Allergies, Part 2

Like I mentioned in this post, Cooper was tested for allergies. And it was a very traumatic experience. For me. I had to hold the poor thing down while they took four viles of blood. Ouch! (That's the sound of his Skechers kicking my thighs). Yes, it was a painful experience for him, but I am so thankful I did it.

Let me start from the beginning...

My pediatrician had always said that, because of his severe excema, it was probable that Cooper would have allergies. She even suggested at 18 months that I have him tested, because I was nervous about peanuts especially. But I just didn't want to put my baby through that experience if I didn't have to. So I told her I was going to bring a peanut butter sandwich with me to his two year appointment. She laughed.

I think she thought I was kidding.

I wasn't. I whipped that sandwich out at our 2 year check-up, and had him take a bite. He seemed to do fine, just complaining that something was stuck in his throat. We figured it was the texture he didn't like, and that was that. Yay, he wasn't allergic to peanuts! Since then he has had the same reaction when eating anything with nuts, and eventually would refuse it, saying he didn't like it. I started to get suspicious...

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.

Our babysitter had a friend stop by with a dog. Now, I knew Coop had sensitive skin and that if a dog were to lick his face, it may irritate him a bit, but just for a few minutes. This time was different.

I got a call from Rick as I was getting ready to go home from work, telling me that my son was having an allergic reaction. I asked if he was breathing, which he was. Rick told me his eyes were swollen and he was sneezing, and red and blotchy. I hurried home to see my son sitting on the couch, eyes almost swollen shut, skin red and itchy, looking so very uncomfortable. He was most definitely having an allergic reaction.

Scared the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.

I scooped him up and took him to urgent care. He was back to normal within a couple of hours, and without medicine, but I was convinced now that we needed to have the testing done.

So, here's the results:
Highly allergic to DOGS (hence the reaction to the friend's dog)
Moderately allergic to CATS, PEANUTS, WALNUTS, SHRIMP, DUST, AND MOLD

I am now the proud parent of an allergic kid. I'm nervous because I've never had to deal with allergies myself for anyone in my family, other than Rick's daughter Gracie who is also allergic to peanuts. So we have become a no peanut household. We're preparing to see an allergist to determine the severity and preventative steps and to see if there's anything else to be worried about. In the meantime, I've got an Epi-pen, and a year's supply of Benadryl, just in case.