100th Post & Our 1st Giveaway

This GIVEAWAY has ended. CONGRATS to SARAH!

When I started writing this blog, I did it because I wanted to document the things I was learning about food allergies so that as my daughter gets older she can use this as a reference and also find some of her favorite recipes that are free of dairy, egg and peanuts. But I also wanted to write the blog because I found it very hard to find info from real, live people about living this life with food allergies. It would have been a tremendous help to me to read someone’s own online journal of what they’ve experienced as a result of food allergies, but I just couldn’t find one. My goal for this blog is to help those of you who are walking this road and encourage you that you are not alone. I hope to be more faithful in blogging and finding more useful information, tips, and recipes to help you along your journey. If there is anything specific you’d like to know more about, let me know!

Last year, my daughter was re-tested for her specific allergies {I wrote about that here.} and found out she still had all of them. While that was not exactly what I wanted to hear, we learned that none of hers are now considered life-threatening. I was glad to hear that, but also very skeptical. I was told that it was up to me whether to carry EpiPens or not now that they were not life-threatening and for months I thought about whether I should or not. I still hadn’t made my mind up until yesterday when I read about two kids that died just in the past week from food allergies. One was 16 and ate something that didn’t have peanuts in it, but he was unaware that it has been processed around peanuts. That one bite took his life. Until then, he had never had an allergic reaction, even though he was aware of his allergy. That settled it for me. The fact is you just never know when a severe allergic reaction will occur. One exposure may be mild and then the next time it could be the last time. Food allergies are very serious on every level. They cannot be taken lightly. When I read that article about this boy, I cried my heart out for that family. I cannot imagine living through this kind of loss. Their situation was purely accidental and no one ever imagined this kind of reaction would have taken place. So, today I had the pediatrician refill my daughter’s EpiPen Jr. prescription. Our deductible is very high, so it was all out of pocket expense and I nearly choked when I found out it was $170. No matter what the cost, though, I have to realize this is a small price to pay for saving my daughter’s life if it comes down to it. EpiPens are like a life insurance policy. Don’t leave home without yours. It isn’t worth the risk.

So, to celebrate 100 posts on my allergy blog I am giving away personalized food allergy labels!

You can choose between 6 – 3 inch round labels, 12 – 2.5 inch round labels, OR 20 – 2 inch round labels! These are very cute and the colors make them stand out and be noticed {which is the whole point anyway!}.  If you decide you can’t wait to have some, you can go here and purchase your own.

Giveaway Facts:

Starts NOW and ends Sunday 8/28/11 at midnight (EST). Winner will be chosen at random through Random.com. And I will announce the winner Monday, 8/29/11. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will have to choose someone else.

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling what you specific allergy topic you would like to know more about OR leave a favorite tip for the rest of us.

Extra Entries:

Post the giveaway on Facebook OR blog about it and leave a comment telling you did. (1 entry for each)

If you link your comment to your blog, I will contact you that way. Otherwise, please leave your email address in the comment so that I have a way to contact you if you win!

Good luck and THANKS for stopping by!

Allergies @ the Dentist Office

Wow! What a learning experience this is becoming for me. If you haven’t read my last post on anesthesia and allergies, read it here then continue this post – it will make more sense. Today, I took my girl to the dentist ready for her to have her first set of Xrays and a filling. So, when I got there and turned in her new patient info, I sat in the waiting area going over in my mind my usual allergy spiel.  A nurse came out to us with the chart in her hand to ask some questions. I was ready for her to ask about the egg allergy, but she instead asked, “How severe is her peanut allergy?” In my mind, I was wondering, “What on earth contains peanuts in the dentist office?” When I told her she told me the dentist had eaten a protein bar that morning that contained peanuts and she wanted to be sure my girl didn’t have severe peanut allergies before she saw her. (Later I learned that they typically schedule allergy patients first thing on Monday mornings so that the office hasn’t been contaminated yet and the staff makes sure not to eat peanut butter products those mornings. KUDOS to them!!!) So, I assured her that with the dentist wearing a mask and gloves around my child would be appropriate since her allergy to peanuts doesn’t seem to be as severe as her milk and egg allergies are. I asked her about the egg allergy and she said they’d talk to me about it during the visit.  So, Xrays were done and she does have a few tiny cavities that couldn’t be seen without the Xray and she will need to have them sealed. But today, the dentist told me she would need to order a special type of ‘happy gas’ because even though it doesn’t specifically contain egg, it has a substance that is molecularly structured like eggs and people with egg allergy have reacted to that substance. We obviously want to be on the safe side and go with the alternative! Unfortunately, right now I cannot remember the name of it. And because of its short shelf life, they do not keep it in stock. So, they will order it about a week prior to her next visit. The nurse had asked me if my girl had had any reactions to immunizations and I told her that she did indeed react to the MMR and Chicken Pox vaccines and that I would not allow the flu vaccine (which she had specifically asked me about). Then, she told me that that gives them a good indication of whether or not a child with egg allergy would react to the normal happy gas that they use.

