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We took Olivia to the pediatric allergist November 1st. I was debating keeping this appointment after her egg white test was negative in the clinic and her pediatrician told me to just try giving her bits of egg to see how she reacts. But I decided to keep it because it wouldn't hurt and I could get some of my questions answered.
The appointment was at 8:00 a.m. so we had to leave early enough to account for rush hour. Chris took the morning off to come with me (which I later found out was so helpful!) and we made it on time.
Dr. Helm was amazing with her. She still may have stared at him like he was about to chew off her toenails, but then again, she looks at most people like that right now. I told him The Story Of The Eggs Up To This Point and he said he wanted to do some skin testing.
"If that turns out to be negative, then we can discuss it at that point," he told us. Then the nurses came in to apply the skin test. Olivia wasn't a fan. This is precisely the point where I started really appreciating Chris was there. I think we had to wait 10-15 minutes alone in the room with her, having to kind of protect her back and she wasn't very happy until Chris gave her a plastic cup to munch on, but we had to take turns walking her around and that would have killed my back.
I used to work in a clinic as a triage nurse, but I didn't have much to do with the allergy testing except when we would help mix the serums, so I didn't know what to expect. I saw the "H" area on her back puff up and both of us were all, "Oh crap, she's reacting."
But the doctor came back in the room and said, "Looks like it's negative." He explained that "H" was the histamine, "5" was the control, which was water, and if "6" and "23" looked like "5," the test was negative. Likewise, if they looked like "H" it was a positive reaction.
So... negative.
He sat down and gestured with his hands. "You have a story we would consider positive for allergy, but a negative blood test and a negative skin test. So what do we believe? Do we go with the story or do we believe the tests?"
Basically it was decided that we would do a food challenge when she's 15 months. That means they give her an egg protein powder in yogurt or applesauce, small amounts in 15-minute increments repeated seven times and see if she has a reaction. (If you did the math like me, you'll see how insanely long I'm anticipating this appointment.) He said if that one turns out to be negative too then we can go ahead and give her eggs.
In the meantime, we have to refrain from eggs, but luckily he said things with eggs baked in was ok. That's a relief, because the girl loves pancakes.
You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts by clicking here.Labels: #MicroblogMondays
