8 year checkup and Allergy Test

Last Wednesday, I took Austin in for his 8-year checkup at the doctor’s office. The nurse checked his height, weight, vision and hearing. The doctor in the office that day was Dr. Otera.

11/18/2015
Height: 47 1/4 inches (8%)
Weight: 45 lbs. (5%)
Vision: L - 20/25
             R – 20/70
Hearing: Good (just need to clean the ear wax build up)

She asked him questions about his habits, health, safety, etc. He is healthy, my only concern was his itchy eyes and sniffling. So, she ordered an allergy test (and an anemia test since he was already getting poked). The closest lab was across the street so we headed straight there when we were done.

He had to get four full vials of blood and one small one. He hasn’t had his blood drawn since he was about one-year-old so he had no idea what he was in for. The needle scared him and he moved as the tech was putting in the needle so the needle only broke the skin. He freaked out (he bled and cried because it hurt). I sat down with him, held his arm down and she went for try #2 in the other arm. The left arm had smaller veins and he was moving and kicking his feet so blood wasn’t coming out very quickly. Eventually the needle slipped out before she got all the blood she needed. So, back to the right arm. He tried with all his might to negotiate his way out of doing it again. He tried to cover his arm with his face, he cried, he screamed, he wiggled, and he refused to straighten his arm. I tried everything I could think of to move it along - I told him that now he knows what to expect and he should get it over with, threats, making him feel bad for taking so long and promises of treats. It took a while but finally decided to put out his arm, I put his other hand over his face and he was calm. The tech put the needle in, a minute and three vials later and we were done! I was pretty steamed in the moment, but he finally went through with it and I am proud of him. I decided to stop at Cold Stone Creamery to get Austin an ice cream treat for surviving that dreadful experience. He chose cotton candy ice cream with gummy bears and was back to his sweet, happy-go-lucky self.

Today, I got the results of the blood test. Austin’s chemistry and blood cell count is good. He is negative for all food allergens (egg, peanut, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, almond, cow’s milk, fish, soy, shrimp, scallops).

BUT, he is positive for some grasses (Timothy, Elm, Bermuda, Johnson), trees (olive, walnut, elm) and cats and dogs! The grasses isn’t a big surprise, but I guess there is a different type of grass at Burnett than there was at Cabrillo because he hasn’t had a bad red, itchy eye or rash reaction this school year. The dog allergy was the biggest surprise because he’s spent time with Remy and I never noticed an allergic reaction (The doc said he is more allergic to cats than dogs but we don’t usually come in contact with cats so hard to test that one). Dr. Coye said it’s possible to outgrow his allergies, but they could also change. She mentioned he could be a good candidate for an allergy shot which is an injection of a small amount of allergen to build up tolerance, but it is a pretty frequent shot and I’d rather not have to poke the poor boy so many times. Her tips are to change clothes as soon as he gets home from playing outside around grass, Hepa air filter in his room at night and a nose spray (Flonase for congestion or Allegra, Claratin or Zyrtek for symptoms).