Histamine

Sue's Rodney had gotten stung by a bee and the same day Nikayda was bit by something. I assumed it was a mosquito bite. I didn't notice until she woke up yesterday morning with a slight swelling around her eyes (first picture). And today it's a little more puffy (bottom picture). The lighting in the second one isn't the greatest... Her face isn't all pink like that. :)

And last night when I picked up the kids from Sara's, I noticed that Carter had a few tell-tale red spots around his face. I was concerned but continued on to our new house, only a few minutes away. By the time we got there his face was red and blotchy. His neck and back had puffy red spots too. It had spread all over in a few minutes time. And he kept grabbing at his face and trying to scratch it.

I pulled out the Benadryl only to realize that I had forgotten to put the medicine dropper with it. So I gave him a capful or two. I wasn't even sure how much he drank with it dripping down his chin. So in a worried state, I called Emily despite the fact that it was almost ten (and she's expecting & probably in bed) because she's all to familiar with the peanut allergy. She measured how much was in a capful for me, to be sure that I gave him enough, and within about 10 minutes the redness had begun to dissipate.

I never got a picture of the swelling on his face because of my semi-panic mode in trying to get rid of it! But oooh boy! All of these allergic reactions are all too nerve wracking for each and every one of us that deals with them (Eliz, you just had a post about cat allergies and I feel for you!)

I've talked to Sara a couple of times since and neither of us can figure out how he got the reaction. It makes me even more reluctant to leave him anywhere. Mark and I were talking about it last night, and that's the conclusion we've come to. It's not Sara's fault that he got a hold of it. (I want to make that clear that I don't blame her). :) I know she's well aware of his allergy and extra careful when he's around. And that's why I'm all the more worried. How careful do we need to be?! :)

She just reintroduced peanut butter into her house recently because she had suspected that Lori was allergic but when she found out that she wasn't, she started buying it again. The thing with peanut butter is that it's so greasy and hard to get off of things. There could've been a smudge of it on a chair or on a table or anywhere and that's all it takes. :) That's how serious it is for those allergic to it. I've even read that there are some who can't even breathe-in the scent of peanuts without suffering an attack. Carter has never eaten (a whole) sandwich or anything else containing peanuts. He's merely had a taste, a bite of a sandwich or cake and broken out. Just a drop and that's all that seems to cause this reaction for him.

It is all too nerve-wracking but I'm so thankful to have internet access to be able to research it and learn more about it. There is a lot of info out there. But that also means that there is a lot of info out there to sort through! :)