Mom Guilt

Took my 13 year old son to the allergist yesterday.

Now, for a little background info, I was raised as an Air Force Brat.  And despite the FREE medical care on the Base, we never, NEVER went to the doctor. Well, unless it were for vaccinations for school or a dire emergency (like the time I sliced open my hand climbing a chain link fence.  And even then my mom was all "I'm not sure she needs to go," to which my brother replied "I can see the inside of her hand Mom! Take her!"  But that is another story altogether.)

SO unless we were dying or there was a threat of jail time...we just toughed it out.

My son has always had allergy symptoms, along with everyone else in the state of Georgia.  Fall and Spring are times we stock up on Zyrtec and tissues.  But he has also had episodes in the past involving antibiotics, and cats, so I just bit the bullet and had him checked out.

The doctor looked in his nose and deemed it 'tired' looking...tired of being red and inflamed.  He looked in his throat and said it was 'cobblestoned' from all the drainage.  I guess all the drainage cut grooves into his throat.  Poor kid.

The doctor said to my son, "I can tell you are not a complainer, are you?"  No, he isn't.  My sweet son just toughs stuff out until it becomes 'too much'.  My daughter does all the complaining for the both of them.

A skin test was performed on his back.  The kind where they scratch the surface of the skin and apply a sample of an allergen.  Then they wait for the reaction.

My son's back looked like he had laid in a bed of nails.

Here's the results:

Allerigic to  birch, hickory, pecan, pine, cedar trees...about 5 different weeds....cats and dogs...molds...dust mites...cockroaches....and the worst one of all...grass.

The grass reaction was off the charts.  The reactions were scored on a scale of 1 to 4.  Everything he reacted to was a 4...grass was written down as '4 + '. 

I'm now in a whirlwind of scheduling twice weekly allergy shots, washing bedding in 130 degree F water once a week, zippered pillow covers and mattress covers. 

I'm NOT selling the dog. No way!

The doctor explained to me that a lot of his distractiblity issues could be due to allergies...when the body is producing histamine and fighting the environment, it is comparitive to running a race.  The body gets exhausted.

I feel so guilty though.  I should have taken him sooner...when he was younger.  Maybe he would be so much better by now.  I just thought allergies were something that everyone just has to suffer through. 

Now I know.  And the cleaning, scalding, injecting has begun.

Wish me luck.