Diagnosis: Food allergy

As I've said previously, we've been having a hard time trying to figure out what's going on with Will.  In his first few weeks of life, he showed signs of reflux and had already developed eczema...two problems that I, unfortunately, know all too well.  At his 4-month check up, I asked his doctor about his skin because of how bad it was getting, but she said "keep doing what you've been doing," which is Cortisone cream twice a day.  I was uncomfortable with that, but she's the doctor, so I listened.  The next week, I went back in because it had gotten so bad around his eyes that they were swollen.  His normal pediatrician was out of town, so we saw the other one.  As soon as she walked in, she said she was going to refer us to an allergist.  THANK YOU!!!  I had been asking if we should have him tested for a while, but his normal doc never entertained my question.

This is what his back looked like last night.  His whole body looks like this.  As someone who suffers from eczema myself, I can't imagine how bad that must feel to him.  Thankfully, he doesn't know to scratch it because that makes it so much worse.

His appointment with the allergist was today.  After talking to the doctor for a while about his symptoms and how long it had been going on, they did the scratch test to test him for the most common food allergies.  I have been praying for an answer.  I've never wanted my child to suffer from anything, but when he does, I want to know what it is so we can fix it, or at least treat it.  Not long after they did the scratch test, I knew we had an answer.  (This was after only a couple of minutes...it was even worse by the time the doctor came in.)

PEANUTS.  No wonder eliminating dairy and soy from my diet didn't make things any better.  He's not allergic to either one of those!  Fortunately, it's not anaphylactic and we caught it early enough so I doubt it would ever turn into that.  And although he didn't react to tree nuts, the doctor told me to stay away from those as well because he could develop that allergy over time if he's exposed to them.

The doctor said eliminating peanuts from my diet alone won't get rid of the eczema, so he prescribed a steroid cream and gave us instructions for a strict bath/lotion regimen that we'll follow until it gets better.

He'll also be on baby Zyrtec until the itching and scratching gets under control.  He scratches his head so much that he's pulled all of his hair out except in the back.  He also scratches his eyes.  The scratching only makes the itching worse, so it's a vicious cycle that has to be stopped.  Wouldn't you think this was itchy, too? 

Bye bye weekly PB&J's and daily almond milk...

Of all the food allergies he could have had, I feel like peanut is probably easier to avoid than things like dairy, soy, egg or wheat.  He'll get to have a cake on his first birthday... just not a Reese's Peanut Butter cake (his daddy's favorite). 

I don't love the diagnosis, but I'm thankful to officially and finally have one.  No more guessing and wondering.  Maybe now our precious baby boy can get some relief and start feeling better.
(And maybe mom and dad can, too.)

Here's to hoping.