Allergic to the Allergy Doctor

What happens when you have an allergic reaction at the allergist's office?

Yes, we had our big allergy appointment for testing and we were in the room patiently waiting for the doctor when Bee broke out as she was eating her snack.  At first, I suspected the snack, although it was something she had eaten many times before.  Then I began to inspect our room.  In the trash can I found a box which had contained individual packages of a trail mix that contained peanuts.

I immediately found a nurse in the hallway and showed her the trash.  She had the trash taken out and I washed Bee's face and hands.  Within several minutes the hives began to subside.

I'm glad she was ok and the reaction was small.  But I was still furious.  We are at the office of our allergist/immunologist.  No one in that building should be eating a snack containing peanuts.  Many of their patients are peanut allergic and those reactions can be life threatening.

Why don't people think?

Doctor Appointments

Well, we had our big allergy appointment in April (during which time Bee had an allergic reaction) and what information did we learn?  Not. one. thing.

Bee had a respiratory infection the week prior to our appointment and still had a slight cough at the time of the appointment.  After the doctor evaluated her, she would not do any testing because she was worried about her wheezing.  Her concern was that Bee might have a more severe reaction during testing because her breathing was already compromised.

I drove 3 hours round trip to learn nothing!

Instead, we spent 2 hours in the office meeting with our dietician and 2 respiratory therapists.  The doctor ordered Bee to have several doses of medicine with an inhaler.

The doctor insisted that Bee sounded better after her doses, but I couldn't tell a difference in her breathing or her cough.  The medicine did make her jumpy, cranky, and irritable though.  So, I drove home with a coughing cranky kid.

We rescheduled the testing and waited a month for our new appointment.  The day before that appointment, Bee became very sick again.  I cancelled that appointment, knowing that even if I made the trip, no testing would be done and I would be wasting my time.

So, we haven't had our allergy appointment yet!  I was so hoping for answers or lower numbers or any signs of improvement.  I guess we'll keep waiting!

Unexplained

A few weeks ago, Bee had a rash around her mouth at every meal.  This lasted for almost a week.  We have not figured it out.  Food allergies and hives are frustrating but nothing is more frustrating than a reaction with no known cause.

I have gone over each meal to see if there was a link but I can't find a common food among the meals.  I can't think of anything that has changed like our soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, etc.  Nothing is different that I can tell.

The only thing we can pinpoint is the weather.  We've had some crazy weather-hot one day, much cooler the next, a very windy day, and then the next is pouring rain.

My only thought is that the weather changes have affected Bee's allergies, brought out her eczema, and made her have a constant rash.

As an allergy parent, we have many instances of the unknown.  You have to play the role of detective or doctor.  It's such a relief when we are able to pinpoint a new allergy or a cause.  Other times, we just have to live with knowing that we will never have it completely figured out.  It's such a mystery!  How do you find contentment in not knowing?

Allergy Free Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

Ohh, how I have missed carrot cake and cream cheese frosting!  This week my hubby begged me to try to find a substitute.  I experimented in the kitchen and ended up with this recipe.  This was better than my hubby imagined it would be and it's now become a favorite-all this for a guy who claims to "not like" carrot cake.

This cake is made with pureed babyfood carrots rather than grated carrots because heaven forbid I put anything "chunky" in the cake-my kids would revolt.  But it adds moisture and makes the texture perfect, even in an egg-free cake!

2 1/2 cups flour blend (4 cups rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch, 2/3 cups tapioca flour)

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 T cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

3 T egg replacer

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup vanilla hemp milk

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

7.5 ounces pureed babyfood carrots

Whisk together flour through egg replacer in large bowl and set aside.  In separate bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk together.  Pour into greased cake pan and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until top springs back when touched.  (This would also make a great 2 or 3 layer cake but lessen baking time by around 10 minutes for smaller pans.)

Enjoy!  And please excuse the sad cake picture on a paper plate.  I'm trying to take a little break from the dishes this week.....maybe it will help me catch up with the laundry....

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We celebrated with some festive scones and lots of yardwork!

Gluten Free Flours

I've been sticking with mostly rice and tapioca flour with some potato starch but I know these aren't my healthiest options.  After looking at this comparison chart, I'm hoping to branch out and try some different and more nutritious options. 

Here is an excellent list of the various flours that are gluten or wheat free.  This site has a breakdown of the various flours as well as information about how to store them.

How many recipes will I destroy in the process of trial and error?

Allergy to Dogs or Dog Food?

Bee tested allergic to dogs in her last skin-prick test.  Whenever we are around dogs, she breaks out in hives.  When a dog licked her face we nearly had to take her in to the ER to control her reaction.  So, it would seem that we are allergic to dogs.

But through doing some research and thinking about past experiences, I have a new question:

Are we allergic to dogs or to their dog food?

My parents had a dog that never seemed to bother Bee.  I couldn't figure out why this one dog was different from all the others.  Then I remembered that the dog had been diagnosed with food allergies in the past.  When I spoke with my mom about her dog, she told me the dog was on a dog food that did not have gluten or corn or soy.  The only grain in her food was rice-it was a specialty food for dogs with allergies.

So, Bee is allergic to other dogs but not this one.  Is it because this dog ate a diet that Bee could also eat?

I had to find out what was in other dog foods.  I did a comparison and found that nearly every major brand has a minimum of 2 of Bee's allergens in the ingredients.  Some foods had more than 5.

It would seem to make sense that if the dog ate a diet full of Bee's allergens, then Bee would also be allergic to that dog.  But what if a dog ate a diet that Bee could also safely eat?  Would she have less problems around that dog?

That has been our new question for our doctor.  She felt it was thought provoking and is now working to research it further.  We will be retesting the dog allergy in a month and then decide what our next step should be.  Maybe one day we can safely have a pet, even if I have to make all the dog food from scratch too.