Allergies

Yesterday I took our 2nd son, Jeremy, to the allergist for the prick test to see what he's allergic to. He suffers unbelievably. It's severe and it's constant. Something in the air is clearly making him miserable--his sinuses are clogged to the point where he can't smell or taste. He's tried OTC remedies and they don't help. He's tried Rx-strength remedies but they've made no difference. It's time to take some serious action!

So for the prick test, he is allergic to grass, especially bermuda and perennial rye grass--the two most common grasses out here. His reaction to the rye grass was immediate and the word "severe" doesn't even begin to describe it. His reaction to the "control" histamine test measured 5 mm, his rye grass reaction measured 5 times that in just a few minutes. By last evening the rye grass area swelled up to the size of a hard-boiled egg sliced in half lengthwise. It's still swollen and itchy today. The bermuda grass area wasn't much better. He is allergic to almost all weeds but it's not as bad as the grasses but were still twice or 3 times as bad as the control- and he's allergic to trees. There's no getting away from those things. We're going to try an Rx-strength antihistamine with decongestant, a nose spray, and start shots to help build up his immunity. He's the only one in our family who has more than mild problems. I'm really hoping he gets some relief and this helps because living like this is pretty miserable.

To all you allergy sufferers, I'm so sorry!!!