There is nothing scarier than having your son look up to you and have his face is covered in hives. That was my experience last Saturday afternoon after I had eaten some candy with peanuts in it. Matthew has had eczema since he was a few weeks old, but this was different. This was an allergic reaction to something, and quite possibly it was something I ate.
As a nursing mother, I know that I need to drink a lot of water, make sure I eat balanced meals and to limit the amount of junk food that I will ultimately be passing on to my almost 5 month old son. It never occurred to me that he could develop a food allergy. I've had peanut m&ms and even a handful of nuts here and there, but never while nursing and never close to nursing time.
We don't know for sure yet if it is a peanut allergy, so I could be worrying over nothing. But, nevertheless, we go in Monday for blood work to find out. Seeing your child in pain is one of the worst feelings in the world, and I hate to put him through unnecessary testing if it was just a one-time reaction, but a peanut allergy isn't something to mess with. And I'd rather know sooner than later if he does have a food allergy, so we can take the proper steps to ensure that he stays away from anything that has peanuts in them and that the allergy doesn't get worse.
If you read this, please say a little prayer that Matthew doesn't have food allergies. I'll update again after the test results come back.
UPDATE:
Matthew had blood work and it ruled out food allergies, but his eczema is now worse than ever. He looks as though his poor little face has been burned because it's so red and raw. I took Matthew to Immediate Care the other day, because his original pediatrician wouldn't call me back in a timely manner.
It turns out the cream I was told to use was in fact drying out his skin even more. We switched regiments and are now using Aveeno baby eczema and it is helping. I also switched pediatricians, because of the lack of care my child was receiving. I had called a number of times about his rash and the severity of it, but nothing was being done to resolve it. Going to a new doctor, I now feel that my concerns are being addressed and Matthew is much happier now that his face isn't as affected by the eczema. He still has bad flare ups, but we're treating them as they come.
