Allergy Scare

We had a major allergy scare last night. During dinner, I noticed Elise starting to scratch her eye a lot. She was eating an orange and so I thought she got some citrus juice in her eye. When I looked closer, I saw that she had tons of tiny little bumps on the left side of her face...looked like hives. So she was having an allergic reaction and Bryant went to Target to get some Benadryl.

Within a few minutes, the hives started spreading and her face started to swell. This was very scary. I went to Babycenter.com and they said to call 911 if the face starts to swell. Bryant came home and we just decided to go to Pediatric Urgent Care since it didn't seem like she was having difficulty breathing. The tricky part with face swelling is that it can also lead to the throat swelling and closing in. While we were driving there, I tried to interact with Elise the entire time to make sure her breathing was OK. I felt like I wanted to have a panic attack.

By the time we got to the hospital, it seemed like the swelling and hives were slowing down. A nurse looked at it immediately and said that we still needed to see a doctor, but that there was no need to be scared. We were relieved.  Here she is at the hospital, looking much better, but still with face swelling.  It was nearly closing her left eye shut!

Since we don't know exactly what caused the reaction, the Dr. said to closely monitor every food intake, especially if she is eating something new. We gave her hummus and spinach pancakes for the first time last night-- she basically had a taste of each and rejected both. I'm pretty sure the reaction was due to the hummus because it has pine nuts and sesame, both big allergens. From what I've read, it's likely that Elise has a nut allergy.

This makes me really sad. For whatever reason, the incidence of nut allergies is rapidly spreading and nobody knows why. I actually have a friend whose daughter died in junior high due to accidental consumption of walnuts in a dessert.  I can't even fathom the pain.  I just hate that I feel like I have such little control and understanding over this situation. And of course the irrational part of me feels like somehow I am to blame for this. I was always really worried that Elise would be one of those "nut allergy" kids and now it's looking like it is the case.

 I've read that some kids grow out of allergies so I'm really going to pray that this happens for Elise. Not eating dairy is hard enough for her. I want her to enjoy things like ice cream, cheese, and creamy pastas! Anyway, please join me in prayer that Elise will be fully released from these allergies!