Egg Allergy

This morning we left the house at 7:50. Paul was planning to go to PSU, but he ended up spending the day at home because he discovered a very large crack across his windshield this morning, and the soonest he could get an appointment to repair it was 8:00 tomorrow. I arrived at Paul's parent's house at 8:55am. I changed Ian's diaper and let him play for a few minutes. Ian and I got back in the car at 9:10am to finish the drive to the allergist for his 11:20am appointment. Both children had watched VeggieTales on the way to Paul's parent's home. Ian watched a little more after we got back in the car, but by 9:30 he was asleep. He slept for one hour. After we arrived in Pottstown I got some gas and we had an early lunch. We were at the allergist's office from 11:15-12:55pm. During that time he was seen by the doctor and also had the skin testing done. They tested him for 9 different types of mold, 4 types of animal dander, 8 types of foods, and four random things (two types of dust mites, cockroaches, and feathers). He tested negative for everything except eggs.

I had brought the label from a container of baby food that had recently caused a lot of side effects for Ian (vomiting, sneezing, etc.) and sure enough egg whites were one of the ingredients in that baby food. I also asked him if egg products were in immunizations, and he said yes in the flu shot. That would explain all the rashes Ian had after his flu shot. I have to start reading lables and avoid foods that have eggs, mayonnaise, albumin, pasta, marshmallows, etc (I was given a long list). When I'm cooking I was given a list of things I can use instead of an egg if the recipe calls for an egg (such as 1 tablespoon of apricot puree). I also am to have some Benadryl on hand for him at all times, and I have to fill an Rx for an EpiPen Jr. 2 Pak. I am going to look online before heading to CVS as yesterday I placed an order for his refill of Prevacid and found a place online that sold it for 1/3 the cost of CVS. It was tricky since I couldn't fax them an Rx. It will be easier if I order it online the first time while I still have the Rx on hand.

He also said that he wants a lateral neck x-ray of Ian to checked the size of his adenoids and assess his airway caliber because of his mouth breathing and the fact that Ian's tonsils are enlarged. Finally, he asked that a swallowing study be added to the upper-GI x-ray that is already scheduled for April 19. He said that just means a speech pathologist will also be present during the procedure in addition to the radiologist. Well when I called the radiology department later this afternoon they said they don't combine those two procedures. I went ahead and scheduled his swallowing study for April 26, but I'm going to do some checking tomorrow to see if they can be combined, and if they can't if the Allergist still thinks he should have the swallowing study. He said sometimes the reason children gag is because food is going back up when it should be going down their throat.

Hopefully Ian will outgrow this egg allergy. The doctor said that might happen. He said for at least 2 months we should make sure Ian doesn't eat anything that has any egg products in it, and hopefully we'll see some improvements. He said we should come back in 2 months, but I'm hoping we can just discuss the test results by phone because of the 5 hours of driving involved in going to see him in person. I'm glad Nadia doesn't have an egg allergy because egg salad is one of her favorite foods!

Ian slept the whole way from the doctor's office until we got back to Paul's parent's house (90 minutes). He played at their house for 2 hours while Nadia was napping, and then once she woke up we three headed back home to Paul. The kids watched VeggieTales during that ride. Ian cried the last 15 minutes. We were away from home for almost exactly 10 hours. It was a long day for Ian and I, but it was a fun day for Nadia. I wish Ian could nap as well in his crib as he does in the car. He slept 2.5 hours of the 5 hours he was in the car.