Oh nuts!

If I have not mentioned in the past, let me begin by saying that my household dabbles in the world of allergies. We tend to leave nothing out. Environmental. Seasonal. Animals. Food. We pretty much cover all four corners of the allergy world. We should take stock in allergy meds and tissues. And it is a year round activity. No breaks for the Chapman family. In general we are lucky. We do not normally deal with severe reactions like closed throats and such. But it is still a challenge all the same.

Megan tends to be the worse of all the kids......right now. Of course, they all have their own issues and at that second you are dealing with it, that child becomes top of the line. But Megan's allergies tends to attack her eyes along with the typical sniffies and sneezes. She would get allergic pink eye. Swollen eyes and hives on her face which resulted in missed school time. Spring is her enemy. Although fall tends to give her a run for her money too. Actually she is allergic all year. But spring is her worse. When we got to the point of nothing else working, we began allergy shots. At that same time, Megan began food allergies. Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) to be precise. All caused by her seasonal allergies being on overload.

OAS is an allergy all in it's own world. To use basic terms.....it is her bodies overload to pollen and it confuses other things in the same 'category'. Like birch results in allergies to apples. Rag weed results in allergies to carrots. Etc etc. Her body is confusing a fruit or veggie with pollen. BUT it is only raw veggies and fruit. She can eat processed foods. Megan is OAS allergic to carrots, apples and tree nuts. She cannot eat or touch an raw apple but she can eat an apple pie. She cannot touch or eat a carrot but she can eat carrot cake. The cooking breaks down the foods. Sounds simple but try explaining to school officials she can't eat a apple but she can eat apple pie. They think I am nuts. I laugh it off. I tell them that, in a time when fruit trays are popular at school parties, my child can't eat that. But she can have all the processed foods she wants!

Megan has been doing so well on her allergy shots. She isn't 100% allergy free but she is doing so much better and only requiring allergy meds in the spring. And NO swollen eyes anymore! We have been on the track of testing Megan. Allergy testing. Food challenges. Trying no medications. In general she has been doing so well. And so we decided to try her allergy foods.

The dr really believed she would be able to get her foods back. So I packed Megan up on Tuesday with apples and carrots and nuts....oh my. Gave her a hug and sent her off with her cooler full of goodies with her father to have a food challenge.

It was with great disappointment that the dr refused to even do the challenge. They gave her a skin prick test and she failed. Terribly!

An hour later she came home with a cooler full of apples and carrots and nuts....oh my. And an Epi pen in the other hand.

Megan handles it well. She just shrugged it off and went to listen to her IPOD. Allergies are just a part of her and she doesn't let it bother her. But I was very disappointed, however. I know that if her body continues on overload, Megan could possibly be adding another fruit or veggie on her list. I know this. Megan might know this. But she will just push up her sleeves and handle it like the trooper she is.

So my daughter gets to continue to eat her processed foods.......till we test again.