My last post got me thinking about Henry's cocoa allergy. We discovered he was allergic on Halloween of 2006, after he ate some M&Ms. This was not the first time he ate chocolate, nor the first time he had hives. However, it was the first time they were this extreme and the first time we determined what was causing them. I've read several articles regarding food allergies and the very relaxed attitude a lot of people have about them. For example sending PB&J sandwiches to peanut free schools, etc. All of our family and friends are obviously aware of Henry's allergy and have always been overly considerate of him -- there are always chocolate free cupcakes, snacks, treats, etc. for him, even if it means they've gone out of their way to accommodate him. (I hope everyone knows how much we appreciate you always thinking of him!) It's been very easy to control thus far, but I am anxious about what will happen when he goes to school in the fall. He knows that he can't eat chocolate, and he almost always asks if something has chocolate, but he is a very small child. I certainly can't expect him to be as diligent in ensuring there's no cocoa in something he's eating. Just to give people who are unfamiliar with the reaction one can have from a food allergy, this is a series of photos of his reaction from a small handful of M&M's. Henry has not had chocolate - anything at all containing cocoa - since October 31, 2006. While he very well may not be allergic anymore, I'm certainly not willing to risk him looking and feeling like this again just so he can have a piece of candy!
Day 1 -- probably 5-7 hours after having the candy
Day 2 -- this photo was taken after getting a steroid shot at the pediatrican's office.
Day 3 -- His eyes were swollen shut that morning when he woke up and his lips were swollen with hives. That mottled/brown skin look on his trunk and arms lasted two weeks.
3 comments:
Some familar pictures to me poor guy!...Ellie has a peanut & tree nut allergy & Ty has that as well as penicillin's & cephalasporins antibotics. Real fun isn't it?!
Is there a chance he will outgrow it? My pedi allergist told me my kids could outgrow their nut allergy by 3 or 4.
There is a chance he could outgrow it, but we won't know unless he doesn't have a reaction and with food allergies there isn't always a reaction. He's also allergic to penicillins & cephalasporin drugs -- he and Ty have a lot in common! We found out about the drug allergies when we woke up for a birthday party one morning and his face and lips were swollen!!
i remember it like it was yesterday! henry looks like such a baby in those pictures!!! and now he looks like a grown up boy!
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