I Never Thought To Tell Him That!!

There are so many things to communicate to your child when they have a peanut allergy. My son and I talk about it at least a little every day. Although he is only 3, I think he is beginning to understand not to take food from others and always remind people he has a peanut allergy. If our little trip to the ER on June 30 did anything positive, it showed him just how allergic he is to peanuts. Before that, he didn't really understand his allergy.

That is why I was shocked at what happened yesterday morning. Even though he has become an expert hand washer and I keep his nails trimmed, he had something under his fingernail. He took it out and brought it to me. It was red and looked like a little fuzz. Before I could grab it from him, he popped it in his mouth!! He has never been a child to put things in his mouth so I was really surprised but not overly concerned.

Within minutes a rash appeared on the left side of his face. It continued to get worse so I gave him some Zyrtec. Pretty soon the rash was gone. I told him how important it was to not eat ANYTHING without asking Mommy or Daddy because even something under his fingernail could have peanuts in it.

I thought our little experience was over until shortly before dinner time (the ingestion was at breakfast). Presumably the Zyrtec had now worn off and the rash came back. It was even worse this time. I gave him another dose of Zyrtec and treated it with topical steroids, as well. Shortly before bed, the rash was still noticeable but he seemed fine in every other respect.

I am not sure what happened. I don't know if it was peanuts , his eczema, or some other unknown allergy. But it was another reminder that I must cover every base with him. I must be diligent about his nails (I just cut them a few days ago!) so that nothing that could have peanut residue gets caught up there.

As parents of peanut allergy kids, educating them about their allergy is nearly as important as reading labels. In the end, when they are adults, they are the one who will be responsible for the allergy. Not us. Understanding the magnitude of the situation is crucial.

And, yes, I guess we need to tell our PA children not to eat red fuzz! Who knew!!