![\"\"](\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_xGc8ytldDks\/SGRCg-n1i5I\/AAAAAAAADo8\/WR_ph7Uk9iQ\/s1600-h\/IMG_2339.JPG\")
<\/a>Fun with\n the camera and mirror.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>Pretty\n girls. <\/span><\/div>\n
Eve was
\n a model patient, playing happily and letting the nurse and
\n doctor examine her. She didn’t even fuss when they wrote on her
\n back with marker and then pricked her back three times. I was
\n amazed. I was all prepared for screaming, but she took her plug
\n and cuddled into me and barely flinched at each prick. Then we
\n played for awhile (time has no meaning in doctor’s offices)
\n with the nurse coming in off and on to check on her progress
\n and measure her reaction (with a ruler). There was a big mirror
\n in the room and I entertained her for awhile with the mirror
\n and the camera. Then the blood pressure cuff hanging on the
\n wall became the object of desire and that killed some more
\n time. I hardly needed the bag of toys and books I brought for
\n her. The test itself consisted of three needle pricks, two
\n control pricks “to make sure the test is working” she said, and
\n the third actually contained the allergen. After awhile it was
\n determined that she had enough reaction from the allergen to be
\n considered allergic and the doctor came back with some
\n pamphlets and a prescription for the Epi-pen. For those of you
\n who haven’t seen one, it’s basically a big pen-shaped shot and
\n if she has a reaction from peanut exposure we have to take the
\n top off and jab the needle into her thigh, then rush her to the
\n hospital. Yuck!<\/p>\n
<\/a>See the\n treasure map on her back? The top two are the positive and
\n negative control pricks, and the bottom is the allergen. I
\n think they put it off to the side because there was a chance
\n we’d have to do another one. We lucked out, I guess, not having
\n to do a second round. Her reaction was fast enough and clear
\n enough that no additional testing was necessary.<\/span>
\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>The\n final verdict. They washed off the allergen after that. Not the
\n marker though. At bath time Lex said “what is on Eve’s
\n back?!?”<\/span><\/div>\n
We
\n have a follow-up appointment scheduled in October to discuss
\n any issues or concerns we’ve had. The doc said we can cancel it
\n if we’re feeling super confident, but most people are full of
\n questions by that point and appreciate the follow-up visit. I
\n suspect I’ll fall into that category. Then we have to go back
\n again when she’s 3 (or 4?) and they run blood tests to start
\n tracking her peanut allergen levels and to try and narrow down
\n other nut allergies. After that we may be able to give her tree
\n nuts (walnuts, cashews, etc.) The doctor said that some people
\n do outgrow peanut allergies and that the milder the initial
\n reaction was the more likely the kid is to outgrow the allergy.
\n That sounds positive, but maybe he was just trying to soften
\n the news. Who knows.<\/p>\n
So for now we have
\n some instruction books and “how to read the label” cards to
\n study, and the interesting task of creating a nut-free world
\n for awhile. <\/p>\n
The good news is that my
\n concerns about her eczema and diary issues were unnecessary. He
\n said that if she can eat yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese and
\n other dairy products then she definitely doesn’t have a milk
\n allergy. Apparently cows milk changes the chemical content of
\n urine in a way that can cause rashes on sensitive skin. About a
\n minute into her appointment he mentioned that she has very
\n sensitive skin, hence the blotchiness and redness she gets
\n sometimes. So the diaper rashes she was getting after drinking
\n milk were probably a combination of the new urine content and
\n the general cloth diaper issues we’ve been having. She has been
\n rash free for a week or two now, so I gave her some milk
\n tonight and we’ll see how she does. The doctor also said that
\n although eczema can be allergy related, if it’s mild and not
\n itchy (which describes her’s perfectly) then it generally isn’t
\n allergy related. He said to treat it with lotion if I want, but
\n stop trying to link it to food or allergens :) One less thing
\n to think about anyway.<\/p>\n
So that was our
\n day. Tomorrow we are off to pick some strawberries (weather
\n permitting, of course). I made a funky strawberry pie earlier
\n in the week and Lex is very excited to make another one. I’m
\n excited to make strawberry jam. If I make it sugar free I might
\n even be able to eat it and still follow my WW plan. I fell off
\n the wagon a bit with the stress from this afternoon. I’m going
\n to stop rambling now and add a few pictures. Then I have a
\n house to clean and two kids still awake! Lex fell asleep in the
\n car on the way home from the hospital (around 4:30) and Eve and
\n I took naps when we got home. I think we were all exhausted
\n from the day. So now it’s 9:20 and they are both still going.
\n Oh well. Maybe they’ll sleep in a bit in the morning
\n :)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So it’s official. We have allergies. Eve tested positive for peanut allergies and the doctor recommended avoiding nuts in general and we are now the proud owners of two epi-pens. Bummer!! The plan was for Alan to stay home with … Continue reading