Allergies and Asthma

Of one thing we can be absolutely certain -- the kids get all their allergy and asthma issues from their dad, NOT me.  Hahaha.  Poor little children.  This week was the week of allergist appointments, and I guess you could say it was about time.  We've lived here for two years now and even before that, the last time I took them in to an allergist in St. Louis was in February of 2012.  So, yes.  They were all overdue for a check-up.

Sophie was up first on Tuesday, and she wins.  Hahahaha.  {And those were the doctor's words, not mine, when he saw the development of her skin prick test that afternoon.}  Not only is she still allergic to all nuts, dairy, eggs, coconut {which apparently is technically a seed}, and seeds {such as poppy, sunflower, and sesame, to name a few}, she is also a bit of a medical marvel considering she is walking around with zero asthma symptoms despite her lungs being compromised by asthmatic conditions.  I'm sure I'm getting the medical diagnosis completely botched here, but suffice it to say that the doctor was quite shocked after her spirometry test to see how poor her airflow was and how high her levels of nitric acid were when there was no audible wheezing or other issues when he listened to her lungs.  After a quick breathing treatment and a follow-up spirometry test for comparison {where everything looked MUCH better thanks to those opened up airways}, the doctor prescribed a steady treatment of Flovent, twice a day, for the next 3 months after which she'll come back in for a check-up. 

{This was the only "after" shot I got from the skin prick test and it's super blurry.}

Jane went in on Thursday, and while her reactions to the skin prick test were not NEARLY as intense as Sophie's, she nevertheless is still allergic to all nuts as well.  AND a host of pollens and grasses and weeds.  Which makes sense considering her allergies this spring were the WORST of any of the kids in our household.  Jane also had a turn with the spirometer, and the doctor was once again quite surprised for the same reasons as with Sophie.  While being completely asymptomatic at the moment, her lungs still tested really bad.  And once again, after a breathing treatment they were MUCH, much better.  She was prescribed the same Flovent treatment as Sophie, and we were on our merry way.  Haha.

Alex was the last one, and he had his visit this afternoon.  Thankfully, we weren't there for NEARLY as long {Sophie's appointment lasted 3 hours and Jane's lasted 2}, and the only food he appears to be allergic to is peanuts.  Technically, he didn't have a significant reaction to the tree nuts they tested, but given the rest of the tree nut allergies in the house {Ethan and Grace are also both allergic to tree nuts}, the doctor agreed that it was probably for the best to avoid those for the time being as well.  With no seasonal allergy issues to test for, and no asthma problems, Alex was in and out in just an hour.  :)  Which was a good thing, because he was having a meltdown of his own variety towards the end.  {Let's just say his expectations for the doctor's visit were not quite realized.  The "surprise" bucket was not all that exciting to him, and there were no superhero tattoos to choose from.  Hahaha.}

{Alex (like Jane) was up for a little emotion expression while waiting at the doctor's as well -- this is "Sadness." Hahahaha.}

And there you have it!  Thank goodness I'm done with doctor's appointments for the next little bit!