High Maintenance Mom

Carters posted a message at this link about their tagless line recall. www.carters.com/corporate/tagless_message.aspx

When my daughter was born 3 years ago I was ready with the usual sensitive skin and laundry care. I took extra care in making sure her skin was hydrated and rash free. By the time she was 2 years old I realized that she had very normal skin not prone to dryness or rashes. However, it was about that time that my son was born and he was a different ball game all together.....

Our preschool does not allow peanuts, I don't eat dairy, and lots of our friends' kids have severe allergies to soy, dairy, nuts, eggs, and wheat. It's a lot to keep track of as a parent, especially if you haven't needed to watch labels in the past...

We're still trying to figure out Little Grab's hives and will be seeing an allergist in two weeks. Below are two links we were given for more information that have been helpful.

Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics - check out Breatherville.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network - check out food allergens for more information about what to look for in product packaging.

Little Grab has hives that we think are related to his sulfa drug issue last week (he broke out in a rash, the nurse at our doctor's office told us it couldn't be related to the medicine even though that's what happened with my sulfa drug reaction, and he last took it a week ago). After a week of hives, I was told it could last for over three weeks and I should give him more Benadryl. I rushed to the drugstore where I stood in front of the allergy medications pondering whether red dyes or saccharin were worse in large doses. How hard could it have been to create an over-the-counter antihistamine, like Benadryl, but with real sugar and no dyes? My conversation with the pharmacist went something like this, "well saccharin has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats but red dye has been shown to cause hormonal problems... he's not going to be taking high doses for an extended period of time, is he?". The friend I had dragged with me suggested we pick based on the most appetizing flavor -- we chose cherry (she's also a scientist). So, I've spent some time this evening reviewing information on dye and saccharin...

I don't remember having allergies as a child. My first memory of difficulty breathing occurred in graduate school as I ran into the water for my first sprint triathlon. My chest started to constrict and it was terrifying. I tried to move forward without putting my head in the water and somehow completed the short swim, bike, and run -- it was one of those learn to do a triathlons where people who couldn't swim at all wore red swim caps so I felt like I was in good company. When I mentioned it to a doctor, I was told that I had exercise and allergy induced asthma. I was prescribed an inhaler and allergy medications.

By the end of my graduate studies, which involved crushing rocks and inhaling dust, I used allergy medications (sprays and pills) regularly. I managed to survive on only the inhalers and nasal sprays during my first pregnancy but started to get chronic sinus infections when our oldest entered daycare at four months -- I didn't realize how sick I could get from being around young children. So, I added zyrtec to my allergy cocktail for the second pregnancy. When the sinus infections returned, I switched to clarinex. Within a few weeks my sinuses were clear. I called it the miracle drug. When I went to refill my prescription, I was told my insurance no longer coversed it. Just like that. I called the insurance company and they verified their lack of coverage. They also verified that there was little I could do. I was given an address for sending a written claim, which brought scenes from Monty Python movies to mind...