A Visit to the Allergist

This afternoon, we had a (long overdue) appointment with Claire's pediatric allergist. Shortly after her first birthday, Claire was diagnosed with allergies to milk, eggs and tree nuts. We mourned that news, but then got on with our lives and found ways to work around said allergies. We learned that Claire could tolerate milk and eggs if they were baked in something (Think: muffins, cookies, cakes.). Claire's allergist was fine with me experimenting in this way because often times children are allergic to eggs or milk in one form, but once the allergen is cooked or baked at a high temperature, the chain of amino acids (the structure of the allergen) is changed and the child might not be allergic to it in that altered form. He also said that some preliminary studies have shown that exposing kids to an allergen in very, very small doses can help to develop a tolerance or immunity to them.

When we met with the nurse, I explained how Claire had had a reaction to a few spoonfuls of seafood soup containing shrimp, scallops and imitation crabmeat. I said I would like to have her tested for shellfish since it was the worst reaction she had ever had. Claire was tested for eggs, milk, tree nuts, fish and shellfish using the scratch method on her back. Claire did not enjoy this at all. In fact, she cried and cried for a while saying her back hurt. Then she started asking if she could scratch it. It was heartbreaking. : (

The good news is that she has outgrown her milk allergy and her allergy to eggs isn't as bad as it was (She only had a "slight reaction" to egg.). She is still allergic to tree nuts which I wasn't that suprised about since it is not an allergy that kids outgrow like milk and eggs. The bad news is that Claire is allergic to fish AND shellfish. I was actually sort of surprised by this since she has had some fish and shrimp with no adverse reaction. Now we will just make sure her diet does not include eggs, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. Hopefully some scientists or researchers will develop some type of food allergy exposure therapy like seasonal allergy shots and one day Claire will be able to feast on the things she can't currently have. After our visit, I took her to Toys R Us so she could pick out something special as a reward for being so brave at the doctor's office. She chose a Barbie and Ken bride and groom set and was absolutely thrilled!

Results of the scratch test