Being ir-rash-ional

I am definitely a first time parent. Every little sneeze, rash, bump or weird fart makes me worry. I call the pediatrician to make sure everything is ok. When the boys had their 2 month well visit, the doc didn't think there was anything to worry about with regards to Sam's red rash, which he diagnosed as infant ezcema, related to cradle cap.

I was not happy with the fact that there wasn't anything I could do. I researched infant eczema and found that it could be an indicator of allergies. I have bad food and environment allergies. I was tested and found to be allergic to every tree, weed and grass there is. I am allergic to walnuts and coconut. I have oral allergies to melons and cucumbers, which give me itchy throat. I had such a reaction with black walnut that I went to the emergency room. I was swelling up and my airway was closing up enough to where I was intubated. That is the most severe reaction I have ever had and thank goodness it only happened once.

With Sam's eye swelling up two separate days and his eczema, I was really worried that he had developed some sort of allergy and I definitely did not want him to have severe allergic reactions like his mama. I took Sam to a pediatric allergist yesterday and I am back to where I started.

Basically, Sam is too young to really have developed allergies. There are common foods that can cause atopic dermatitis (eczema) such as milk, eggs, wheat and soy. About 1/3 of patients with infant eczema are caused by allergies. As for the nasal congestion and gurgly noises, Dr. Tamboli said it was all part of gut maturation. The eye is a sensitive area and Sam's eye swelling could have been caused by a scratch or sleeping on his face on itchy fabric.

I do feel better about Sam's condition. We have to keep an eye on him in case he truly has an allergic reaction to foods. To help control the eczema, I will need to wash him twice a day with a warm, damp towel and then use Aquaphor to keep his skin moisturized. Aquaphor is suped up Vaseline so Sam looks like a grease monkey.

I took Sam to get some blood drawn to test for those common foods and cats. Hopefully, the results will allow me to remove those items from my diet and his diet that are irritating Sam. Seeing him get stuck with that big needle and having almost all his blood removed from his body was heart wrenching. His blood curdling screams didn't help matters either.