Allergic Girl?

A few weeks ago, Clare was eating roasted red pepper hummus before dinner at my parents’ house. Suddenly, an angry red rash erupted all around her mouth. She seemed fine, though, and it went away after about ten minutes. Maybe it was just the peppers irritating her skin? Then, last weekend, she had plain hummus at Ben’s parents’ house. After a few bites, she yelled “ouch!” and started trying to scrap it off her tongue. Once again, a red rash, and some hives, appeared around her mouth.

Uh-oh.

I have severe food allergies, and have been watching Clare like a hawk every time she tries a new food, holding my breath. She can eat most of the big allergic foods: eggs, wheat, dairy, soy. We haven’t given her peanuts, tree nuts, or fish. I called her pediatrician, and she suggested taking her to an allergist. We had an appointment yesterday. I have to say, I was not that impressed with this allergist. He was one of those really “busy” doctors, who didn’t listen to what I was saying. I had to ask him questions a few times, and had to repeat more than once what allergies I have. (I will give him this – he was good with Clare.) I told him I thought Clare was probably reacting to the sesame paste that is found in hummus. I have a sesame seed allergy, after all. The doctor, however, was convinced that she is actually allergic to garbanzo beans – and possibly peanuts. He ordered a skin test to check for peanut and tree nut allergies.

The good news: CLARE DOES NOT HAVE A PEANUT ALLERGY!!! (Well, assuming the blood test comes back negative, and she doesn’t react when Ben feeds her a peanut butter sandwich sometime in the next few weeks.) Still, though, we have every reason to believe she has escaped the dreaded nut allergy. However, the doctor ordered a blood test to check for garbanzo and lentil allergies. Never mind the fact that she has eaten lentils on numerous occasions. When this test comes back negative, I will laugh and continue to believe she has a sesame seed allergy. (Which he didn’t test her for, by the way.) As for the last biggie: fish and shellfish, he said we should just wait until she is in grade school to feed her any. While I agree it is unlikely she will accidentally eat fish (while it is a real danger that she might accidentally eat nuts, it is happened to me on numerous occasions), I don’t know why he couldn’t just do the skin test while we were there. I think he was too busy.

I felt so sorry for Clare when they drew her blood. She was so scared. Her eyes were huge and she was yelling “Mommy! Mommy!” I wanted to cry. Obviously, she is fine now, and probably not scarred for life or anything. Actually, she was fine about 30 seconds after they were done and she was presented with two Elmo stickers. Elmo makes everything better. (For Clare. Elmo makes me want to stab something.)

On a completely different note: Clare continues her fashionable ways. She pulled this t-shirt out of a bag of stuff I was taking to Goodwill, and demanded to wear it immediately.

This is the best picture I could get. Also: please ignore the messy floor.