Thursday, September 23, 2010

Austin and Allergies

So a little over a month ago I gave Carson a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he loved it. The next day he started breaking out with a rash that started on his legs and spread all over his little body. It was so sad. So doctor said sounds like he is allergic to peanuts, Benadryl until it clears up. Well it cleared up and I stopped giving him peanuts. Then it turned into the rash that never goes away. We cannot get this thing to clear up, it just keeps coming back. So I decided maybe its not peanuts, it must be something else. But we cannot for the life of us figure out what it is. Carson eats everything in sight and has since he was 9 months old so I can't figure out what is new in his diet. So we go back to the doctor, blood tests at this age are usually inconclusive so she wants him off milk, wheat, nuts, berries, eggs, and seafood. Are you kidding me??? Do this for a whole week and see if it clears up and then you'll know if it is one of these things. Poor Carson, he can't eat anything. I have had the hardest time coming up with anything for him to eat. He is all fruit and vegetabled out. After 2 days of oatmeal he was over it and a person can only eat so much rice. I sure hope its like seafood, that wouldn't be so hard but wheat causes a whole lifestyle change. And I will have to do it too because when he sees me eating bread or something he wants it. Did you know there is wheat in ice cream? Not to mention milk! I feel sorry for him. It has only been 3 or 4 days but the rash is not clearing up. Any ideas, what are your kids allergic too?

On a lighter note we went to Austin this weekend. I forgot our camera but we did take this picture of Carson riding the train. (this is before he peed through his diaper and jeans and onto my lap :) I love Austin and we had a great time, it is so beautiful there. Aaron and I went on a run through UT campus and around the capital and enjoyed checking it out. The football stadium is huge. I oftentimes think we would be happier in a smaller town...


5 comments:

Dani said...

I hope it isn't allergies for your sake! Scott is allergic to milk, eggs, and nuts. Part of his reaction is eczema and we've gotten pretty good at dealing with the breakouts - I'll share what has worked for us: The first thing is that we have to be careful of his allergies - since you don't know yet, that will be hard for you. Second is how we moisturize his skin - we give him a bath right before bed. The only soap we use is Cetaphil and immediately after his bath we lather his skin in eucerin (I like the kind that you buy in the tub - it's almost like a creamy Vaseline...gross, but it works!) We do it at night so we can put a thick layer on and cover it up with his pajamas and not have a mess in the house from him running around with shorts or something. Anyway, that has cleared up his eczema beautifully. I don't know if it will help Carson, but it may be worth trying?
My last tip about allergies is that you should avoid going to an allergist if at all possible. Our first pediatrician tried to discourage us, but said he would recommend one if we wanted to. I was so scared and overwhelmed that I really wanted to go to one. I regret it now. They won't be able to help you figure out anything at this point (unless you have a really good one - we never have had access to a really good one) and they have to be really conservative about things like food challenges and all recommendations they make about diet and really just everything they say because people have sued doctors so much. It's really a frustrating process and if you can just work with your pediatrician and do food experiments on your own, that's the way I would go.
For food, I have found that my love of cooking has paid off for us. We eat almost everything from scratch. Without wheat it would be hard, but we've survived without milk (or at least Scott has - it's more expensive to live on soy milk and butters made without milk than cow's milk!) for almost 1.5 years! Our ice cream maker has come in handy - we made a melon sorbet this week that Scott loved!
That's a really long comment, but food allergies have kind of consumed my life for a while now! Good luck!

CK Morgan said...

frustrating! Good luck. Hopefully it will all just pass over.

Jen said...

Leila has had issues with soy and (after a scary trip to the hospital) we found that a lot of foods seemed to give her trouble after the initial reaction.

Anyway, I was going to suggest the Eucerin as well (it's kind of pricey, but Walmart makes a generic brand that I use) twice a day. You can also use 1% hydrocortizone that will reduce itching and redness.

If it gives you any hope, after we got rid of the skin problems, we haven't had any issues. She can even eat foods with "traces of soy" and not have a reaction. Good luck, I know it's endlessly frustrating.

Jalei & Lane said...

That is so strange. I wouldn't think it would be milk since he hasn't had a problem with it up to this point. But allergies are weird, so you never know. I hope you figure it out quick!

Julie said...

I almost wonder if he could be allergic to Josie because even with him on a different diet, something is still causing him grief. I feel so bad for Carson! You know, there is a small town about 5 hours northeast of here... (-;