Monday, March 05, 2012

Allergy Testing

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On Thursday I took Sean to the Montreal Children's Hospital for his appointment with an allergist. While we waited in the waiting room, he colored on some paper in the waiting room.

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And I worked on Hitchhiker.

We were finally seen by the doctor. First, we had a consult before they decide to do any tests or not. At first, she told us that she doubts that Sean has any food allergies from our history I gave and from what happened at the times of the 2 reactions. She thought maybe he might have been sick and it was viral (the rashes), etc. She sent us for testing, just in case. She kept saying how Peach allergies were extremely rare, more seen in Spain and surrounding European countries. Hmm... She also said that in all her years working at the Children's hospital, she had never met a child allergic to Strawberries. She's seen children with pollen allergies that when they eat strawberries get an oral reaction (red around the mouth, swollen lips, etc) but never an actual allergy.

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We were seen for his allergy test, and he was really brave during the actual preparation of the test (scratch test) but once his arm started to react - that's when he started to freak out.

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I've marked what they tested under where they did the test. (The image was taken with my iPhone, I had left my actual camera at home without realizing it). He was tested with 10 spots. A negative control, a positive control, 2 different kinds of dust mites, 2 different kinds of trees (one being Birch (which he reacted to) the other, I don't remember, cats, dogs, peaches & strawberries. The doctor said the peach allergy was extremely rare, but that he's absolutely allergic to Peaches (the reaction went all the way up his arm under his sleeve). She doesn't think the Strawberries reacted - but look at the reaction. It's small, but there! It's not as bad as the Peach allergy - but I swear there's a reaction there. Close up below:

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To me, compared to the negative control and the negative reaction to dogs, cats & dust mites (and to the tree that I can't remember), strawberries reacted. It was the nurse that didn't think so. Anyhow, I made the decision to either a) avoid strawberries until we go for even more testing in May (for apricot, cherries (other fruit with pits), and for cooked peaches and fresh nectarine, and cooked nectarine - it's possible for people with fresh fruit allergies to NOT be allergic to it when cooked, but we'll test in May to find out) or b) wait until we have nothing going on during the weekend, and let him (equipped with benadryl and an epipen) test out 1 strawberry and see what happens. The strawberry reaction was not as sever as the peach one back in January, so I feel better letting him try out a strawberry rather than trying out a peach for example. We'll see if we get any time on the weekend to let him try strawberry before our test in May, but since strawberries are not really in season, I also am okay with him waiting until May to get him re-tested for Strawberry. As I wrote above, he also reacted to Birch tree pollen. This apparently is associated with fruit with pits. So once we go back in May he will get tested for all fruits with pits, to either rule out allergy or find out what else he can't eat.

He's now equipped with a prescription for Benadryl for school (they won't administer it without the prescription) and also a refill on his epipens, and I have to get him a medical alert bracelet. There are some awesome kid ones, which would make it better for him to actually want to wear one, so I'll be looking into ordering one of those sometime soon. He really doesn't need the medical alert bracelet until Kindergarten, since he's either always with me/Jamie, always with my parents, or always with his teachers in his 1 classroom. And when he's with friends (like he was yesterday at a drop off birthday party), the birthday boy's mom was given his epipen & instructions, and wasn't a stranger to using it anyhow. Sean's very good at telling you what he cannot eat. Sometimes I swear he's 5 going on 15.

Today's edition of Monday Link Love will be live this afternoon. Stay tuned.

9 comments:

Drea said...

poor dude. I had a friend whos son was allergic to fruits with small seeds like strawberries. Totally possible. Peaches tho, never heard of that! I suppose if I had to pick tho id rather have a peach allergy than milk ;-) - hope the test continue to come out clear and you all are prepared for the changes.

Tara said...

Wow, that's some reaction! I'm sure the test process is trying, but it'll be good to know exactly what he's allergic to.

hakucho said...

What a brave young man! I've had allergy testing multiple times, but not as a child. Good to know the allergies. I always thought I was allergic to penicillin (since I was 4) but was tested last summer and I was not. I was ecstatic! Good luck with the rest of the testing :)

Dawn said...

Aww poor Sean! At least you know what caused the reactions and what to avoid.

Celia said...

I'm glad you were able to get some answer and treatments.

Anonymous said...

Poor little guy! It looks as though he was very brave. It's good you got some definitive answers about what food to avoid for now. Hugs to you, Robyn!

Girl Knits said...

I have had to do an allergy test as a child, and your son is one brave little boy for going through it. At least now you know what he is allergic to, and have some answers. Answers are good. Good luck!

g-girl said...

poor kid! fingers crossed that he doesn't really have a strawberry allergy. strawberries???? that would be horrible. maybe in may you will be able to find out if he'll outgrow these allergies.

Hattie said...

I hate when doctors automatically assume that a kid can't be allergic just because it's rare... my daughter is allergic to bananas of all things... weird, rare, but true. And who'd guess something like that, bananas are the first food most people give a baby when they start solid food!