Allergy Appointment

Ben had a followup appointment at the allergy doctor. I can't even remember when his last appointment was. May maybe?

The allergy doctor said Ben was looking much better, but she didn't think that we needed to retest him for food allergies since his test results would still probably be the same. I think that Jamie was hoping that we could retest him again now. She's very slow and methodical. For example, she suggested circling days on the calendar when his nose runs so that we can see if he is developing seasonal allergies.

She also suggested that I avoid fish and shellfish--in addition to wheat, eggs, and nuts--just in case he might be allergic, even though he hasn't tested positive for a fish allergy. I think Jamie would like for us not to have to watch everything, read every label, and I have to admit that it would be nice to just be able to order a pizza instead of having to plan for every meal.

I've been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables, or at least buy more fruits and vegetables. Sometimes, I don't always end up eating the things I buy.

As for treating sneezing and runny nose, we're going to try Claritin. Zyrtec does not seem to be working. We really hope that he does not develop asthma, but he's high risk because of eczema and food allergies. It's frustrating to think that we may not be able to stop it.

Saturday Stress or sometimes a boy just needs his mama

And sometimes his mama just needs a break, a rest, a nap. Times when his mama just needs to get away from said boy and take some time for herself.

Ben was scratching his chest tonight. I don't think it was allergy related. But it may have been stress. I was gone most of the day, and he seemed to miss me. His sleep schedule seemed to be disrupted because he took a nap later than usual, and he woke up cranky and hungry.

I gave him a bath, as usual, only not usual because the last few nights I had been bathing him purified water. Our water went out Wednesday morning, and there was a boil water advisory for 48 hours, and I didn't want to use possibly contaminated water to bathe him. So I used slightly colder purified water. He didn't like that at all.

Tonight, it was back to regular water, but he still didn't want to be in the bath. He kept trying to get out. I told him no when he grabbed my glasses, and he got upset and started scratching his bare chest. I don't think it was allergies, just stress. On night like this, I'd like to scratch something too.

Rush and Rush Until Life's No Fun

When I think about this past week, the lyrics from the Alabama song come to mind:


I'm in a hurry to get things done
Oh I rush and rush until life's no fun
All I really gotta do is live and die
But I'm in a hurry and don't know why.

Jamie's been gone, I've been trying to get my work done, and things have been chaotic.

Ben's eczema flareups have come and gone and come again. He gets dry patches. He gets red patches, but, at least, he's mostly not itching.

We use his prescription shampoo and Cerave cleanser to bathe him daily. We use his steroid cream in the morning on days he needs it. Two or three times a day we use Epicream, a prescription cream, and the rest of the day, it's Cerave with every diaper change. We vacuum his room daily, bathe him daily, try to get the food that he smears off of his face off.

Things have been so hectic. One night just flows into the next. All of this has made me appreciate having Jamie's help. Usually, he stays up with Ben at night and vacuums the rooms and helps (or bathes Ben by himself). I don't think I could do this alone, and I'm glad that I don't have to. I'm a little disappointed that we don't have more family in the area to watch him sometimes, but we do what we can. Some days, like yesterday when I ate Rice Krispie Treat after Rice Krispie Treat and didn't know if I would make it through today, are rough. But, then, so far, every time I've been able to get up and do all of my work, and it has been okay. It will be okay. We will get through the daily routine of cleansing and vacuuming and moisturizing and feeding and changing and watching and nursing and then all over again and again and again until he's walking then driving and we won't remember, or, if we do, we will have romanticized the toughness and the temptation to think How on earth will I do this? Can I make it today? And we will make it because we have to. A little one depends on us.

Dermatologist #2

Ben has his followup appointment with the allergist on Friday. We are now switching him to Children's Benadryl since neither Zyrtec or Claritin seems to be working to help stop the itching. On the Benadryl bottle, it says do not use on children under 2. Probably because you really have to be careful with the dosage. For sunscreen, the allergist recommended just trying pure Zinc Oxide cream. Zinc oxide is the active ingredient in many diaper rash creams. It was an hour-long appointment but helpful. He will go back to the allergist in September.

Today was our appointment with the second dermatologist. We almost thought of canceling since Ben's skin has been doing so much better since we started on the steroid. But we didn't know what to do to manage Ben's eczema once he stopped the steroid, and, also, Ben scratched himself last night on places where we hadn't put the steroid. So we went.

The office was crowded, but the wait wasn't as long past his appointment as the last time. Our appointment was at 12, and they saw us at about 12:15.

The dermatologist that we saw wasn't the dermatologist but a physician's assistant, but she seemed really nice and knowledgable. She told us to stop using Disney's Gentle Naturals and go back to Cerave, but Cerave in combination with other things. When I mentioned that Cerave seemed to irritate him, she said that any moisturizer would seem to irritate him if it was put on an area where he had cuts from scratching. She also said that she didn't know of anyone who was really allergic to Cerave.

So we are going to keep using the steroid but then stop using it when the inflamed spots clear up and then also use another lotion in spots where he tends to flareup to prevent the flareups. Then, she also prescribed a shampoo and a special lotion for his head to clear up cradle cap and stop the scratching there.

She also told us to get an allergy mattress cover for his crib, vacuum his room daily, wash his sheets 2-3 times a week, give him a daily bath (or squirt him down if we can't bathe him) and then apply a moisturizer. We will go back in a month. I forgot to ask about sunscreen, but the allergist had recommended that we try just regular zinc oxide cream. We tried to find that at Target but they didn't have it. At Target today, we looked for an allergy mattress cover for Ben's crib but couldn't find that either. We dropped off all four of the prescriptions at a local pharmacy. I am wondering how much they will cost, but if they help Ben's skin clear up and stay cleared up, they will be worth it.

Steroids

Ben's skin has looked so good these last few days that it seemed like a miracle. I thought it was a miracle.

My last post was about how Ben was scratching so bad that he bled. And he's had this one scab on the side of his face for months and months that finally went away as if by magic.

Only it wasn't a miracle, and it wasn't magic. It was steroid. Jamie put the Desonide that the dermatologist had prescribed on him without telling me. I didn't know until today.

I have mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I am glad that is working. On the other hand, I wonder if it's only a temporary fix. Will the eczema go back to being just as bad after we stop the course of steroids? Also, should we have tried this months ago, since it is working so well.

Ben has his appointment with the second dermatologist on Monday. Should we have waited till then? We've only had these steroids for a few weeks, so it's not like we could have started too much sooner? But should I have used them as soon as I got them?

Does anyone have experience with using steroids for eczema or skin flareups? Did the skin stay cleared up after the course of steroids stopped?