Ding-Dong, The Itch is Gone
DH is feeling slightly better today after a very miserable night.
Baby E is uncomfortable and fussy, and took 3 hours to go down for her nap again. Either the sugar or being off her reflux meds (or both), or something certainly seems to be bothering her.
We'll be able to pick up a fresh batch of the omeprazole on Monday. The pharmacist made up just a few doses so we can try that and see if we get the same reaction she was having to the medication we have here.
AJ and M&M are tired and grumpy, too. They've had a lot of activity and too many late nights lately. I think early baths, a nice long bedtime story, and an early bedtime are in order for them tonight.
Last night I was feeling like I might come down with what DH has, so I ended up staying up until almost 3 AM. I was trying to do the things that were most important to have done in case both DH and I ended up mostly incapacitated for a few days. At least I got the kitchen cleaned up, washed dishes, did laundry and got some small bits of meal preparation done ahead for the next few days.
I'm not feeling too badly at this point, but I hope Baby E will let me go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.
At least I'm not miserably itchy.
For years I thought that having generalized itchiness and dry skin was just normal for me, especially in winter. But after I cut out coconut and its derivatives, even in soaps, the itching went away (as long as I continued to avoid dairy products). It was great to not be so itchy for once!
Then, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I started itching again. Having it come back was frustrating. Once I knew I could stop itching, it was less tolerable than when I thought it was inevitable.
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At first I thought it was from trying some dairy products that week (which could have been the cause at first). But it lasted so much longer than it should have after I stopped eating dairy again. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting better.
Finally I figured out what changed around the time I started itching. I had used white distilled vinegar (the normal kind made from corn) in the few loads of mine and DH's laundry.
I've been making my own laundry soap out of olive oil bar soap, borax and washing soda. Since many recommend using vinegar in the rinse I had been doing that. But the rice vinegar or white wine vinegar is so very expensive.
So we decided that since DH and I aren't allergic to corn, and it's just topical, it would be reasonable to try using the cheaper corn vinegar on our clothes. Besides, it all gets rinsed out anyway, right? We'd save the expensive vinegar for Baby E's laundry.
Friday night it dawned on me that the vinegar in the wash was the only thing that had changed around the time I started itching again. I decided to try washing my clothes without it just to see if it made a difference. I washed two loads of laundry sans vinegar yesterday, with extra rinses just for good measure.
Less than 24 hours after switching to the freshly-washed clothes, the itching is already significantly better. I slept better, too.
I'm not supposed to be allergic to corn, but I do wonder. Looking back before I cut corn out for Baby E's sake, there are things that seem relevant in hindsight. For instance, I was wondering if hummus didn't agree with me, because every time I ate my favorite snack of corn chips, hummus and mango salsa I started feeling awful afterwards. I felt generally better after cutting out corn, too.
Both E and I got horribly sick when we took a trip to Mexico a year ago--when we were eating lots of corn almost daily. One of our worst spells was after having tamales for dinner--and nobody else "caught" that particular illness.
Corn was one of my "elevated negatives" (4/5 wheal/flare) on the skin prick allergy test. Of course, that was a negative according to my allergist, since I had a 3/9 to the negative control.
It will be interesting to see what happens when I wean Baby E and can try eating corn again after being off it for so long.
Baby E is uncomfortable and fussy, and took 3 hours to go down for her nap again. Either the sugar or being off her reflux meds (or both), or something certainly seems to be bothering her.
We'll be able to pick up a fresh batch of the omeprazole on Monday. The pharmacist made up just a few doses so we can try that and see if we get the same reaction she was having to the medication we have here.
AJ and M&M are tired and grumpy, too. They've had a lot of activity and too many late nights lately. I think early baths, a nice long bedtime story, and an early bedtime are in order for them tonight.
Last night I was feeling like I might come down with what DH has, so I ended up staying up until almost 3 AM. I was trying to do the things that were most important to have done in case both DH and I ended up mostly incapacitated for a few days. At least I got the kitchen cleaned up, washed dishes, did laundry and got some small bits of meal preparation done ahead for the next few days.
I'm not feeling too badly at this point, but I hope Baby E will let me go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.
At least I'm not miserably itchy.
For years I thought that having generalized itchiness and dry skin was just normal for me, especially in winter. But after I cut out coconut and its derivatives, even in soaps, the itching went away (as long as I continued to avoid dairy products). It was great to not be so itchy for once!
Then, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I started itching again. Having it come back was frustrating. Once I knew I could stop itching, it was less tolerable than when I thought it was inevitable.
##############
At first I thought it was from trying some dairy products that week (which could have been the cause at first). But it lasted so much longer than it should have after I stopped eating dairy again. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't getting better.
