Very Exciting Study!

I frequent quite a few allergy blogs, daily. It is comforting to read about other families in the same situation as ours. They have even challenged me to venture outside of the comfort zone of our house and try eating at restaurants.

This morning I read on one of those blogs that University of Chicago and Northwestern University have received a grant to study the cause of food allergies. Yay!! There is a frustration in the medical/research community about the increase in food allergies and the lack of evidence (and money) for studying the cause. The focus of this study is to determine whether the pesticides in genetically engineered plants cause the allergies. There have been murmurings of this in the allergy community for a long time, but due to the lack of resources has not been studied. I, along with every other food allergic family, will be eagerly anticipating the results of this study.

If you think about it, food allergies have exponentially increased in the last 5-10 years. During this time, there has been an increase in genetically engineered crops. Is there a connection? Maybe, maybe not. But it is a valid question considering how the food we eat is now grown and processed. Hopefully this study will answer this question. Maybe the solution will be to eat organic, I don't know, but would be willing to do it, if it means my boys can overcome their allergies.

Here is the link to the article on the MedicalNews Today blog.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158722.php

The Egg Experiment

Most of you know that my boys both have food allergies. They share allergies to eggs and peanuts (with Samuel also allergic to milk). We had found out 2 years ago that Samuel was allergic to eggs through the reactions to it. Darius tested positive for an egg (and peanut) allergy on the RAST blood test. Lately there have been some medical studies that have questioned the accuracy of the blood tests. Meaning that there can be a lot of false positives in regards to food allergies. I started to wonder if Darius really was allergic to eggs since the only exposure he has had was "in utero". We decided to test their egg allergies.

For the first time in 2 years, I bought eggs last Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, I made brownies that called for 2 eggs. I gave each of the boys a small brownie to try. They both dug right in to them. But within 1/2 a brownie, Samuel started looking around, his eyes started watering and we could tell he wasn't feeling well at all. Josh asked him if he felt sick and he said yes. He rushed Samuel to the sink in time for the brownie and his lunch to come back up. We got him cleaned up, gave him a drink and a dose of Benadryl and watched him for awhile. But he was fine after that. Meanwhile, Darius devoured the brownie and asked for more (which we didn't give him). We kept a wary eye on him for awhile afterwards, but he seemed to do okay. That night though, we noticed eczema patches starting up on his ankles and behind his knees. We're not sure if the eczema is a reaction to the eggs or not. We are going to clear his eczema up and then try eggs again with him to see if the same thing happens. Depending on the next reaction, we will slowly expose eggs into his diet.

I'm not surprised at Sam's reaction. Part of me was hoping that he had grown out of the allergy, but I knew that he probably hadn't. We are fortunate that both boys' (but especially Samuel) reactions are not anaphylactic reactions. We've never had to use the Epi-pen with them and my prayer is that we never will. The thought of jabbing a needle in my severely reacting child's leg brings out the fear in me. Benadryl works great at shutting down their reactions. We will probably wait another 2 years before we retest our boys for their food allergies. Maybe by then, things will have changed for the better.

Loosening the Grip

Lately, I've been convicted about the tight grip that I have on my boys. Aside from church, we are basically homebodies. We don't really get out and do too much with others or even on our own. Part of this is the fact that we only have one vehicle, whereas the other part is concerning their food allergies. I have been very careful to control their environment to guard against the exposure to their food allergens. Because Samuel is so sensitive to milk, we have avoided eating out and even going to places where the milk residue would be highest concentrated. I know that I have a responsibility to protect my boys from what could hurt them. But I think that I have gone overboard on the protection.

Our Christmas holiday was spent going to many different Christmas celebrations on Josh's side. I enjoy spending time with Josh's family and have gotten to know some of them fairly well over the 6 years Josh and I have been together. As much as I enjoy his various family celebrations (all centered around food), I was still very nervous to attend them. Always in the back of my mind, I feared that the boys would eat something they shouldn't and react violently enough that they would require the Epi-Pen.(Even though, we have never had to use the Epi-Pen.) But that didn't happen. Josh and I, along with Josh's mom, planned ahead enough that we made sure we had safe foods for the boys, during all of the events. In fact, things went so smoothly over the holidays that the boys didn't even get break out in hives. (Samuel's asthma did flare up, but we were prepared with the nebulizer and so we were able to keep it under control.)

Christmas has shown me that the boys will do okay in food environments. As long as I plan ahead to have safe foods for them. I've been reading several other blogs lately written by food allergic people. The confidence they have in being involved with the world has made me realize that I don't have to be so afraid of food allergies.

Josh and I are reading The Power of a Praying Parent together. In one of the first chapters, the author talks about giving your child to God and entrusting Him with their lives. Very convicting, especially in this area. I'm not trusting in God to keep my boys safe from allergic reactions. Granted, I know I need to be responsible and do what I can to protect them, but beyond that I need to entrust my fears to Him and rest in His protection for my boys. I can't let my fears rule me my life anymore. Easier said than done, but it is something I am going to work on in my life this year. My first act of branching out is to sign up my family for the Dinner Club at church. This will put us in "uncontrolled" environments food-wise, but as long as I can trust in God and plan ahead, it will be a good experience for us. I'm glad we have a patient God, because I'm sure this will be a long journey.