As careful as we try to be, there are occasional slip-ups (usually related to milk, never peanut) that cause a little stomach upset and then it's done, most of the time Connor doesn't even seem to notice. However, after visiting McDonald's one morning, the poor baby had hives covering the front of his neck. I rushed him home and got him some Benadryl, which thankfully worked very quickly at getting rid of the hives. I called his allergist to ask them what they thought the problem was, since I was reasonably sure that there was no peanut contamination, although they had forgotten to leave the cheese off.
For those who may not be familiar with our situation, my little guy is allergic to milk, eggs, almonds, and peanuts, with the peanuts being the most severe. After his skin prick test we were told that he would probably outgrow his egg allergy by his first birthday, milk could take a little longer, and it would remain to be seen with the nut allergies, though we weren't holding out hope. Connor seemed to do fine if eggs were baked into something, such as cookies, but we didn't test it much with more plentiful forms, such as scrambled eggs, potato salad, etc.
So, back to the phonecall to the allergist. I asked them if his milk allergy was severe enough to cause hives, and such a big patch of them (the biggest he's ever had). They told me that, according to his chart, milk was his least sensitive allergy and would only cause stomach issues. They figured that the sausage on his sandwich was cooked in close proximity to eggs and that the contact had transferred enough egg to cause a reaction. He had eaten breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's several times before, and never had a problem. So either they put egg on the sandwich and then took it off, or his allergy is becoming more and more sensitive. He also had a reaction to a flavor of Pop Tarts that had egg listed on the allergen warning, and broke out after having just a piece of one. So I think he's becoming more sensitive.
I was also unaware of the severity of symptoms that egg allergy could cause. I was under the impression that, like milk products, eggs would just cause gastrointestinal issues. I realize that by saying "just" implies that stomach pain and diarrhea isn't a big deal, but believe me, it is. I say "just" in the sense that the gastrointestinal issues are much less dangerous than hives and anaphylaxis. Apparently, egg allergies, if severe enough can cause the same symptoms of peanut allergy; hives, swelling, trouble breathing, and can need Epi-Pens to relieve the symptoms and prevent a very bad situation.
This conversation with the nurse was full of information that I was previously not given. I did not know that every time he had hives I was to give him Benadryl, and if they hives did not subside within 15 minutes to call a medical professional for advice. I was also told that if he ever has hives on or near his face and he starts coughing, to give him his Epi-Pen and take him to the hospital. They say this because since he is so young he cannot communicate his symptoms to us (he's only 15 months old), and that coughing is a sign of internal swelling and narrowing airways. Talk about scary, especially after thinking that eggs were not a huge danger, and were probably getting less and less sensitive, therefore becoming less and less of an issue. Wrong!
So we have now had to re-evaluate our safe foods lists, again, and had to modify what we allow ourselves to have in the house, and will be visiting the allergist again soon to try and come up with a new game plan and some answers as to whether or not this means that his peanut allergy is going to be a lifelong issue. I mean, if the one that was supposed to be outgrown the earliest is in fact getting worse, wouldn't it stand to reason that the most severe isn't going anywhere? We'll keep you posted. For now, eggs are out!
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