The Allergist

Today was the day, we got to see an allergist. Guess what? Henry is allergic. Anybody surprised?

Henry's main allergens are milk, wheat, nuts, eggs and the horse. Dr. Bingemann went over his blood test results and had the nurses do skin testing for a few things. He handled all of it very well despite his itchiness, he even flirted with the doctor and the nurses.

She gave us a new skin care regimen to try that includes bathing everyday, using a special bath oil called robathol, just barely patting him dry, putting his prescription ointment on any red spots, then topping it all off with thick creme like the one by Cetaphil that comes in the tub. If his skin is irritated, it is more likely to be irritated by other things. For example, since he is already broken out, he maybe getting more broken out every time he crawls around in the grass. He may not be allergic to the grass, but his sensitive skin is being bothered by it. Also, if his skin is broken up from scratching that is another way of entry for allergens. So when he has been breaking out in hives at the Diner it may be because there was a trace of allergen on the table and he rubbed his arms in it, so the allergen got into his system through the little scratches he has on his arms.

To go along with the high test results and the recent hives, we now have to carry an epi pen with us at all times. Very scary, but they showed us how to use and gave us an emergency action plan that tells what to do when. If his mouth, lips or face start to swell or he starts wheezing we are to inject him with the epi pen, then give him Benadryl and call 911. As I said, very scary, but there is a good chance we will never have to use it. Better to have it just in case though.

There is a very good chance Henry will outgrow at least his allergy to eggs. Lots of babies are allergic to eggs and outgrow it. There is also a good chance he will outgrow the milk allergy. The peanut allergy is only a 20% chance he will outgrow it. We will just have to wait and see.

We go back in a month to see how his skin is doing and how his weight is doing. In the future she may have do some food challenges, which would involve us going to the office and Henry eating something he has tested allergic to while they watch him to see how he reacts.

Also, I can keep nursing him as long as I want to. Even though I am only staying on the diet about 80% of the time, it is fine. As long as he doesn't have any immediate reactions (i.e. hives, or worse) to something I have eaten it is okay to keep going as I have been.

So for now we will not be feeding him any new foods, I can keep eating regular food some of the time, we will give him Benadryl whenever he needs it, we will be lotioning him more than he can stand (he is at the stage where he hates to be changed let alone covered in lotion), and I will be carrying an epi pen. I am going to close this post with a general statement to everyone:
PLEASE DO NOT FEED HENRY ANYTHING! Thank you!
(I am cooking up some ideas for labeling him at parties and such :) )