with a vengeance - Erik got it bad! He was
sooooo sick, Christmas morning that the 'Hot Wheels®'
from Santa put a momentary spark in his eye but it
was short lived, he was so sick. December 27th
I had to take him up to a 'packed' Clinic to have
him looked at again as he was not getting any better.
We sat down for our long wait (we got chatting with
the couple beside us - they had already been waiting
45 minutes!) To our surprise within 10 minutes it was
our turn! When we got into the room the nurse said
they took us early because he looked so sick!
We were given a prescription for antibiotic and home
we went.  He started the penicillin that afternoon.
Friday morning (New Years Eve) Erik awoke shortly
after I arrived home from the hospital myself and
his left eye was swollen. I changed his diaper and
his left testicle was swollen too, my first thought
was "Oh no on a major holiday" I immediately
decided to stop the penicillin and keep an eye on
him closely. That day all 6 of us laid on the couch
throughout the day and rang in the New Year.
Happy 2000!? Sheesh! Thank goodness Y2K didn't
have the problems suspected/predicted - we
were all too sick to get off the couch!
The following day was the very first day in at least
2 weeks that Erik finally started to feel better.
He actually even played with his new 'Hot Wheels®'.

Throughout the rest of winter/spring and summer
things were fairly normal as far as rashes/
reactions go.  Sometime in the late summer we
ended up back at the doctors and after going
over things with  our family doctor - he said it was
time for him to see an Allergist! (6 month waiting
list).  He had a real bad bout in early November-
rash, asthma - poor little guy was in rough shape.
(We had just got new pet gerbils and he had been
playing with them closely that day. We figured it
may have been them or the cedar shavings.)

2001 brought our appointment with the Allergist
and we've been on a bit of a whirlwind more recently.
His first visit consisted of 'skin scratch tests'.
He was feeling under the weather that day to begin
with so they decided to only test him for the main
things we felt he may be allergic to or may be in his
immediate environment, (cats, dogs, peanut butter,
dust/dust mites, mold/mildew).
Needless to say, moments after the scratches, the
peanut butter one was red and inflamed almost
immediately, the next biggest was cats.  In fact, he
re-acted to all of them.  He was given a dose of
Benadryl™ right there in the office - as the nurse said
"He's an allergic little boy. Really allergic, like really
really allergic".

We were given literature and a prescription for
EpiPens® right away and they scheduled RAST blood
test for the peanut.  It was decided at that time
to have a RAST test done for egg - I guess it is not
uncommon to have egg allergy if you have peanut
allergy. He had really never had egg in it's raw form
and it would save him another scratch test.

We went home and started the process of what we
could - de-dusting - starting with new furnacee filter,
dust filters, new vacuum, getting rid of dust
collectors (knick knack's, stuffed animals, etc.).
We were lucky - we were already doing good in some
ways without even knowing it - he is in a toddler bed
so his mattress is plastic covered - his pillow is foam
with a plastic cover already - suggestions according
to some of the literature. :o)

The cat and dog are real tough issues now that we
are struggling with - both have been a part of our
family for a looong time!  We have put the word out
to find a home for the cat.  The sad thing is, the one
person in this family that loves 'Cleo' the MOST is
Erik.  For now we are trying to prepare everyone,
and to instill in Erik that he is allergic to the cat
and to keep away from her.  The pet store where
we got our gerbils were kind enough to take them
back.

The results came in from his RAST blood tests -
peanut was 100+, egg was very slight.
I had been terrified of him having his immunization
(he was one behind) because apparently there is
an egg base in it and he had not really been
exposed to eggs before. All 3 doctors agreed
it was okay to have it done, just as long as we
waited in the office for a bit after and had his
EpiPen® on hand. He had it done last week and all
went well! :o)

So, now he has his EpiPens®, Immunization up to date,
Medic Alert® bracelet with all info, letter from
Paediatrician and forms ready for JK in September!
I was in touch with the school briefly, asking about a
'Peanut Free' classroom (apparently an issue this
school has not had to deal with yet) so I will keep
you posted of my progress with the school!
We have already done a letter/poem for Erik to
send home with his classmates (you can read it
HERE)