Allergy news!

I can hardly believe that I'm saying this but it looks like Sean may have outgrown some of his allergies!!! When we had his comprehensive blood work done about 2 years ago, it listed 23 foods that he was allergic to. The effects of his allergies were largely as eczema. They began 2 weeks after he weaned, when he was 3 1/2 years old. We were on vacation in Chincoteague when it first showed up on the front of his ankle. He had what looked like major poison ivy that would not go away - the front of his leg was a scabby mess for soooo long (we are talking YEARS) that it is a miracle that he doesn't have scars there. All night long, he would scratch and I would say, "stop scratching" and hold his hands and arms so that there might be a chance that the sheets wouldn't be bloody from all the scratching in the morning. After the blood work and the monster list of what to avoid (the most difficult were wheat, dairy and soy - everything else was pretty easy - largely grains, and fruits and vegetables), we began to see a difference. Last summer was the first time that he was able to swim in the river (the river being saltwater, it would burn his eczema too badly) and man did he love it!

Some of the foods that were on his allergic list, I've been introducing in small amounts (often without him really knowing) like citrus fruits, bananas, some grains (oat, quinoa, etc) and he'd been doing okay with them. So this week, we started with real dairy - yogurt to be specific and he seems absolutely fine!!! I'd been introducing it *in* things (as an ingredient for a couple of weeks). I would even say that his legs look BETTER now - which is amazing considering the amount of plaster dust we have had in the house, even my skin feels chalky all the time. So right now the only two things that he is avoiding are peanuts and wheat. Peanuts he may never outgrow, but I think we might try the wheat during April vacation. I feel like my entire world is about to change. He's been so good for nearly 2 years, I'm really hoping that this is the real thing!