Kiddie Torture

So, this is how it went today...

My boys generally enjoy going to the doctor (Kelvin would say he loves to) and I thought that I had prepared them well for today’s appointment, which would involve a lung function test (blowing something in front of a computer) and allergy skin testing. What I overlooked, however, since I hardly remember the allergy tests from my own childhood (in the arm, not the back), is that the test involves actual skin reactions, swelling (hives), itching and, in sum, it’s very uncomfortable, particularly if you, like Kelvin, turn out to be allergic to most everything. So this part of the visit felt like sheer torture to the boys. Just take a look at Kelvin’s back (photo taken with my cell phone*):The black dots are the pen markings that the nurse made to know where the allergens had been applied.

Linton, who had much milder reactions, cried during most of the whole 10-15 minutes before they came to do the reading. He first became upset by the sting of the allergens being applied and then couldn't calm down. Poor Kelvin, who is always very patient and enduring, complained a lot an grimaced the whole time, given that the itching was so unbearable. The nurses actually came to do the measuring earlier than the full 15 minutes because Kelvin's reaction was just so strong. Good thing the boys are ticklish so they both laughed when they were measuring (with a ruler) each welt and red splotch. The laughter dispelled the tension and overwhelmed frenzy from the room and the cortisone cream applied by the nurse took away most of the itchiness. Phew!

It turns out that they're not allergic to any of the foods tested: peanuts (Kelvin was worried about this one, he loves peanuts), wheat, soy, milk, and egg. However, both are allergic to dust and to cats, dogs and horses! You may recall that we have a cat, and I never ever suspected this. Then Kelvin is allergic to the pollen of every single plant listed there, another surprise for me, given that he never had seasonal allergies! It's all pretty strange...

The doctor recommended that both boys take a daily dose or Zyrtec to control their (mostly symptom-less) allergies and prescribed several medications for the asthma flare ups: steroids for the nebulizer, an inhaler (with mask/spacer), and Singulair, which is only to be used if the antihistamine doesn't help Linton not have attacks. Frankly, I'm not too keen on having the boys take Zyrtec daily! My gut feeling would be that Linton might need it more, in spite of the fact that Kelvin seems to be the most allergic of the two.

You see, Kelvin was sick with wheezing/asthma exactly three times in his seven and a half years of life! At 12 months, 33 months (when we got the nebulizer) and then last year at six. In these three times he was given steroids and used the nebulizer (with albuterol). Other than that, he's a very healthy boy who hardly ever gets even a cold. And even when he's sick he's just so good about it that it does not disrupt our lives too much (e.g. he can sleep fine even if coughing or sniffling while Linton comes to our bed if anything happens). Linton, on the other hand, is the one who started getting worse and worse this year and who's been coughing and wheezing every time he has a cold (four times, at least, this year). The only thing about surreptitiously disregarding doctor's orders is that we have to go see him again in six weeks...

Last but not least, I will definitely have to dust and clean the boys' room very often now, if only to quiet my guilty conscience! Sigh. We are not giving up our cat, though, that we just can't do, it would be too heartbreaking (and the boys have never really gotten an asthma attack because of him -- Linton only has it when he has a cold)! What would you do?

* And because of that I was finally able to figure out how to access the photos we've been sending to "My Album" for the past two years! Lots of cell phone candid shots upcoming, either here or on the Project 365 blog!

P.S. I kind of like this post better than the one I had originally written. Writing only improves with multiple tries. I should know, right? Didn't I write a 500 page dissertation? Ha!