Finally I figured out what changed around the time I started itching. I had used white distilled vinegar (the normal kind made from corn) in the few loads of mine and DH's laundry.
I've been making my own laundry soap out of olive oil bar soap, borax and washing soda. Since many recommend using vinegar in the rinse I had been doing that. But the rice vinegar or white wine vinegar is so very expensive.
So we decided that since DH and I aren't allergic to corn, and it's just topical, it would be reasonable to try using the cheaper corn vinegar on our clothes. Besides, it all gets rinsed out anyway, right? We'd save the expensive vinegar for Baby E's laundry.
Friday night it dawned on me that the vinegar in the wash was the only thing that had changed around the time I started itching again. I decided to try washing my clothes without it just to see if it made a difference. I washed two loads of laundry sans vinegar yesterday, with extra rinses just for good measure.
Less than 24 hours after switching to the freshly-washed clothes, the itching is already significantly better. I slept better, too.
I'm not supposed to be allergic to corn, but I do wonder. Looking back before I cut corn out for Baby E's sake, there are things that seem relevant in hindsight. For instance, I was wondering if hummus didn't agree with me, because every time I ate my favorite snack of corn chips, hummus and mango salsa I started feeling awful afterwards. I felt generally better after cutting out corn, too.
Both E and I got horribly sick when we took a trip to Mexico a year ago--when we were eating lots of corn almost daily. One of our worst spells was after having tamales for dinner--and nobody else "caught" that particular illness.
Corn was one of my "elevated negatives" (4/5 wheal/flare) on the skin prick allergy test. Of course, that was a negative according to my allergist, since I had a 3/9 to the negative control.
It will be interesting to see what happens when I wean Baby E and can try eating corn again after being off it for so long.
Labels: allergies, health issues
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 4:21 PM[Permanent link]
10 Comments:
Yipes! Sounds like Baby E comes by her long list of food allergies honestly.
Also, I just wanted to remind you to stay hydrated. Tis the season to be itchy merely from the very dry weather (though, is it dry where you are? I'm wrong to assume it is.)
Thanks, Liz. I am staying hydrated . . . and here it's always damp except maybe for a few months in summer. :)
I don't think it's really a dry skin issue. It gets kind of dry and flaky in spots, but even the spots that look normal itch. :)
I used to make my own soap, and I have a soapmaking recipe somewhere for "soft" soap or laundry soap, and I will try to unearth it and see if it contains anything that could be harmful to you or Baby E, and if it doesn't, I'll be happy to pass it along. Now, soapmaking is a laborious process, and uses caustics like lye, so it may not be for you in any case with small kids around. I'll still see if I can find the recipe, and maybe if you don't make it from scratch, it might give you some other ideas.
I'm hoping that "they" develop some sort of wonder drug for you all soon!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Klee, thanks. I keep thinking about trying to make my own soap. I'm not sure whether I will or not, but I've been reading a bit about it. I'd be interested to see your recipe.
Hi, Erinne! Thanks for commenting. I'm sorry to hear of your daughter's problems, but it's also nice to know we're not the only family dealing with issues like this.
Do you carry an epi-pen? Technically, any immediate-type allergic reaction that involves 3 or more body systems (skin, digestive system, airways, blood pressure, etc.) is an anaphlyactic or anaphylactoid reaction, depending on the definition.
Baby E will get itching in her throat, mouth, eyes, ears and nose, a rash, congestion, and diarrhea, often all within 5-20 minutes of consuming a problem food. I think that's considered either mild anaphylaxis or certainly something close to it.
Our allergist has us carrying two sets of epis (for a total of four), just because her reactions are so severe to such tiny trace amounts of things.
It is SO hard trying to figure out allergies when all the tests come back negative.
Part of the problem with Baby E was that she had so many different allergies it was hard to pinpoint individual ones. Also, some of them like corn are hard to pinpoint because they're in literally almost everything.
Have you tried keeping a detailed food and symptom diary? Did you see my post explaining my behavior codes and color-coding system, and the type of records I was keeping? Some variation on that might be helpful for you.
Thanks purple_kangaroo....
My daughters reactions although quick are not within the 5-20 min range, thankfully and her RAST test came back negative so no I don't carry an epi - although I have wondered if I should be. Currently her allergies are to milk protein, soy protein, and meat protein... Other than that we haven't really tried a wide variety of foods. She is able to handle trace amounts without a reaction! But each exposure time is different.
Some dr.'s feel she will grow out of this and we tried some milk products on her in December with horrible results - her pediatrician now thinks it's eosinphilic colitis!
