My family

My family
My Family

Friday, November 1, 2013

How Accidental Allergen Ingestion Happens

Last night we had a terrifying experience and it has prompted me to come back to my neglected blog.  I just want to publish our experience and show everyone who might come across this blog how easily anaphylactic shock can happen.

If you have been following my blog for a while or know us personally our awesome almost 4 year old Austin is allergic to many foods, including peanut and egg.  Both of these allergens produce an anaphylactic reaction.  So we steer clear of these foods and are constantly hovering over every item Austin puts in his mouth.

Back to last night.  It was Halloween and the kids were really excited to go trick or treating.  They were completely adorable going house to house, lifting their pumpkin buckets and saying "trickertreat".  Yes, that is one word "trickerteat".  It was windy and a bit rainy but they had soo much fun.  Which is exactly what kids should get to do - have fun!  Immediately following the trick or treating we lined the kids up with their cousins, for some pictures to remember this experience.

Everybody look this way and say cheese!!

Let me zoom in and show you what was happening while 4 crazy parents took pictures of their kids.


Just in case you can't tell, that is a yellow peanut m&m bag in my dear son's hands.  

And then this happened

That would be Austin ripping open the yellow bag of peanut m&m's.

Moments after this picture was taken Austin had something in his mouth.  Immediately Adam and I pounced on him and literally dug the peanut m&m out of his mouth.  He ate at most one - that's it just one.  Hives showed up immediately and once he began itching at his mouth we took him straight to the hospital.  





After a shot of epinephrine, a dose of benadryl and prednisone he was back to normal.  We stayed for monitoring for a few hours before heading home.

So what is the point of this post:  1. Show in pictures how a child can eat an allergen literally right before their parents eyes.  2. To start counting my blessings and being thankful.  I was overwhelmed with my blessings as I sat in the hospital last night and recalled a friend's blog where she counted her blessings and being thankful.  With it being November I felt it appropriate to blog my blessings and thankfulness this month.  So here we go.

1.  It was just one peanut.
2.  The hospital was literally 1-2 minutes away.
3.  Modern medicine is really lifesaving.
4.  I did not have to inject him with his EPI pen.  We were able to make it to the hospital fast enough that a nurse who is much more comfortable with needles could give him the shot.
 
And the most important of the day 5.  Austin is FINE!
 
 6.  Aubrey does not struggle with food allergies.  Here she is in her costume last night.  


**Sorry for the poor quality phone photos.  I had no idea I was taking pictures of a big event in our life**





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