Rascal's Allergy Dr Visit

** This post is mostly for me to have all Rascal's allergy information in one place so it may not be so interesting to most. Then again I do have lots of pictures of his skin test reactions and I find those pretty interesting**

Before I write about our visit let me back up and post about the reactions he has had and what we did to remedy it. Again this is mostly for my benefit so bare with me.

Reactions:

~Rascal's first reaction was the summer of 2007. He was approximately 16 months old and I had given him a pb & j sandwich for lunch. By the time I had him cleaned up his face (around his mouth) was covered in welts. I gave him benedryl and he was fine. It never seemed to bother his breathing. We stayed away from peanuts for awhile.

~ Approximately a year later in 2008 (age 2) I gave him a fun size butterfinger and he had welts all around his mouth. I had no benedryl with me so I wiped him off with a baby wipe and he was fine.

~Approximately a year later in 2009 (age 3) he ate chocolate teddy grahams for a snack. I look down and he had welts all around his mouth. Again I had no benedryl so I wiped him down with a baby wipe and he was fine. There was no peanuts around him or in his snack.

~ In 2011 (age 5) he had Sheridan's custard and it accidentally had a peanut (or peanut butter) in it. He was with my mother-in-law and he told her he tasted peanuts. She looked at him and he had the welts all around his mouth so she headed to the Walgreens (to get benedryl) less than a block away. By the time she got there his tongue was starting to itch really bad. She gave him benedryl right there in the store and he was fine. We called the pediatrician and they told us to give him benedryl every 4 hours for 24 hours to make sure it was out of his system. He was fine with just the benedryl.

We have since then stayed very far away from peanuts and took lots of precautions at school last year. There were not any peanut products allowed in the classroom, at lunch he had to sit by the kids who bought their lunches from school since they don't sell peanut products and his teacher (and classmates) were on high alert for his surroundings.

Our previous allergist gave me all kinds of mixed conflicting information leaving me so confused and a bit panicked. So before the school year started this year, I wanted a second opinion and I boy did I have a list of questions to ask.

Rascal was dreading this appointment today so much. He cried the entire time he was getting ready for it but Scooter, being the great big brother he is, tried to help keep his mind off it.

I dropped Scooter and Baby A off with my father-in-law and headed way across town to the new doctor's office. Rascal was doing great and kept me laughing in the waiting room.

passing the time by reading :)

Once we were back in the room he got nervous. Not about the pain of the pricks but he remembered how bad it itched the time he had it done before (at age 4). 

The doctor came in and she did such a wonderful job listening to me and all my concerns. No lie... she wrote 2 entire pages in his chart with all the information I had for her.  

After that we started the skin test. They tested for not only peanut but for seasonal allergies too. A total of 33 pricks the first time:

Here (above) is what his back looked like immediately after they pricked him. Nothing but tiny red marks from each prick. Every one's looks like this at first.

after 1 minute passed by (above)

after 5 minutes passed by (above)

They put Scooby Doo in for him but even still he was trying with all his might not to focus on the itching.

Poor guy! This was not even 10 minutes into the 15 minute waiting time. I tried to help by faning his back with a magazine but I am not so sure it helped much.

After 10 minutes passed by (above)

this is his peanut reaction after 10 minutes (above)

This is what it looked like after the full 15 minutes passed by. (above)

Also I should note this was AFTER hydro cortisone cream was applied.

This is what his peanut reaction looked like after the full 15 minutes. (above)

And it started to go away finally and he felt some relief from the itching.

The doctor came in to discuss the results and I was a bit nervous. The nurse used some kind of tool to measure the diameter of his welts and the ring around the welt and then recorded it. Our doctor said that the peanut reaction is commonly around 8 or 9 and Rascal's was 22!! TWENTY TWO! Yes, this made me VERY nervous!!

Then she told me that he didn't react to a few like she thought he would so she wanted to do a few more tests.

Rascal broke down and cried so hard. He was not up for another round of itching. I felt so bad for him. Then he tells me... "mom. I would rather be in school than do this". Oh my goodness, my heart just broke!

He was brave and this time it wasn't just a prick it was 3 shots that they used to place the oils right under the skin.

He was tested for cat hair, and two typed of dust mites. Clearly, as shown above, he is allergic to them. Although they aren't his highest allergen. We found out that he is practically allergic to every type of tree and grass. That is what was causing the other huge welts on his back. So the only way to help with that (besides the numerous medications each spring) is weekly shots. He will get 2 shots a week and hopefully this will help him when spring comes around. Typically he takes 3 sometimes 4 and 5 medications each spring to just get a little relief, taking these sots should decrease the number of medicines he has to take. Our fingers are crossed and prayers are being said. 

As far as the peanut allergy..... here are a few questions I had that she answered for me and it best describes how things have to go for us (which is pretty much what we do now anyways) 

1) Can he be in a room with others eating peanuts/ peanut butter? NO so of course this means he can't sit next to anyone eating it either.

2) Can we eat it and kiss him afterwards? NO, we need to drink something, wipe our face and wait until the flavor goes away in our mouth before getting close to him. For this reason we have strictly become a peanut/ tree nut free home. If Rascal can't eat it then we don't eat it either.

3) Will he out grow it? PROBABLY NOT

4) Should he have yearly rechecks for the peanut allergy? tests are preformed every 3 to 5 years so his next test will be when he is 9 to 11 years old.

5) Can he eat products that are made in the same facility as peanut products? YES, we must monitor him after, if it is a new product he has never had though. We know he CAN have Hershey's bars and m&m's

6) Should we avoid tree nuts too? YES, they didn't test for this but since his peanut allergy is so high the doctor says to not even chance it with other nuts.

7) Can he eat at chick- fila or have things that have been fried in peanut oil? YES, the oil doesn't have the same protein in it that causes his allergic reaction (interesting huh?)

8) What is the doctor recommended plan of action for a reaction? Give benedryl at the first sign of rash around his mouth and monitor him. If it starts to affect his breathing or respiratory then we must use epi pen and get him to the emergency room ASAP. The 2011 incident was a too close (to anaphylactic reaction) for comfort reaction. We must keep benedryl and an epi pen at the school at all times and they are to give him the benedryl before even calling me because it can happen just that fast.

As far as the teddy graham incident... the doctor seems to think that was a fluke thing and says to try giving it to him again and watch him closely.

Can you understand now just how hard it is for me to let him out from under my wings? We will be ordering the peanut allergy bracelets right away and he will have to wear it at all times now. We have to make sure people know it is serious!

So after a 3 1/2 hour appointment we decided that poor little guy needed a special treat. So we went on a lunch date to Taco Bell (his choice) and then headed to Toys R Us for a little prize.  

I can't even tell you how glad I am to have this appointment behind us and so many of my questions answered. As much as I am glad to have it behind me, Rascal is 1000X times more so. When I asked hm about the shots every week he told me.... Mom they don't hurt at all. I think we will be ok with weekly shots. So wish us luck.... it will be a LONG LONG LONG 3 to 5 years (probably lifetime) ahead of us. Praise the Lord, Rascal is so grown up about his peanut allergy and won't take snack, candy etc.. from someone (even grandparents) without knowing if he can have it and if he isn't sure he asks me or if I am not around he just politely declines it. He is such an AWESOME guy and let me tell you, I was on cloud nine spending the morning with just me and him. He is such a sweetheart. I will share a conversation between us tomorrow.