Allergy Test Results

The trip to the allergist yesterday confirmed that Josie has a severe allergy to peanuts and allergies to other nuts (although markedly less severe). We were glad that she only had to have twelve tests since we knew she was okay with milk, eggs, and some other common allergens. Poor little thing definitely cried, but they let me hold her so once they finished with the actual scratching, I was able to nurse her and she calmed right down. She was actually quite cheery during the 15 minute wait to read the reactions. They even had a TV set up next to her with a tape of Tweety Bird playing. All in all, it was frightening for all of us, but Josie was so brave.

It's easy to tell below which one was the peanut test. She scored at 4+ on a scale of 1-4 regarding the severity based on this reaction. Perhaps the scariest thing is that this is with a serum that is only a small fraction of the actual strength of the peanut protein. (I believe he said it was 1/32 strength.) So, obviously letting Josie come into contact with an actual peanut or peanut butter would mean real trouble.

Really, it is such a blessing in disguise that we now know this about Josie so we can do everything we need to do to keep her safe. Obviously we'll be having follow-up conversations with friends/family about the changes we will all need to make to protect her. We are also going to go ahead and do the blood test so that we can have a number to track each year. The doctor was hopeful that by the time she is a teenager (and if her exposure to peanuts between now and then is nill) that she could even outgrow the allergy! :) Thanks for the outpouring of support over the past week. Love you all!