Can you ever be too safe?

Being a parent of a child with severe food allergies, I feel as though I need to be extra aware of everything my son is doing. I need to be aware of where he is, what is around, if he is safe, what he is doing. It is really the only way to keep him safe. Just stop and think for a minute about this, it is nothing ANY parent wants to EVER think about but it may be life saving. What would you do if your child was abducted? What terrible things would run through your mind? What could be going on, where are they, are they okay, are we ever going to find them. That alone is HARD to even think about. Now, imagine your child has food allergies, maybe they do. The moment your child goes missing, whether it be them wandering off or an abduction, it becomes a life and death situation. What if your child only wandered off, they could come in contact with an allergen, or a caring adult could offer them some food until you have been contacted. Just the touch can sometimes turn fatal, especially in the hands of someone uneducated about food allergy. That is why taking measures to be sure you know where your child is at all times can be so important.

I came across this website called Preventabduction.net

This website is FULL of resources including:

• Tips to prevent abduction
• Child safety videos
• Child ID kits
• Safety devices
• Internet safety tips and products
• Child safety books
• Amber alert resources
• Sex Offender registry
• Non-profit organizations

One of my favorites is the child ID Tattoos. They are fun for the child and they have contact info if lost. They even have Tattoos declaring an allergy or any other health issues.

It is definitely worth taking a look around the website to educate yourself and find ways to keep your children safe!

To find out more, please visit www.preventabduction.net

Horse for Lease

Hi everyone!

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve horses. My grandparents had horses and my grandfather would take me riding on the mountain that they lived on. My biggest struggle was being allergic to them. But, I later realized that I could control that with allergy medicines like benedryl. It was so worth it to have those experiences.

I recently came across this very neat site called Horses for Lease. I would suggest taking a look. You don't have to OWN a horse to have all the fun, you can lease them too!  Another cool feature is that you can post ads as well. So, you may be the one owning horses and letting people lease them so they can enjoy some of the benefits too!

To find out more visit www.horsesforlease.com

Purifying your air

Over the summer your allergies can get pretty bad! Using an air purifier can really help to clean the air and make you a lot less miserable. Having a purifier any time of year can be beneficial for your allergies.

I recently came across this website that not only sells air purifiers but helps to educate you on what allergens are in your home and how purifying your air can help you that much more. I know as an allergy and asthma sufferer myself the benefits an air purifier can give. Click HERE to read more and view the chart.

This company also has compiled a list of purifiers that work best for your allergies.

Please take a moment to visit this site as this will help any allergy and/or asthma sufferer.

http://www.airpurifiersource.com/

Summer is here!

Yay! Summer is finally here. While this can be so exciting it can also be a drag for us allergy sufferers. I have personally ran out of my Zyrtec without the chance to purchase more in the last few days. I wake up with sinus headaches and feeling yucky. That is most definitely not fun. I have also heard recently that you should not take allergy medicines when pregnant. WHAT!?!? It has been too long for me to remember that but my pregnant friend told me that she was told to ONLY take benedryl. As any parent knows, that is not very possible. I take it and by the time I can start to feel relief, I am knocked out. With the possibility of pregnancy looming, I need to figure out what exactly I am going to do if that happens. I have terrible seasonal allergies, you would think I have the flu. But, that is enough about me.

My son has not come across many allergy problems. But, we did take our first camping trip of the year. While there, I noticed that around the fire pit there were peanut shells everywhere. I did my best to use some pieces of wood as a broom to sweep them into a pile but it was hard. I found more by the table, good thing I always bring a fold out child's table for my kids to eat at when we are camping. It makes it so much easier. Every time my son fell, it was straight to the tent to get his hands wiped down with wipes. That was a very stressful camping trip. To camp we drive for 60 miles on winding roads which makes it take even longer. It is far from any hospital and that can be scary too. I always bring extra epipens and stock up on benedryl and anything else we may need if something allergy related were to happen. Although I am nervous almost the whole time that we are camping, I still take my son because he absolutely loves it! I can't wait to take them again next month!

Recalls due to undeclared allergens!

Undeclared Milk Allergen in Sorbet

Undeclared Walnuts in Whole Foods Market Cupcakes

Follow this link to find more recalls. Not all are due to undeclared allergens but definitely worth taking a look at.  (That includes possible metal fragments.)
Link to recalls

Trip to ER 5-23-12/My son's recount of what happened

I should start by saying that I would not normally put these sorts of things on the internet because I think it is more of a private thing, as any trip to the hospital may be. But, I felt it was important for me to recount what had happened on this blog.

Today I found my son with a red face. I rushed to give him benedryl and then waited a little bit, it only got worse so we rushed to the car, where the above picture was taken. The lighting makes it hard to see anything but you can also enlarge the picture to see closer up.

We arrive at the hospital and I explain how it happened. My daughter, who is going through a rebellious and limit pushing phase, climbed the counter and found the hidden cinnamon raisin bread that I had bought for breakfast for myself. That was among other things such as apples, bananas and even minute rice. But, the only thing that he could have gotten into was the bread which had contained milk in the ingredients.

At this point his hives have spread to his ears and down his neck and onto his stomach. They give him steroids and such to help it calm down. As his hives spread and he becomes more agitated, I become worried and express this to the NEW nurse who had just taken over for the one we had. She tells the Dr. and he says that he just wants to watch and try not giving him any more medicines. So we wait, and he continues to get worse the hives have spread to his whole body, his whole stomach and chest, face, neck, ears, back all become red. But, I sit by just waiting for the steroids to kick in.

This is him as it starts to spread. He actually kept asking for a TV since he has been here in the past and KNOWS they have rooms with TVs. So, they move him lol. A 4 YEAR OLD CALLING THE SHOTS? haha. It was funny but they just wanted to make him comfortable since they knew we were in for a while for observation. After you ingest an allergen you have to be watched for 2 hours because that is the most likely time for an anaphylactic reaction to occur. 

His new room, about to fall to sleep.

They finally let us go but warned that he could still go into anaphylaxis over the next couple of days.

A positive side for him was that he now had 3 bracelets instead of just one. He definitely liked that.

Now, for his point of view. We came home and his hives are less pink and he is feeling much better. So, I sit him down to talk to him about what happened. And this is what he said:

Sick Days

Summer is near and we can feel it with the hot days that have been popping in. But, as allergies take a full dive into our lives we are struck with an awful cold, or is it? It is so hard to tell the difference at a time like this. My son had started sneezing persistently and having a runny nose that wouldn't let up. I started to worry that his Zyrtec just wasn't going to cut it this year. Then a day later my daughter started with the runny nose and sneezing. That  night it hit me full force and FAST. Thinking it was just my sons allergies taking a turn, I didn't use my normal precautions to keep myself and everyone else in the house from getting sick. So, by the time I learned that it was in fact a cold, I was starting to show symptoms.

When I say that this came fast, I mean it. It was yesterday that my daughter showed symptoms. I had felt icky in my tummy all day but shrugged it off as my normal stomach upsets. Then, I get home from a wonderful day out with my friend, as it was her birthday, and I start to sneeze. Within hours I am a sneezing mess with a sore throat and a squeaky voice to match. So, today is my sick day. My son is feeling better, thank goodness! That also means that while it is a bad and nasty cold, it leaves just as fast as it came. My son is left with the all too familiar childhood lingering cough and what's a cough if you don't add asthma in the mix. These are those days that being a parent can be quite hectic. But, it is worth every minute. I am trying to savor these times where it is only 2 that I am chasing around with tissues. Every minute of every sick day is worth it when you have such wonderful children.