The whole reason we ended up at the Allergist's office today was Aaron's near constant congestion and coughing. At first, his pediatrician was willing to dismiss it as asthma caused by respiratory illnesses. Well, I believe that is true in certain instances (he's been sick about 10 times in the last year or so), but I didn't really believe it wholesale. Many times Aaron has been the only one who was "sick." Nobody else got the "virus" that was causing all of Aaron's breathing troubles, not even Ian...and keeping those kids from sharing germs is impossible.
On Monday, while at the pediatrician for yet another episode of bronchiolitis, I asked if Aaron should be tested for allergies. His pediatrician agreed that perhaps Aaron did have an allergic cause for some of these respiratory problems.
So today, Aaron was tested for a bunch of different things. He didn't seem to mind the test at all, in fact he was really good the entire time.
AIf you notice, the 2 hives on the bottom left... those are Dust Mites. The egg allergy was a much more mild reaction than dust mites, but it is the top dot in the 3rd column.
Eggs??? REALLY?? I'm shocked! Although Aaron never eats eggs outright (scrambled or whatever, he doesn't like them), of course he eats things with egg in them all the time. His doctor said that it is obviously not an anaphylactic allergy to eggs, he is certain now that is what is causing Aaron's rampant eczema. (So I asked about Ian & my dad because they both have bad eczema too, and the allergist replied, "I bet you they have an egg allergy. Allergies & eczema run in families.") Intersting tibit- Ian & Aaron have never really liked eggs. Often when a child has a strong aversion to a food it is because he is allergic or sensitive to it!
Super!
So we have some work to do to cut down on Aaron's exposure to dust mite dander & eggs. Dust mites is going to be the easier of the two allergies to handle, and is the most probable cause for any allergic breathing problems Aaron has. We already don't have carpet and he sleeps on a crib mattress, which is not dust-mite harboring), his linens are washed regularly, not too many other cloth things in his bedroom, etc.
Reducing the amount of egg & egg products Aaron (& Ian) consume is going to be much more difficult. We're open to any & all shared experiences with egg allergies! We want to know your tips, tricks, etc.
Aaron will also now be taking Singulair in addition to his pulmicort and hopefully it will be a miracle-cure for you sweet boy! If I am tired of him being sick, he must be really tired of it!
This makes a ton of sense. I'm glad you were pro-active in asking about getting him tested. And so glad he did good during it, mine was rough. I hd a HUGE welt on my shoulder from grass, others from cats, dust, mold, etc. Allergies can cause otherwise healthy people to develop respieratory symptoms way more often then others, and when you have astham too, it becomes dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI hope that these changes and taking singulair will help him out!!