Food Allergy
LillyGrrl
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New Here-What to Expect?
LillyGrrl
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in Food Allergy
A little background- about 6 weeks after our son was born he started to develop severe eczema on his face, arms, legs, back and trunk (our DD had only a tiny bit on her legs which cleared up with hydrocortizone). At the time I was exclusively breastfeeding- the eczema stayed about the same (even with creams) until he was about 14 weeks old- at that point the doctor recommended either an elimination diet or moving him to a sensitive formula.
We opted for formula because doing an elimination diet with the way my life is would have been extremely challenging. We switched him to similac sensitive and the doctor prescribed a liquid steriod to clear up his face (since he was scratching himself quite badly at that point). Naturally the steriods and hydrocortizone cleared up his face etc but a week after he was off the steriods (and still on the sensitive formula) he began to develop the eczema again.
The doctor said he thought it might be a milk/soy allergy and recommended we move him to a hypoallergenic formula (which we did). His face was so much better after that but the eczema on his trunk, legs and back was still pretty severe and no amount of hydrocortizone or prescription meds was making it clear up completely- on top of this he's had some breathing issues (sounds like phlemy mucus stuck in his chest/throat when he breathes). For this he was put on once a day albuterol nebulizer and once a day budesinide nebulizer (and he's doing fairly well with it, his breathing is better but if we miss a day of doses his breathing isn't as great).
Today my husband took him in for a flu shot and brought up some of our issues (he's been holding his ears around loud noises, his eczema seems worse blah blah blah). The doctor suggested an allergy profile for him- can someone tell me how that works? Is it a skin test, a blood test? Should I make an appointment now with an allergist? How long will I have to wait to see one if I do need to see one? Our DD isn't allergic to anything so I am not sure how to really 'deal' with this. It seems silly but it's true (our DD has grade III and grade II kidney reflux and the treatment for it is so simple that I hardly think about her having it). The idea of my son being highly allergic to stuff honestly scares the cr@p out of me.
We opted for formula because doing an elimination diet with the way my life is would have been extremely challenging. We switched him to similac sensitive and the doctor prescribed a liquid steriod to clear up his face (since he was scratching himself quite badly at that point). Naturally the steriods and hydrocortizone cleared up his face etc but a week after he was off the steriods (and still on the sensitive formula) he began to develop the eczema again.
The doctor said he thought it might be a milk/soy allergy and recommended we move him to a hypoallergenic formula (which we did). His face was so much better after that but the eczema on his trunk, legs and back was still pretty severe and no amount of hydrocortizone or prescription meds was making it clear up completely- on top of this he's had some breathing issues (sounds like phlemy mucus stuck in his chest/throat when he breathes). For this he was put on once a day albuterol nebulizer and once a day budesinide nebulizer (and he's doing fairly well with it, his breathing is better but if we miss a day of doses his breathing isn't as great).
Today my husband took him in for a flu shot and brought up some of our issues (he's been holding his ears around loud noises, his eczema seems worse blah blah blah). The doctor suggested an allergy profile for him- can someone tell me how that works? Is it a skin test, a blood test? Should I make an appointment now with an allergist? How long will I have to wait to see one if I do need to see one? Our DD isn't allergic to anything so I am not sure how to really 'deal' with this. It seems silly but it's true (our DD has grade III and grade II kidney reflux and the treatment for it is so simple that I hardly think about her having it). The idea of my son being highly allergic to stuff honestly scares the cr@p out of me.
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Re: New Here-What to Expect?
So we do BLW but he hasn't "taken" to it so he is mostly still formula fed (on the hypoallergenic). I noticed when he ate mashed potatoes (that contained heavy cream and cheese) his face did worsen and his breathing wasn't as good has it had been. Eggs he seemed fine with though (he's had that a few times without issues). We have not tried nuts of any kind though (I'm very nervous with that, whereas I wasn't with my daughter at all).
So the RAST test is just a blood draw then? Ok the results will be sent to his pediatrician I am sure. I have the names of three of the pediatric allergists in my area, for whom I am sure I will be waiting months to see but that's okay. I will see what my pedi wants to do after he gets the results. In the meanwhile I'll just keep monitoring him when we give him new foods.