Allergic Reaction Again!

On Saturday, I called my parents around 4:50 p.m. to see if they could babysit Annabelle for the evening so that hubby and I could have a date night out without the little one. I honestly just wanted to enjoy a good meal with hubby without a fussy and squirmy toddler.

So, my parents were up for another challenge. They arrived around 6:15 p.m. Annabelle was "reddy go" as she told Grandmama with her hand on the doorknob. Grandmama then reminded her that she had forgotten to tell Mommy and Daddy bye-bye. She ran over to us each separately and gave each of us the sweetest hug and kiss goodbye, and then she was ready to go!

Before hubby arrived home, I had told Annabelle that Grandmama and Granddaddy would be here shortly to take her to dinner. She immediately said, "Ont shuuzz on!" Translation: Want shoes on! And, then she ran to the dining room window to look for them. They hadn't arrived yet, and that upset her, but she calmed down, and she was definitely ready to go when they got here.

For dinner, they took her to Piccadilly. Grandmama said that she didn't eat very much for dinner, but she had bites of the following:

Carrot Souffle
Macaroni & Cheese (Per Grandmama, something in it tasted a lot like nutmeg)
Boiled Okra (one pod) (not fried...yuck!)
Black Eyed Peas
Cornbread
Banana (1/2)
Dried Peas
Water

Per Grandmama, Annabelle did not show any allergic reaction when they put her down for bed that evening.

But, when Annabelle got up on Sunday morning around 9:00 a.m., hubby spotted a small rash (just a few light red spots) under her left arm. Then, I spotted a few more light red spots on the back of her neck. I didn't think anything of it though because Annabelle has always had very sensitive skin, and it didn't look too much like an allergic reaction to me.

So, for breakfast, I made homemade Oatmeal Pancakes with Blackberries on top. Annabelle has had these pancakes several times in the past, and she did not react adversely to them at all. But, this time, I noticed that she had developed a small red rash between her lower lip and chin. I didn't freak out though because this was actually a very common occurrence for her after she started eating solids.

I finally learned (or thought I had learned) that egg was the culprit. However, typically, as long as I didn't give her the egg straight (such as scrambled eggs or boiled eggs), she would not have an allergic reaction to the food itself. It seemed as if it were cooked, that the egg did not bother her.

The ingredients in the oatmeal pancakes are as follows:

Oatmeal
Whole wheat flour
Milk
Sugar
Vegetable oil
Baking powder
Salt
Egg!!!

Well, since she was a complete mess from the blackberry juice, I picked her up and took her straight to the bathtub for a bath. While I was bathing her, the rash under her arms started to get darker and darker. Then, it started spreading to her stomach, chest and back.

Also, I forgot to mention that Annabelle woke up during the night at 5:00 a.m. because she wanted her "passy." Translation: Paci. Her diaper was soaked when I went in the bedroom to give her the paci, so I changed her diaper as well. While I was changing her diaper, I did notice red marks along her diaper area, but I didn't think anything of it. Grandmama had mentioned that she wasn't sure if she had put Annabelle's diaper on very well, so I thought maybe she had gotten the diaper a little tight. And, it was dark in the room, so I didn't pay very much attention to the rash. Annabelle was not complaining about the diaper at all. And, when I laid her back down with her paci, she went straight to sleep.

So, hubby and I discussed giving Annabelle some Benadryl, but we decided against it because the rash was not causing Annabelle any discomfort at all, and she was not having any breathing problems or anything that made me feel like we needed to rush her to the emergency room (again). One $150 copay for the year is enough (hopefully)!

This post will be updated as soon as we return from the doctor for a checkup on this rash! I was just trying to get something documented so that I could discuss these things with the doctor.

Okay, so I am back to update this blog entry a day late.

So, around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, the rash comes on with full force! Annabelle is covered, mainly on her torso, but also on her arms, neck (back of the neck) and feet (where her sandals fasten). We finally decided it was time to give her some Benadryl.

We gave her a teaspoon of Benadryl at 7:15 p.m. after we finally determined the correct dosage to give her. Per my written (typed) instructions from the hospital, it read: Benadryl mg x 12.5 Mg, Oral, 4 times a day. Per the drug facts on the carton, it reads, "Active Ingredient (in each 5 ml teaspoonful) Diphenhydramine HCI 12.5 mg........Antihistamine." Well, that makes perfect sense, right? That is until you look at the little measuring cup they give you with the carton which shows 12.5 ml (ml not mg) marked at a line at the middle of the measuring cup. Well, hubby said, "That's it. 12.5 mg, right? And he pointed to the line that said 12.5 ml." I thought, "Yes, it does say 12.5 mg" (because I didn't really notice the "in each 5 mL teaspoonful"). But, I just didn't think that was the right amount because I thought I had remembered them giving Annabelle 1 teaspoonful in the hospital. So, I looked more closely at the ingredients, and I finally caught the "in each 5 mL teaspoonful."

