And the Heaven's Sang, well a little bit...

IT'S NOT WHEAT!!!! Thank goodness, it's not wheat! I was so worried that we would have to turn our entire kitchen upside-down to rid our pantry of wheat based products, and now we don't.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get to what the SPT revealed.

What we aren't allergic to: Soy bean; Egg White; Corn; Rice; Whole-wheat; Orange; Apple; Tuna; Tomato; Beef; Chicken; Pork. The two in this list that were of most concern to me were the wheat & tomato. Wheat because that was what we had assumed was the cause of all those horrible rashes. Tomato because as a small child, I developed an allergy to tomato & strawberries (both are along the same lines). At first glance, Mason seems to be in the all clear, but there are two more possible offenders, and unfortunately we drew the short straw.

What we are allergic to: Cow's milk & Peanut. His reaction to the milk was much worse & way more apparent than the peanut, but the peanut is a popular allergen on the rise.

Mason did very well for the actual test. The nursing staff was short handed that day, so they seemed to be rushing things along, which didn't help what little anxiety Mason had to begin with. The actual pricking of his back wasn't so bad, until the sting set in, which resulted in about 20 seconds of crying & a couple of large tears. We had to sit, without rubbing his back or letting him run loose in the hospital for 20 minutes. Any one who's ever had to keep a 1 year old corralled for 20 minutes without running, bumping or falling down into something is near impossible. Almost instantly the milk spot began to grow & radiate red. It became larger than the control Histamine spot, which is supposed to envoke a reaction as a baseline. The Peanut bump was significant, but not as extreme as the milk.

Then we met with the Allergist, Dr. H. A very tall gentleman & Mason was very distracted by the large size of his shoes. :) Dr. H explained that we didn't have to worry at all with wheat, but couldn't rest completely because of the milk. We should continue to read labels & avoid all milk products. If Mason should become exposed, over the counter anti-histamine should ease the symptoms (and the biggie) his allergy isn't life threatening! Dr. H also suggested that we treat the peanut, and nuts in general, with the same kid gloves, but didn't think exposure would be anything to warrent a trip to the emergency room. We are to continue to introduce new foods with at least a 3 day, but more like 5 day waiting period in between to be sure of no reaction. Should something spark a reaction, we should call him to discuss the possibility of another SPT. If nothing new presents, then we don't have to see him again for another SPT until Mason is 4 years old!

Such a weight has been lifted from our home. We still have to be careful & read food labels & ask for ingredients at restaraunts, but we don't have to live in fear of what the reaction might lead to. We will get in the habit of bringing Benadryl everywhere & keeping some at the homes we frequent (Grandparents, this means you), as well as a cortizone cream should we accidently have an exposure.

Oh, Dr. H did suggest that if we have peanut butter to wash our hands & mouth before interacting with Mason. So far, the peanut hasn't caused a major reaction, but food allergies aren't predictable & warrent an extra step or two.

With much delight in the fact that wheat came back negative, Mr. & I headed to the store to collect some bread! Turns out the store brand is milk free, made with soy, so we snatched up a loaf & headed home. I tested out a quarter of a slice of dry toast(Food Challenge). Mason was so happy to see it, I felt awful for having deprived him of it for so long. We kept a close eye on his legs, and diaper area & to our delight, there was no reaction. Before this test, it was noted he had two slight patches of eczema on each thigh, and I can only assume it was from the SPT. Since then the two patches have all but disappeared & we have no recurring affects from the toast.

I'm going to continue this blog as a journal to our food trials & as a resource for anyone else who may be battling milk & peanut allergies. Thank you for being my sounding board.

**Did you know, that McDonald's, uses milk in their french fries, fish sandwich, and nuggets of all things? We won't be visiting Ronald any time soon.**

Butterflies all a flutter!

