Taking Mac to the allergist appointment, I was so filled with dread and apprehension. I know that sounds dramatic, but when my boys are suffering, it just tears me up. I lapse into my old days of anxiety and worry. I know. That doesn’t sound like me (read with sarcastic tone 🙂 ) I had been informed that the skin allergy test was one that involved needle pricks (although, small, I knew Mac would freak out so I chose not to tell him).
We arrived and waited. And waited. Okay, it wasn’t that long, but when you’re five and locked in a 8×8 room, it seems like forever.
Can you find Mac?
Finally, the nurse came in and informed Mac that it wouldn’t be needles, but a caterpillar on his back. I was so relieved!! Until I saw that they were, indeed, tiny needles. Mac never saw them though and was a trooper! He never once complained of pain or of the intense itching that followed while we waited. The nurse said that he’s one of the best with how he handled it. Even adults tend to react and pull back once pricked. Once they did four sets of pricks on his back, we had to wait 15 minutes for the reactions. I’ll spare you the up close pics of his back, but know that when the doctor came into ‘read’ them, he said, “Wow. I can’t classify them as ‘wow’, but know that they are definite and almost off the charts (whatever that meant).”
Explaining the procedure to Mac.
Marking the areas. He loved it when she wrote or wiped his back. 🙂
He loved the suckers, stickers, and coloring he got showered upon him during the wait.
Turns out he’s highly allergic to trees, grass, all mold and cats. We really knew these, but some of the surprises were he’s also allergic to feathers, cockroaches (always good to avoid, even if you’re not allergic I would think), and mildly allergic to peanut butter and walnuts! The days he eats peanut butter could be the days he has ‘worse’ allergy days and we just haven’t put it together. So I’m going to watch and see. They said he’s only a 1 on these and if it’s not bothering him, no need to cut it from his diet as his body is handling it just fine. He was very happy to hear he’s not allergic to dogs at all. He’s now encouraging Daddy to get tested to see if a dog is in his future…keep dreaming there, boy. 🙂 The reason we went was to find some relief for his completely stopped up nose. They prescribed him Flonase. If that doesn’t work, injections would be our next step. I am very hesitant to do these, as is the doctor. He said there are very few five year olds that do injections and it would only be suggested if there is no relief with the nasal spray and his condition is just so unbearable and interfering with his everyday life and activities. So we’ll wait and see.
As we were leaving, the nurses kept saying over and over how well he did and they were amazed at how he handled it perfectly. The nurse’s last words to me as we left, “Go and brag on him. He did great!” So, here I am, bragging. 🙂