First of all, I have to say that I was quite surprised by this information today! I would have NEVER thought to ask about allergies and anesthesia/analgesics. And secondly, I was extremely impressed with this pediatric dentist office being so on top of things. I feel relieved and just very thankful that they are obviously concerned about allergies in their office and in the way they do things there. The dentist told me she would have an epipen with her while she does the first filling to make sure she is prepared in case of an allergic reaction. (More peace of mind for this Mommy!) I highly recommend Crockett Pediatric Dentistry for those reasons, but please note that I do not know if they are the most affordable. I have to do my research on that, but if money is not an option to you and you are looking for a good pediatric dentist – try them out!

On another very interesting note – I was racking my brain trying to figure out why my girl has a few cavities because we brush her teeth for her (most of the time), we floss them every once in awhile, etc. The dentist asked if she drinks a lot of juice or soda and we do not let our girls drink soda except on very rare occasions and we do not buy juice. They drink water or milk. Except in this case, she drinks rice milk. Immediately, the dentist said, “Ah! I should have known that!” (Because of the milk allergy.) Then, she told me that rice milk is comparable to juice in the way it breaks down into sugar – thanks to all the carbs that rice has to offer. Now that I have been told that, I realize I should have known that myself. We recently switched to Almond Milk because my girl is not allergic to tree nuts and Almond Milk is better for her and has a thicker consistency like cow’s milk. She drinks the vanilla flavored kind. So, the dentist said her son had to drink Rice Milk when he was younger and at age 4 (like my girl) he had the same issues with hidden cavities and it was all due to the Rice Milk.

Anyway, I hope this has been informative for you or someone you know with an egg allergy. It is so very important to alert EVERY person that has interaction with your child about his/her food allergies – even medical professionals.

How I Became a Part of the Allergic Lifestyle

I had always heard about food allergies and some people having them, but never knew exactly what all that entailed. That is, until my second child was a year old. I knew that giving a baby milk was not encouraged until a year old, but seeing how she was almost there and how when I tried to give her a bottle of formula for the first time, she wouldn’t drink it, I decided to go against the ‘rules’ and give her milk. Turns out there was a reason she wouldn’t drink the formula! Her body was telling her not to. It only took two sips of milk to realize she was choking and hives were breaking out all around her mouth and down her chest to her stomach. She was coughing terribly and it was then that I knew she was having a severe reaction. My husband and I got her in the van as quick as we could, along with our firstborn, and began our journey to the ER. Along the way, she seemed to calm down and having a Mom who was a nurse, I knew to keep an eye on her fingernails/toenails. For if they were turning pink immediately after touching them, the oxygen was able to move through her body the way it is suppose to. Thankfully, she recovered quickly from that reaction and we did not end up having to go to the ER afterall. But the reality that our daughter has a food allergy was beginning to dawn on us. Little did I know the change in lifestyle that was going to bring for her and for the rest of our family. I called her pedatrician and was told to keep an eye on her, but that she should be okay, and of course, not to give her any milk products for awhile. So, that’s what we did.  Then, came her first birthday.  We were out in California visiting grandparents and I knew I needed to find a cake that had no milk in it.  So, I was very happy to find that Angel Food Cake did not.  After eating a few bites of the cake, I noticed hives around her mouth.  Alarm ran through my body and it was then that I knew she needed to see an allergist.  She had an allergy to more than milk.  I had a suspicion that it might be an egg allergy because I had read about people having that and afterall, angel food cake is made with egg whites.  So, upon returning home from our trip, I took her to the allergist where she had the 40 prick test done on her back.  Needless to say, that was slightly traumatic for a one year old…and her mom.  The results were that she indeed had an egg white allergy, as well as, a peanut allergy and, of course, the milk allergy.  The nurse couldn’t even measure the milk hive because it was spreading out like wildfire into little pods of hives.  She called another nurse in to try and measure it, but they said they’d never seen one so bad.  That was NOT encouraging.  So, we left there with the reality that there was absolutely nothing we could do to get rid of these allergies, except hope she will outgrow them.  She will be getting tested again next Summer (before her 5th birthday) so that we know what her allergies are when she starts Kindergarten.  We’ve learned a multitude of lessons over the past 2 1/2 years and that is what I hope to share with you.  Tips, What Not to Do, Food Alternatives, etc.  And I hope that you will share yours as we journey through this lifestyle together in hopes of living this life to its FULLEST!