Dermatolgist/Allergist

Last week I took Brooke to the Derm because she had a terrible flare up of eczema around her eyes. It was terrible, she literally had bright red circles around both of her eyes. We got more ointment that is safe to put on her face, it seems to be working fairly well. We also got a referral to an Allergist because the Derm said kids that have eczema outbreaks in the Summer typically have an allergy that causes the break out. Kids who have it worse in the Winter is simply a response to the dry air. Last year was the same with Brooke and Taylor, they get it mostly around their ankles, wrists and sometimes behind their knees and elbows. Taylor has not had the patches around the eyes, thank goodness, because Brooke looked really really bad.

The day I took Brooke to the Dr. was great, because it was just her and I and we had a good time playing in the patient room. She was super happy and so was I, and then...we were about to leave and she was walking around the room exploring when she turned around into the side of the counter top. She immediately screamed, I picked her up and then the nurse and I realized she was bleeding like crazy. Ugh, we couldn't really tell at first if it was coming from her nose or mouth. It freaks me out when I see blood until I can figure out where it is coming from. Well, it was her nose and it was going down her throat so she was coughing and then it was spraying everywhere. Poor little girl. The nurse was really helpful and tried to get as much as possible off of us, but we then realized when I picked Brooke up she hugged me and got blood all over my hair, not good for a blonde. Man, I had showered before the appointment and even straightened my hair because I was going out with my girlfriends for dinner. Bummer! I also wanted to stop at Sendick's to grab some dinner for Chris, but how could I walk around covered in all this blood, oh, and it was a 20 minute drive back home so I was not going to go home and come all the way back out. As it turned out the nurse was so great she got the majority of it out of my hair, it was just a little on the pink side and somewhat crunchy. I covered Brooke's shirt in stickers to cover the blood and we were off to the store! Whew!

We then had an appointment with an Allergist, Dr Volkham. Taylor and Brooke were both being seen in hopes of figuring out the origin of their eczema. I knew they were going to be doing the skin prick testing and I was a little concerned how the girls would do. Silly me. Each girl was tested for indoor and outdoor allergens, I decided to hold off on food allergen testing because I really do not think that is a cause at all. The test consisted of two "prick trays" with eight needles each. Taylor did not flinch even a little, seriously??? She was more ticklish from the nurse writing with a pen on her back to identify the trays. Brooke, pretty much had the same response, she gave a little scowl, but not a whimper at all. I still believe that with all the poking and proding the girls endured in the NICU has increased their tolerance for pain.

So the results were much better than I expected, mostly I was worried that they would be allergic to pet dander and Wrigs would be in jeopardy. Taylor reacted to NOTHING!!! Brooke had a significant allergic reaction to trees. Typically the tree allergy season is mid March to May. The strange thing about eczema is that it is really hard to identify the triggers. With Taylor not having any reactions, the Doctor believes she has the non-allergic form of eczema. Brooke's eczema may or may not be exacerbated by the tree allergy. We will start both on antihistamines next Spring to see if that helps keep the eczema under control. Truth be told, Taylor's eczema is not all that bad, Brooke's is a different story. He sweet little face looks pretty bad and I pray that we can keep it under control next season. The poor little girl looks like she was beat up with her red eyes. The only good thing is that she doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. Thank goodness the girls do not have the itch that typically comes with eczema...YET!

The girls had a blast exploring the patient room!