Andrea's Allergy Test

We took Andrea to Dr. Z., the allergist, today.

Basically, we filled in a bunch of forms and gave him her whole allergy/asthma history: the reaction in Montana, her hospitalizations, problems with colds, infant eczema, getting and giving up the kitten, etc.

Then he had the nurses do the "scratch test" on her back. She was NOT happy! Thank goodness Rod was with us. He held her in his arms with her leaning against his chest, while they did the test on her back. We saw right away that a couple of things were really reactive.

Here's the results:

• CATS was the strongest reaction (so that's definitely verified).
• PEANUTS also had a strong reaction; remember, her blood test for that 10 months ago had been negative? But he said there is a 25% chance of false negatives with that blood test. So, we are going to do the blood test again AND avoid peanut/peanut products for the time being.
• EGGS also had a reaction. We were surprised by that one. We've fed her eggs before--not too often, and not a great amount--and we didn't notice anything. Thus, he said, she can have eggs and egg products, but to keep a close eye on her after it for any rash, wheezing, runny nose, etc. and let him know what happens.

So, here's what we're doing:

• No pets (furry ones, at least). So, we did do the right thing in giving Egg Roll away. [By the way, I have heard he is settling in well with my cousin Beth and her other cat.]
• He's sure Andrea has asthma, so she will take a Flovent inhaler daily at bedtime, to keep her lungs strong.
• He also gave us a prescription for epi-pens (one for home and one for daycare), just in case she has a severe reaction to anything.
• Like I said before, we're going to re-do the allergy blood test for peanuts, and see if the result is positive this time. The scratch test was very clearly positive--we saw it puffed up right away.
• We'll see Dr. Z. again, at the end of October, to see how things are going.

Poor Andrea was miserable throughout the appointment. First of all, the appointment cut her nap time short by an hour; then, she screamed when Dr. Z. tried to look in her nose and mouth; and of course, although the scratch test isn't really painful, it isn't pleasant, either! So, I cheered her up on the way home: a container full of multi-coloured mini marshmallows cures all ills. :))

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Also of note: both the nurses and Dr. Z. took one look at Kevin and estimated him to be 3 months old! [I think it's the hair.] :))