Spilling the Beans: April showers bring May flowers... and allergies.

Today we had an appointment with a pediatric asthma and allergy specialist. We have had this appointment on the books for about 6 weeks and I have been dying to get the process started. It is no surprise that my daughter has asthma, allergies, and acid reflux. Currently she uses an inhaler twice a day, takes reflux medication twice a day, and we have a nebulizer at home for breathing treatments when necessary. If Madi has an allergic reaction to something or even gets a cold we have to do breathing treatments with her at home 3 - 4 times a day. If we don't do this, she ends up needing to take prednisone and often an antibiotic as well. And since she seems to have a growing list of prescription allergies we try to avoid that at all costs. Needless to say, it is a full time job.

Today they did the basic seasonal allergy test and of course that was positive - the congestion, coughing, itchy watery eyes tipped me off. When Madi has an allergic reaction it shows up in the form of eczema, hives, or difficulty breathing so we want to know what specifically she reacts too, how she reacts to it, and how severe it is. Knowledge is power and we really want to help her battle these while she is waiting to hopefully outgrow them so being able to anticipate the onset of some of these reactions is key. On Thursday we go on to test for specific seasonal allergies, animal dander, and mold. As of now they are concerned about her animal dander allergy as her last couple exposures to dogs sent us to the urgent care. Of course there is always a chance that it was just a coincidence, but with a family history of animal allergies, I am not holding my breath.

While it is stressing me out and makes me sad to have my daughter pricked with things that aggrevate her little system I know that it is necessary for her health and well being. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your child, as a parent, is doing what is right even if it hurts one or both of you. I am looking forward to getting more answers so that I can be more proactive and diligent with her health for both the short and long term. Of course it also wouldn't hurt if we could more successfully treat these systems so we can all get a little more sleep around here. And the truth is it will probably hurt my heart more than it will hurt her body. Below are some pictures of Madi during someof her reactions. Poor kid. Still so cute though!!