Today is the day we can breathe a little easier. While we won't be able to completely relax, having some answers will take off a huge weight from our minds & hearts.
Our appointment is set for 4PM today.
I've been talking with Mason here & there, trying to prepare him for the Skin Prick Test (SPT). I'm not certian that he fully understands, but we've talked about how we're going to visit the Dr. today & they are going to tickle his back. We talked about how it might itch or tingle or burn, but that we and the Dr. would keep him safe.
I think I need the talking to much more than he does. My nerves are all over the place. It's a strange excitement. I'm not looking forward to the challenging road that may lie ahead, or how Mason will react to the testing. Just having some answers, a direction to guide us toward a healthy life for our family, will be such a relief.
This evening may be a little chaotic depending how the testing goes, so I will do my best to post a recounting of the test & the results & the next steps tomorrow while Mason naps.
Please keep us in your thoughts - or at least pray for my sanity, I'm going to need it! :)

Bless you! - a little history

Most people, when you tell them that you have allergies, assume that it's the hay fever kind. Seasonal sniffles. Coughs. Sneezes. Sinus problems. Ear infections. Benadryl. Sudafed. Nasal spray.

I know that when first faced with food allergies for myself, I never thought of them as being that serious. Never thought that my upset stomach because I had a glass of milk would be a danger to anyone but myself. Never thought that my eczema was more than dry skin, and my battle to wage. Never imagined that I would have to worry about a tactile reaction to bread. Or worry about when my son eats a cracker crumb at day care. Never, until now. All symptoms point to Mason having a dairy and wheat allergy. Tests should confirm this and should reveal if there are any others we should be concerned with on Friday. So far, we've managed to dodge more than one or two severe reactions.

We discovered diary was serious issue shortly after we began introducing solid foods to Mason. I knew he had a difficult time digesting lactose while I was breastfeeding, so I eliminated it from my diet. Once he weaned, we put him on a soy based formula & he showed no other signs of reaction. By the time he was ready for solids in his infant diet, I thought yogurt would be perfect. He was old enough now, his reflux was under control (I'll post about this later) & we had just about gone completely off the medications for that. Boy was I wrong! Within minutes of his first bites, which were more like smears across his cheeks & mouth, he began tearing at his mouth. It wasn't that he didn't like it, he was starting to itch. Before too much longer, Mr pointed out a small bump on his cheek, then another & another. Mason was breaking out in hives. I immediately wiped off the residue & called the doctor. Because his breathing was okay & he wasn't swelling up, we were told to just administer Benadryl & if things didn't get any better real soon, to take him to the ER. Fortunately, the Benadryl worked quickly, but from then on we have vetoed any milk products.

As Mason became more advanced in his diet & with the addition of several more teeth, we began introducing more & more foods. Whole Wheat Toast & Ritz crackers seemed to be a hit & didn't seem to be much of a problem for him. Until we ventured into Whole Wheat crackers. Because we thought we were in the all clear, they were introduced on a regular basis at day care. Mysteriously, Mason was ill & got the worst case of diaper rash I myself or the Day Care Provider(DCP), had ever seen. It was blistering, began to ooze & bleed. We tried every home remedy for diaper rash we could, and it just didn't seem to be easing up. Then it dawned on me. In the not so recent past, I offered Mason a whole wheat noodle & it resulted in immediate discharge from his tummy & a wicked case of eczema on his legs (much like he gets if he has been exposed to diary). What if he's allergic to the wheat crackers?

I embarked on a plan to eliminate wheat from his diet for 2 weeks & then test again with toast to see if we got the same reaction. With a few minor exposures at day care, we were able to pin point wheat as our prime suspect. The toast test (no pun intended) resulted in a blistery rash on his thigh.

So, we've discussed all this with his Pedi & have a short term plan of action. It's not the easiest plan to follow & we're stumbling through these next few weeks. But, after our visit with the allergist & the battery of tests we should have a clearer understanding of what we're faced with.

Mason is now 13 months old. We've had a fabulous year & day to day things continue to be a joy. This is my account of our journey with food allergies.