When we last saw our intrepid little family, the father of the household was getting a ride home from his overnight hospital stay Friday afternoon by his lovely wife. Saturday, he was still exhausted; he didn’t sleep well Thursday night, and Friday night’s rest was insufficient. He muddled through Saturday, doing a minimum of vacuuming and dishwashing, and not much else.
Even Sunday morning, there was a sense of fatigue within him. But since almost everyone knew about the hospital incident, he wanted to show up to prove he was still among the living. Fortunately, all the songs the choir sang he had performed before.
At the coffee hour, somehow the Daughter had gotten permission (not from her father) to eat some coffee cake, despite being unclear about its origins. Apparently, it’s one of those items that had that warning that it may be processed in a plant that used peanuts or nuts. She is allergic to peanuts, and peanuts and nuts are often processed in the same place.
Shortly after consuming it, she got very upset. Was it a belated sense of fear? Her father took her into a quiet room and tried to calm her down. She was OK for a bit, but by the time she got home, she had a stomachache, and eventually upchucked. This was actually a good thing; the first time she had an allergic reaction, when she was three, that was how her body responded. So the family thought it was in the clear.
A couple of hours later, the Wife noticed, above the knees and below the neck hives over about 30% of The Daughter’s body. It itched greatly. After a call to the pediatrician, another trek to the E.R.
It’s much less busy Thursday at 8:40 a.m. than Sunday at 5:30 p.m. She got some Benedryl, stronger than the OTC we had given her. Then the family stopped at the McDonalds; the Wife seems to believe going inside is faster, an unproven premise, but staying in the car would have meant avoiding the rudest, vulgar-language customer; “Where’s my f@#$ing food?” , more than once, among other things.
The Daughter was asleep by the time the family got home. she got through dinner then was practically carried to bed; the Wife stayed home with her on Monday.
The lesson relearned – no food where peanuts or nuts are processed. I hadn’t heard the rule had changed…
***
That evening, there was an ambulance in front of our house. It was actually called for our next-door neighbor’s house. The father of one of the college kids had been drinking a couple bottles of beer with the guy when he was having some difficulties – I didn’t get the details. Turns out e had food poisoning; glad it wasn’t worse.
Must be that kind of week; had to phone Piison Control because MY Kid ate two daffodil flowers & became ill. Who knew they wrte poisonous?!
Oh no. I hope the Lydster is doing better now. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to try and monitor where certain foods are processed to avoid a peanut allergy reaction.
Mo! Glad she’s okay.
I was in the ER this morning, Too! Bruised some ribs falling in the shower.
Oh no! Best wishes for a kid on the mend. Food allergies can be SO hard to work around.
(FWIW, I have NEVER found going inside McD’s faster. If anything, I get the impression that it’s slower, because it always seems to me that a small army of people is cranking the drive-thru line to keep it moving, whilst the people who go in are waited on by a single person. I enjoy McD’s — Wendy’s more, but McD’s is OK for what it is — but the service on the inside is usually pretty slow. Just my experience. Could be a local-franchisee thing, too.)
Oh dear. That reminds me to be more careful of what my oldest eats. We have been pretty good, and he’s so darn picky, he stays away from things with nuts in it without even thinking. Hope she is doing better.
Peanut allergies = ALL nuts and legumes allergies. I don’t know why this allergy has become more prevalent, but I think parents might be wise to not introduce peanut butter (a staple food) into a young child’s diet until at least two years old, just like honey.
My mom had legume allergies (yes, includes beans), but it was mild. Once a summer she got the urge for Bush’s Baked Beans, and she said it was worth looking all puffity for a long time after. Never hospitalized.
I sure hope your daughter is on the mend. And you, my dear, are destined for many years of scrutinizing labels! Sorry. Amy
To Sharp Little Pencil, your comment about not introducing peanut butter has been mentioned by doctors we’ve dealt with. The first pediatrician my oldest son saw had told us that when he started having problems with the formula we had been giving him. (He was only 2 months old.) Turned out that my son was allergic to more than just nuts. He has outgrown all his allergies, except nuts. With my younger child, we took the same approach. No eggs, seafood, or peanuts until he was two.
It is odd how this has become such a problem the last decade, or more. I don’t remember going to school with anyone that was allergic to any foods.