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We took Clara in for her second allergy test this morning and it was also pure torture for the poor girl. I took her up to Chris' office an hour before so he could put the lidocaine on her back. I wasn't supposed to because of the belly. Then we went to Party City to kill time and get her Halloween makeup.

She started wincing and yelling, "ow, it hurts!". I looked and she didn't seem to be having a reaction. I assumed it just felt weird, but she assured me time and time again that she was in pain, so we headed to the party favor and candy aisle where she picked out some suckers and groucho glasses. (Chris says I'm a sucker; I say he wasn't there.) That was enough distraction before it finally started to take effect.

I told the nurse how she reacted and she said it feels kinda like icy hot. Well, no wonder she said it hurt! I specifically asked and they told me on Monday that it wouldn't painful. Can't say I was happy they didn't prepare me for that so I could prepare her. I assured her it wasn't going to hurt, just feel funny. Now I'm just a big 'ol liar. Oh, and I'm not "beeful" anymore. That's what Clara told me yesterday when she was crying and I was trying to reassure her about today's appointment. The girl knows how to pack a punch; she goes straight to calling me ugly!

When we got there and the nurse went to take off the plastic, her whole back was red, which I guess is normal. It looked terrible though. She did well until the nurse with the ouchie things came in and then she was ready to leave. She got 6 injections for the things that were negative on Monday. She didn't flinch much for each of them, but the tears were flowing already.

Then she also got three more of the ouchie things and an extra two pricks for good measure and she freaked out at each of them. Chris said she probably was reacting more to the pressure and just being in freak out mode than actually being in pain, but she could've fooled me.

Once the reactions started, she was screaming and flinching again and again it took several minutes for her to calm down. The nurse came in after ten minutes to take a look and I asked what was what. To my surprise, they were only testing for 8 food allergies. The other two sets of pricks were weeds and mold. I asked about the fruit since last time she said the doctor wanted her tested for all fruit and she went and looked on the computer and they were listed on Monday's paperwork, but not today's.

She said they could still do them and both Chris and I were like, "Nope!" So Chris asked Clara if she wanted to do more ouchie things and she said she'd prefer not to, so that sealed the deal. I guess since she reacted to so many environmental things on Monday, the doctor wanted to test for some more. I was slightly peeved since the whole reason we came in to the allergist in the first place was because of food reactions, not environmental. I hate that we put her through all that to tell us she has lots of allergies that she doesn't actually have any symptoms or problems because of.

The nurse brought us a folder full of info on eliminating allergens from the home and injections and all that good stuff, so we were prepared for a battle with the doctor. Neither of us wanted to put her on daily meds or injections if she doesn't have any problems. We were sure the doctor was going to insist, but surprisingly he said the same thing. He doesn't see any need until she starts exhibiting problems.

Her back lit up on all of the weeds, but all molds were negative. The only injection that she reacted to was cockroaches. She was tested for the most allergenic foods, which are milk, corn, soy, wheat, egg white, peanut, fish, and nut. Egg, peanut and fish were all 4's. We were told not to give her raw egg, so no mayo, meringue or ice cream, and to limit cooked eggs, meaning I need to learn to substitute. We'll see. Egg is in everything! She's already allergic to peanuts which eliminates the easiest way to get a little protein in the girl, now I've got to get rid of the eggs too! She loves boiled eggs. Fish and peanuts are right out. He doesn't want her to have any.

So now anything I cook for my entire family mustn't include chicken, egg, fish, coconut, pineapple, banana, avocado, peanuts, nuts or chocolate. (Or mushrooms, just because I don't like mushrooms.) And others as Clara has reactions.

After listening to the doctor, all this allergy stuff is still just as clear as mud to me. It's so obvious that they just really don't know and it's all just a guessing game. He said that even though she's not having problems with environmental stuff right now, this test is likely predicting the future and she'll have more and more problems as she gets older. They could change though and she will probably have more food allergies later on.

I did appreciate that when she does have some problem that we believe is brought on by allergies, that we're to take her there instead of her pedi. Like when she was coughing every night for several months last fall. The pedi didn't think she had anything, but I asked her to swab her anyway and she had a sinus infection. The allergist said that's exactly the type of thing to bring her to him for. She may start to have more health issues like headaches or chronic bronchitis, gi stuff, etc. He said the pedi. might not be quick in determining whether allergies are the underlying cause. We have a prescription for an antihistamine to use as needed right now and he said to give it to her when we visit Pecos.

He did say to cover her mattress and pillow, and getting carpet out of her room would be good, but I don't want to go overboard here. She didn't have any indoor allergies show up, so I don't want to go all allerphobic (That's a word, right? If not, it should be.) trying to protect her from all the evil things out there in nature. We'll just deal with things as they arise and try not to react until there's a reason to.

If you made it to the end of this post, wow. I wish I had a prize to give you.