Is that not scary? We could have totally overdosed our child on Benadryl! That is serious stuff too! They really should make the directions a lot more clearer, and they really should get rid of the 12.5 ml on the measuring cup. There is absolutely no place on the directions that uses ml. I guess they are required to include it due to the fact that other countries use different measurements than the United States?

So, we gave her one teaspoonful of Benadryl. Her reaction once again: Hyperactive!

I checked on her several times during the night to make sure she was alright and was not having any respiratory problems due to the allergic reaction. She was fine and breathing, and she still was not itching, so I honestly was not worried about her.

Well, when she woke up on Monday morning, she was still covered in the rash, and it didn't look any better. Of course, per the hospital instructions, I was supposed to be giving her Benadryl every 4 hours, so she had not had another dose since her last dose at 7:15 p.m. I was not about to wake a sleeping toddler to give her yet another dose of hyperactive medication.

I did not panic, but I did decide to call my pediatrician to request to speak with a nurse. I called at 9:49 p.m., and the nurse called me back at 11:04 a.m. I spoke with Pat who I have spoken with before, and she normally encourages me to make an appointment. Do they pay these nurses more money if they can convince the mom to schedule an appointment? Keep in mind that this is yet another $40 copay! And, please, don't get me wrong. I love my child dearly, but I normally follow my instinct on when to actually schedule an appointment with the doctor. I should know the routine by now.

So, Pat told me that it was probably best if I could see the doctor while Annabelle still had the rash, but they didn't have any appointments available with Dr. Calk until 4:00 p.m. They could, however, schedule an appointment with a Physician's Assistant (P.A.) at 1:50 p.m. I told her that I would opt for the 4:00 appointment since 1:50 p.m. was right at naptime and if the rash was going to go away any time soon, it would probably have already done so by 1:50 p.m.

Pat told me that it was probably best that I bring her in because they should rule out any reaction caused by a viral infection. What? I had never even thought that a viral infection could cause such a rash. And, also, because Annabelle has had recurring problems with allergic reactions, they could run simple blood tests at their office to determine if she was allergic to some of the more common suspect foods such as eggs and nuts. She mentioned this because the whole reason I told her I was calling was to determine if I should take her to an allergist or not.

Keep in mind...I am trying to avoid a silly $40 copay to only have the doctor tell me that he would recommend she see an allergist. Why not go straight to the allergist?

So, I schedule the 4:00 p.m. appointment with Dr. Calk, and then the rat race begins. It is 11:09 when I got off the phone with Pat. I mentioned to Pat that I had pictures of the first ER visit rash as well as pictures of this rash last night and then again this morning. She said, "That is great. Bring them with you if you can." The only problem is that they were not printed.

I quickly loaded all of the pictures onto a Secure Digital memory card, and I dress Annabelle and myself, and we're off to Sam's Club at 12:00 p.m. The pictures are uploaded to Sam's Club by 12:15 p.m., and we have an hour to wait and feed Annabelle. She needs a nap before her 4:00 appointment, and I know that I need to wake her no later than 3:30 p.m. to get her diaper changed and simply get ourselves out the door by 3:45 p.m. to make it to the doctor by 4:00 p.m. So, that means she needs to go down for a nap as close to 1:15 p.m. as possible.

We ate lunch at Chick-fil-A. Bad idea! I ordered a 12 piece nugget, but they only gave me 12 pieces. So, I had to take Annabelle out of the high chair and lug her back to the counter to get my extra two pieces of nuggets. I have two hungry girls to feed, and 10 nuggets were not going to cut it! They gave me a 6 piece nugget to replace the 2 missing nuggets.

During lunch, Annabelle took her sweet time eating. And, this was not as usual because this time, she ate even slower! She had to watch the three children that stood by our table talking to another Mommy and child. Timing people, timing!

We finally leave Chick-fil-A around 1:05 p.m. We ran in to Sam's Club to pick up the pictures, and then we were off to go back home. I think I finally got Annabelle down for her nap around 1:45 p.m. after arriving back home around 1:30 p.m. And, fortunately, she fell asleep right away.

Thank goodness! I figured she would really be a pill if I had to wake her at 3:30 p.m. And, best of all, she actually woke up right at 3:30 p.m. on her own, and she wasn't crying! Excellent!

We were off to see the "doc tur" at 3:45 p.m. And, yes, she used yet another new word. Translation: Doctor. I am so excited that my little girl is finally starting to really talk. She is repeating just about everything we say!