The forever lurking monster
I never fully forget that Landon has allergies. I mean he frequently reminds us that he has allergies to cats, dogs and asks if things have nuts. I’m always checking packages for peanut or tree nut advisories. That has actually just become second nature really. Every item I pick up I automatically look at the nutrition facts, even if it’s not a common allergen item.
Landon was tested for nuts, environmental, dogs and cats. He wasn’t tested for the other allergens because he never had sever reactions to something. The doctor explained it as since he hadn’t had reactions but seemed allergy prone, he would probably come up positive for other things even without the reaction so what’s the point.
It’s always there in the back of my mind that something could happen to Landon. He could eat something that’s label improperly and start to scratch and hive up. Or he could rub his face on something and have a skin reaction. There have been a lot of times over the last three years that we’ve known he has food allergies where he gets random reactions. We always thought it was maybe from eating something with tree nuts(before we knew) or from rubbing up against my husbands shirts from work. Since he works in a bakery it is possible but I never thought it was probable.
Then about a week ago, we were having dinner. We had hotdogs, baked beans and corn. Landon ate the hotdogs and the corn but only had about a bite or two of beans. He is a bean hater. Anyway this happened an hour or so later.
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These were taken about 25 minutes after I gave Landon benedryl. It was much more red, bumped and swollen beforehand. My first thought was it much be the beans. Even though it was labeled on there, he had eaten corn and the brand of hot dogs on many separate occasions. He was just fine then. After that, I made a mental note not to buy those beans any more and put it out of sight and mind.
Then two days ago we were having lunch. A sandwich with ham, peas and crackers. Again he had eaten everything before. Same brands we always use, minus the peas. He had the same reaction! But this time he also hived up on his sides as well. Then I made the connection. Both the corn and peas were wal-mart brand. The only ingredients on the can were water, salt and the veggie.
Sorry for the black but Landon was in his underwear.
It’s just so frustrating. Landon apparently has another allergy or some how both those products were contaminated with peanuts or tree nuts. I don’t know for sure. I do know we won’t be buying great value veggies anymore. I know that I’ll be talking to his doctor about in during his next appointment in September. I really just hate how scary it is in the moment. As soon as he starts swelling up and getting hives, I have to go over all his symptoms. I have to ask if his throat is itchy, even though I don’t think he knows how that feels. I have to check his mouth and listen closely to his breathing. From there it’s decided whether we just use an antihistamine or if I have to get the epi-pen.
We have been lucky to never have to use the epi-pen. But the food allergy monster is always lurking and hiding about. It just seems like we’re always waiting for the next time. Sometimes that’s really hard to deal with.
Do you have a child with food allergies? How do you deal with these feelings?
Tags: Allergies, Food, Food Allergies, Peanut Allergy, Tree Nut Allergy
