It’s Food Allergy

I mention in my last entry that we got from the hospital on a Saturday. We were given antibiotics and some streroid base cream for Amir’s infection. We were told that he’s eczema was cause by external factors and not food allergies. We were also schedule to meet a specialist on the following Monday for a review.We were also told to do bleach baths for Amir once a day.

We thought that it was all over, that by managing Amir’s eczema with wet dressings and creams and  keeping everything squeeky clean will definetely keep the eczema at bay. I even change all my pillows, quilts, mattress cover with those hypoallergenic products. Making an allergy-free environment for all of us.

But the first night after we were out from the hospital, Amir’s eczema flared up again. We felt that everything we’ve done wasn’t enough. I admit I was dumbfounded. I can’t figure out what went wrong. Was it the bed? What was the last thing he touch? Was there something in our clothes? It was questions after questions. Tears were streaming down from Ayu’s cheek. I ask her to be strong but inside my heart of hearts, I knew that I needed to be strong too. For myself. For all of us. “Semua ujian dari Allah. Sabar, tabahkan hati, doa banyak2,” that’s all I could say to her.

The following Monday, we went to see the dermatologist & immunologist specialist at the same hospital before. That morning, while waiting for our turn. Ayu had hot chocolate for breakfast while I had my cappucino. Because of the long wait, Ayu even had to breastfeed Amir. By the time we got to see the doctor, I realized that Amir’s eczema was flaring up again. He was really itchy. Scratching his face and the back of his head. I could see fresh cuts from his scratching. Amir crying and was clearly in pain.

Upon seeing this, the doctor and a few consultants came in and saw Amir and what they said was with a baby this young, they believe that the cause of his eczema is more likely from food allergies. Since Amir is exclusively breastfed, they asked about any sudden changes in Ayu’s diet and ask about our normal diet. They recommended that Ayu avoid major allergy causing foods which are eggs, milk, & nuts. Probably soy too. They even setup an appointment with an allergy specialist the following week to correctly identify Amir’s allergy.

Knowing this information was like a hit in the head. I quickly tried to remember what was the last time we ate and when was the first time Amir’s eczema flared up. It hit home. The food was indeed the culprit. Ayu and I believe that it was definitely from dairy products since we drink milk practically everyday.

Ayu soon felt really bad afterwards. I kept telling her that it’s not her fault. That who would’ve known that this could happen. That there is no one to blame. I was feeling kinda bad too. I should have realize it by now. But I just have to stay positive and deal with it and focus on our son’s well being.

But knowing the trigger is half the battle itself. I must say that avoiding food that contains milk is really really hard. It’s basically in every product that we take. Ayu has to give up taking milk with her milo or coffee, her bread with butter or margerines. No cakes at all, no pastries. No chocolates. No cheese. No products containing any sort of dairy products. We had to be very careful for every thing that we eat. Reading the ingredients before buying any food products. There were some food we mistakenly took and Amir had to pay the price. It was a cruel cycle to see. Our son bearing the cost of our food intake.

But it worked. We could clearly see how avoiding those type of food improved Amir’s condition. Those red patches doesn’t flare as strong as it was anymore. He doesn’t scratch as much any more. We were relief that we found the answer. Syukur Alhamdulillah. We still applied lots of moisturizers on his skin because his skin tends to get very dry every now and then. But it’s still managable. Our Amir is getting better.

After a week (yesterday infact), we went to meet the allergy specialist. She did the skin prick test and it finally confirms what Amir is allergic to. From the test, Amir is positively allergic to eggs, milk, soy & wheat. Strongest allergic reactions are to eggs & milk meanwhile soy & wheat are the weakest. No allergic reaction to nuts & seafood. The doctor told us that babies whose allergic to these type of food would usually grow out of it but the time it takes to varies from person to person. She added that allergies to nuts & seafood usually could last a lifetime. I don’t know whether I should be sad or happy at that time.

But I do admit that I felt a relief knowing exactly what type of food Amir is allergic too. Without the test, it was like doing a black box test. Guessing what food we can take or not. But now, I can safely say that Amir is improving well. He’s skin is beautiful now although he still has some red patches on his cheeks and sometimes on his body but it’s not as severe as the past few weeks. A few things I’m worried about right now is he still tends to scratch himself when his asleep. I don’t know if his itchy or because of his active sleeping. I hope it’s the latter though.

But with saying that, his mood has been nothing but lovely. He’s always smiling at us and he’s been very playful. Reaching to touch his toys as often as he can. He can now hold both of his hand together and always seem to be putting them in his mouth. I found that he is such a talkative boy at times. Ofcourse I pretend to understand what his saying . He has long hours of sleep at night and he cries less and less right now. Things seems to be ok and fine at the moment. Syukur Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akhbar.

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