Allergies

Last week, I took Sam to see an allergist. When I took Sam to the ER for a prolonged asthma attack in late August, they advised me that we might want to get him tested for allergies, to see if they were aggravating his asthma. I asked his pediatrician about this at his five-year check-up, and she agreed he should be referred to an allergist. Personally, I didn't think he had allergies, but I agreed to get him checked. I figured it would be nice to rule something out.

I took Sam in last week Wednesday. They told me to anticipate a three-hour appointment. Again, I didn't think he had allergies, so I figured once I described Sam's medical history (lactose intolerance, severe reflux, tendency to catch colds), they wouldn't do the testing and would send us on our way. Well, I was wrong. Apparently, the reflux, the frequent colds, and of course, the asthma, are somehow connected to allergies. So, they did the full testing. Sam and I were there for 3 hours, 10 minutes.

First, they did the testing on his back. 59 scratches. They weren't extremely painful, but poor Sam was terrified. His doubting mother had done a lousy job of preparing him and he couldn't see what was happening. He was cooperative, but sobbed into his arms. It was rather heart-breaking. I attempted to distract him with a video on the iPad, but was only marginally successful.


There were no obvious signs of allergic reaction, which meant we had to go to the pokes on the arm. 10 on one arm, 8 on the other. These were more invasive (like getting 18 TB tests), but since Sam could see what was happening, he didn't cry. He made awful (humorous) faces at the nurses, but held still. They marveled over how well he handled this. My Sam is a tough little boy. The fact that they gave him prizes each time we finished a round of testing helped. Why he selected a sparkly blue ring as one of his prizes was a mystery to me, but I certainly wasn't going to stop him!


When all was said and done, Sam showed allergies to: dust, dogs, cats, mold, trees, and grass. No food allergies, thankfully. We need to keep Katie out of his room, he needs a better mattress pad and pillowcase cover, and we need to use good common sense with how much junk we expose him to (we need to keep his bedroom window closed). He is also on a daily inhaler to try and keep his asthma under control. I have a second inhaler with stronger medicine in it for when he has colds or an actual asthma attack. We have time to decide if we want to do allergy shots. Frankly, I don't want that type of commitment, so I want to see if the inhaler works first. Sam doesn't mind it and says it is helping him breathe better.


After the appointment, I took Sam to Kohl's, where he got new pajamas (see picture above!), a decorative pumpkin that blinks, and a small, glittery Christmas candle that also blinks. He felt much better after our shopping trip, and I felt a little less guilty about the whole experience. Poor Sam.