Allergies and More Allergies!

It's common for E to frantically run to me, crying about his eyes or ears itching. He gets so worked up that it's often difficult to tell if it's real or imagined.

I get a cold compress for his eyes, rub his ears for him, and try to calm him down. I also give B-dryl if I think he needs it.

Last week, when he ran in, I did all of those things, and he eventually calmed down, only to return a couple of minutes later. This is what he looked like when he returned:

Nick took this a couple of hours after the initial reaction.

E had calmed down a lot, but the side of his face had not.

I still don't know what he ate or touched. He'd had a bite of GracieGirl's GF pizza, that he was really nervous about eating. He asked three times if it was okay. It was a leftover slice from a frozen pizza that Nick had bought, so I hadn't actually seen the ingredients. Nick's really good about checking, but it was just strange that E was so worried about it. He didn't want any more after the first bite.

He also touched a latex balloon. He's been around balloons before, so I don't think that he's allergic to latex, but he'd had a really severe asthma attack after playing with these particular balloons, so I'd put them away, just to be safe. One of the kids found them and got them out, and E touched one.

I didn't know it, but I found out that he'd gone downstairs and pet one of the cats. He goes down there occasionally, but I always make him wash up thoroughly afterwards. Since I didn't know that he'd gone down there, I hadn't made him wash his hands.

So, I don't know what it was, but his meds didn't touch it. His eye stayed swollen for the next 24 or so hours, and then graduated to looking like this:

The swelling is finally gone now, but he has a nice scar under his eye.

The next day, GracieGirl had a reaction to something, and itched from head to toe. A bath usually helps, but not this time. She just got more upset and wanted to get out. B-dryl didn't seem to do much, so I just smoothed the body butter I make all over her, and tried to calm her down.

Jay was next. He gets this strange, painful rash that only happens when we travel, usually to the beach. His dermatologist thought it might be an allergy to the sun, but he's not sure. This time, he got it while we were at the Chesapeake. It was unbearably hot for a couple of days, and he was outside a lot (in his long-sleeved shirts and jeans, of course). He went right from the Chesapeake to the beach, and now his entire face, except for his eyelids, is covered, as is most of the rest of his body. I haven't found anything that helps, and his dermatologist doesn't seem to be able to help him.

I dream of a life without any allergies!

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