My poor little girl has had skin issues since she was a tiny baby, so we figured that at some point she would have to undergo allergy testing, we just weren’t expecting it so soon! She has eczema, and breaks out in hives periodically, but until recently we weren’t able to put our finger on the reason why. This year at her 2 day school program, she broke out in hives about 3 times a month and I would rush down, give her benadryl, she’d pass out, and every time I mentioned it to the doctor he didn’t seem too concerned. At her 2 year check up, I asked if we could start peanut butter. (This is a staple of mine and I could hardly wait to see if my little one would love it too.) Our pediatrician said to give her a tiny amount and see how she did. Unfortunately, she did not do well. I only gave her the amount that would cover the tip of my pinkie, and within 20 seconds, her face was covered in hives. At that time I asked her teachers to keep her away from peanut products at school. They were of course wonderful and asked the other kids to stop bringing it altogether. And from that point we had no other issues at school. She also has been having reactions to certain dogs, especially those that lick her or come in contact with her face. So, I proceeded to make her an allergist appointment. We went this week for her appointment and had the testing done. I can honestly say it wasn’t as bad as Brandon and I were prepared for. She only cried after the skin pricks were over. Other than itching, and wanting to scratch, she was really ok. I told her she was very brave, which made her light up. Here are some pictures from the appointment that was more traumatic for Mommy than Addie….
Right after the pricks…a little sad….
Waiting for the results, wondering what the spots represented…
Itchy girl, trying not to scratch…
Final analysis…. Allergic spots are the swollen areas.
D is Peanut, the spot to the right of of it is almond, and the spot to the right and down from B is dog dander/saliva.
She stood on the stool just like this for several minutes while the doctor and nurse looked at everything and took notes.
The doctor spent a good bit of time going over what we should expect in our future, how to handle breakouts, (usually just with Benadryl), he prescribed epi-pens for a severe reaction, that we now should keep with us at all times, and gave us a glimmer of hope that she could be in the 14% of children that outgrow this allergy! We already have an appointment scheduled for 9 months from now to see if the reaction lessens. We are going to pray that it goes away altogether!
She is a precious little angel and just shines with joy where ever she goes. I know this won’t stop her from being so wonderful and fun and happy….it just makes me sad that this could potentially be something that she deals with her whole life.
Love to all.