Allergy Update

Okay... I received an email this morning and thought that I probably ought to update people on our allergy adventures. Though we discovered that Peter is allergic to berries (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries... and to our disappointment... even Blueberries), he was still having trouble. However, instead of the hivey eczema, he was just covered in more a flat dry, scaley red - from head to toe.... miserable and screaming, scratching and itching, not sleeping well, not playing well... you know, just miserable.

I was at my wits end because I honestly didn't believe it was another food allergy - it didn't feel right when I thought about it and it didn't appear in any the same way and nothing seemed to modify it... the redness only continued to get worse. So, one night, studying everything I could come across, thinking maybe it was an infection that had gotten out of control from earlier scratching, I came away in tears, anger and frustration. - After all, my baby was miserable and nothing I could do would fix it... and being his mother, isn't that what I'm suppose to be able to do!?! (I know, that's not really logical, but tell that to the emotional heart)

Anyway, one thought had come back over and over as I'd thought about changes we'd made since July - but it hadn't been pressing on me like the thoughts about the blackberries, so I figured it wasn't really an issue. Never the less, we decided we had to try it and if there wasn't any improvement I'd call the doctor and look into blood work to rule out an infection. So the night before my fit mentioned above, I took all of Peter's clothes (except the PJs he had on) and washed them - WITHOUT OxyClean - then triple rinsed them just to make sure the residue would be gone.

As I mentioned, this was the night before my fit of frustration. Sunday didn't seem to go any better than the weeks and months before. That's why I was in tears and yelling (at poor Bob who was just as helpless as myself) when I went to bed. But that night, Peter actually slept through the night and was pleasant during the following day. He was itchy from time to time and we'd just put on the three layers of cream (something we found works the best) and he'd be off and having fun again without scratching any more! And by Tuesday, the redness of his skin was gone and you could see the patches of eczema very clearly (all over his body). I knew something was finally working.

To be certain, OxyClean has come out of all our laundry. I do like it for getting stains out that won't otherwise go away - so we'll use up the rest of it in a soaking form followed directly by two rinses then washing with two more rinses when needed - but never in the actual wash again!

It's been nearly two weeks of this now and we're down to putting the cream on Peter once a day!!!!!!!!!!! It's so very exciting... .by the way, for anyone interested, the cream layering we do is as follows:

1. Hydrocortizone (prevents the itch)
2. Eucerine (though we've switched to the equivalent in the Equate form - it's easier to spread) and this is to moisturize (a necessary step)
3. Aquaphor (this traps in the moisture, protects the skin from external elements which would cause cracking, and heals the already cracked and sore skin)

Though you can just put the three layers on one after the other, best results are found when you leave a layer to "soak in" before you add the next. I've read up to half an hour in between. I put on the first layer and wait until it's "dry", then add the next and do the same...although this one does not really get "dry" it does seem to loose much of the "greasy" look as it soaks in. Then we add the aquaphor... often we just put in him his PJs right after that - though it feels weird sticking to the "goopy" skin so we sometimes we'll let me run around without PJ's for a little while for that last layer to soak in more before covering him up.

Once he's all better, we'll drop the hydrocortizone all together and only use the other two when he first gets out of the bath.

Anyway, by doing all of this, my Peter is soft and kissable again... and his skin is that beautiful milky white that he's always been (my fairest skinned child). The only trouble places are the ones which had shown up first - behind his knees - but even they are down to looking like soft pick patches! It's wonderful!

It's been a long run... though I know others have gone on longer.... and I won't swear we're out of the woods yet, but it certainly looks promising! And certainly seem to make a lot of sense!