It took a very long time to diagnos the allergies as she was born with pyloric stenosis (the valve that allows food to leave the stomach into the intestines was closed) so she needed surgery to repair that at 3 weeks - unfortunately the dr.'s were convinced that she was still recovering from her pyloric stenosis and she was just a very colicky baby for the first 6 months until I demanded some testing be done and that's when we discovered her allergies.
We have an appointment tomorrow with our pediatrician to get some results from some testing we just did - she just got over RSV and had lost about 3 pounds which for her was quite a bit. So I'm hoping he will have some news from the GI specialist and that we will be moving forward with this and not backwards. Thanks for listening! :)
This was my first post - I just deleted my email address - thanks :)
I have stumbled accross your blog - and hope you don't mind the comment but I am just so fascinated. My daughter 18 months has severe food protein allergies although her IgE levels come back normal most times?? Most of her allergies are still being discovered but it has been like pulling teeth trying to figure everything out! Currently we are in a battle with the GI specialist to get a scope done as currently her diet consists of prescription formula and a small list of baby foods... she is also on omeprazole and I have often wondered if it is a culprit in some of her mood shifts and also another reason for occult blood in her stool! She gets either diarrhea or constipation never a normal bowl day for her and her reactions can be quite instant although thankfully none are anaphylactic. A typical allergy reaction for her will start off with hives, eczema, diaper rash, asthma like breathing, and then blood in the stool. This is a whole jumble of things as I am excited to find another Mom going through similar allergy experiences - my blog is private but here is my email address so just let me know if you don't mind my comment... Good luck to you. Erinne
Hi!
Just came across your blog. I can see you are a wonderful mother and doing the best for your child. i have a couple comments.
First, my brother (almost 40 now) had the same infant symptoms as your daughter, E. He was not given breast milk (as I was -- maybe why my allergies didn't start to show until my mid-twenties) -- long story -- did not gain weight, allergic to soy, all known formulas except canned pulverized lambs' hearts, which we had to cook. Not just run-of-the-mill-colic!!!
Second, allergy to omeprazole and other PPIs is possible. I have it, without corn allergy. Severe hives -- deep inside ears, ick! It would be very difficult to deal with these or express this feeling as a small child.
Third, re: pyloric sphincter. Not a true sphinter, as far as I remember from med. school. I would suggest, as a matter of common sense, tiny feedings (as if for 'dumping symptom' post stomach reduction). Try ( I realize this is nearly impossible in a toddler) to keep calm and upright for a period of 30-45-60 minutes.
Fourth, perhaps you should ease off on the challenges to allow all of yourselves a modicum of
tranquility. I realize that even without certain foods or medications your baby still has reactions, but there are many common environmental triggers for allergies/asthma -- as simple as paper dust or some newspaper inks. Mold is a biggie, too. I don't know where you live or I could be more specific.
Fifth, I am impressed/boggled by your ability to admit some misunderstanding in regard to medical science, esp. as you have had some hard times with docs. This ability is all too rare on the internet -- as is the ability of some docs to communicate. It is easy to confuse, but important to distinguish, the differences between types of allergies, intolerances, anaphylaxis, and irritants.
Sixth, the reason I began to write in the first place.
Please do not take this as an implied criticism as you seem to be a wonderful mother who pays attention to all her children. However, it is a pet peeve of mine, having witnessed a negative result. Some parents place an asthmatic, allergic, or otherwise sometimes ill child (what was once called a 'sickly' child) in a "sick" role in a family. This role may stick long after the child is no longer as ill. It does not help any child or anyone, for that matter, to be regarded as different in that way. I don't think you do this, just a simple reminder to all.
I'm not really anonymous, just computer illiterate and can't configure my macmail.
Sorry to blather on. Take everything with a grain of sea salt.
Erinne, I supposedly anaphylactic reactions can onset as long as 13 hours after consuming the offending food, but more commonly happen within an hour.
Your doctor or allergist would probably be best able to help you figure out whether carrying an epi-pen would be a good idea or not.
Here are a couple of interesting articles on anaphylaxis:
Medicinenet:Anaphylaxis
(The Most Serious Allergic Reaction)
American Family Physician:A Practical Guide to Anaphylaxis
Anonymous, thanks for your comment. If you don't have a blogger account but want to leave a name you can always use the "other" option when commenting.
That's really interesting about the hives. Do you get them ONLY in your ears, or elsewhere also? Baby E's ears often seem to bother her a lot when she has allergic reactions.
Thanks for the thoughts on challenges, reflux, etc. Mold is a biggie here, definitely.
It is a constant struggle for me to balance the amount of attention I'm paying to all the kids and to balance Baby E's needs with allowing her to be "normal" as much as possible. It's something I constantly have in mind. I often feel I don't do as well as I should, but we try.
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