It had been so long since we’d had any “major issues” with allergies that I was beginning to wonder if we had totally made it all up or, if at the very least, that we had blown it out of proportion or if Siah was just growing out of it all – because I’d heard that it was possible for some “intolerances” to be grown out of.
It turns out that we are just amazing at being very careful and not letting Siah get “into” any of the things that he’s not supposed to have.
Not an issue with dairy as we are just typically a dairy free home. Soy doesn’t seem to have wicked reations with him. We’ve stopped buying cashews or ANYTHING that would have cashews in it and I didn’t really think that there was too much else.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
We made some crepes the other day and we made a batch with eggs and another one with egg replacer so that Siah could have some with us. I cracked the eggs into the bowl and then asked one of the kids to throw the shells away.
This didn’t happen, and the shells were left on the table. Somehow Siah manages to get up to the table and grabbed the shells. We saw him do it and quickly took them away from and then I asked one of the girls to wash his hands off as he had some of the raw egg white on his fingers. Again, this didn’t happen and I’m guessing that he rubbed his face and within………..5 minutes, he was scratching and clawing at his face. I started to wonder what was up and was panicing trying to figure out what could have happened and within 10 minutes he looked like this……
I’m not sure if you can see the full extent of the mess, but it felt like within seconds he had gone from fine to brutal. His face was swollen and puffy and red and the hives were turning into blisters and it was horrible.
We dosed him up with Benadryl and washed his face off and decided to throw him in the bath to see if it would help with washing the stuff off and possibly soothing the irritated skin.
Here he is about 15 minutes after we gave him the Benadryl.
Despite the trauma of it all, I think that I was more upset about it all, than he was. After the initial attempts at clawing his face off, he seemed to calm down fairly quickly and returned to the happy, easy-going baby that we all know and love.
Despite how we seemed to “sail” through this allergy attack, it sends me back to a state of feeling like I’m holding my breath. I know that I’ve still got to be careful of what he eats (or rubs on himself). It’s so frustrating and slightly scary. I’m thankful that it was a skin reaction and SOOOOO THANKFUL that we’ve not had to deal with anything more serious than that.
I can’t fathom how awful it must be for someone who sends their baby or child off to school or daycare or with friends or relatives and is unsure of what might or might not happen while their child is not with them. This whole “food allergy” thing is not a joke nor is it something to take or treat lightly.
If you’ve not had a food allergy touch your llife or your child than count yourself blessed and please, PLEASE support those who do have this issue as a part of thier lives. We know first hand how difficult altering your lifestyle is, and we are eternally grateful to all who support us by making the world around our children a safer place for them.