For eight years my husband and I knew we had a “sensitive” child. Diagnosed at 6 weeks with eczema after the “little red cluster bumps” started to appear. I gained comfort talking to other Moms who had successfully dealt with their child and eczema. We dealt with the occasional “flare ups”, tried a variety of medicated topical ointments, special lotions, and soaps. It may have been an occasional inconvenience, but I learned that there was always someone who had it worse. The mother I would meet whose child was covered from head to toe in misery, wearing socks on her hands, and never able to enjoy being a baby because they were too busy scratching.
At age 2 it became obvious there was a peanut allergy. We “treated” the symptoms with advice from friends and the Internet. A doctor never diagnosed the peanut allergy “officially”, but took our word for it after hearing the symptoms our daughter experienced.
It appeared that she also had environmental allergies. As strange as it may sound, this was not a huge concern to me because most of my side of the family suffers from environmental allergies. I requested allergy medicine for her, and was given whatever my heart desired; no tests, no real questions.
At age 6 we received the diagnosis of Asthma. A day of playing in a bounce house on a bad ozone day resulted in a night of labored breathing and ended with 2 1/2 days in the children’s hospital. The amazing thing that came out of this experience was the wonderful, bright eyed, full color child that emerged when we left the hospital. So many things now made sense. The years we told her to “close your mouth and breath through your nose”; the times we wondered why there were dark circles under her eyes. It all became clear. The poor child wasn't getting enough oxygen.
We now had a new routine in the house. It was a routine I was familiar with as a child. Two puffs of the Asthma inhaler in the morning and two puffs at night. I lived it for over 20 years, and now I had to get back in the groove with my child.
Despite the problems we encountered in the first 6 years of my daughter's life we still had no official diagnosis for specific allergies. When my daughter was in the second grade we learned of a little girl in a school close to us who died after eating a peanut a classmate gave her. That particular school was not properly equipped to handle a peanut allergic reaction. The next day I asked our pediatrician if we could go see an allergist so we could get an EpiPen. Instead of a referral to an allergist the doctor gave us the prescription for the EpiPen. At least now our family and the school would be properly prepared in case of an emergency.
Two more years went by and I was getting more concerned over violent sneezing fits, skin rashes, and overall odd reactions my daughter experienced after eating certain foods. I requested to be referred to an allergist for the second time to find out about her food allergies and was kindly told by our pediatrician that she could order a food panel blood test. After much protest by my daughter the blood draw was done.
Here is what I wrote in my journal the same day I received the test results from the food allergy test:
"My heart is heavy. My Mommy guilt meter is strong. The ray of hope of a healthier life for my daughter is what is pulling me through each minute. My first reaction is, "Great. My kid is allergic to 5 of the top 8 allergens common to most with food allergies, and also corn. I am going to have to make everything from scratch, read every label, make drastic changes....” And then I think of life for my child with the possibility of not needing daily medicine. Being able to enjoy her day without happily playing one minute, and then the next minute laying in bed, sneezing uncontrollably, with no relief in sight except to just “let the reaction pass”. I remind myself that having to make such drastic changes to avoid wheat, corn, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and soy may be the one change we have to make to save her life. The one change that may prevent just one trigger from causing a major attack that she may never recover from."
There are Moms I know whose babies are allergic to “everything”. Yes, anything that goes into their mouths may be the one thing that causes them to have a violent allergic reaction. I feel for the Mom whose child has to eat the same thing every day because anything else will send them to the hospital. My child wasn't told she couldn't eat. She was told she had to eat differently, and her life is worth ALL the extra we have to do as a family.
My journey with raising a child with severe allergies has begun. Tell me about yours.
