The Start

Hi Folks,

My name is Alee and I have suffered from allergies since I was about 18 months old. While I am in no way an expert or a medical professional, my goal with this blog is to share my experiences as I remember them, and share with you my daughter's experience as she is following in my foot steps.

I would also like to introduce you to my mom, Sage, who will be writing when she has moments to spare to share her experiences in coping with an allergic child.

Most people, when asked to think of allergies think of things like hay fever, allergy to dogs or cats, or even food allergies. When asked what they would say an allergic reaction is they usually say itchy and watery eyes or problems breathing.

My sister has horrible environmental allergies and is very "classic" in her symptoms of itchy skin, watery eyes, and sneezing. Her allergies have progressed over the years to the point where she is unable to eat certain foods during allergy season because they introduce the allergens into her system.

I however had an atypical reaction to my food allergies. First of all, I was allergic to what felt like everything under the sun. I was allergic to dairy and dairy derivatives in all forms, citrus, berries, melons, barley, some wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, corn, the sun if I was out in it too long, food dyes and preservatives just to name a few. My reaction when I did eat any of these food categories as for my face to flush as if I had a high fever, white stress marks to form around my nose and mouth (Along the Smile lines), and for my impulse/anger control to vanish. My mom and I call it the rage reaction.

As a baby, during an allergic reaction I would lose all sense of danger or self preservation. I would violently throw myself backwards and writhe to get out of my parent's grasp. I remember lots of screaming and crying on my part in pure unadulterated rage.

As a young child I remember my sister who was baby sitting me at the time, wishing me a good night as I went to bed. I don't remember what I had eaten that was giving me the reaction, but I felt like she had been snide in saying a simple good night. I went into my room and punched the wall, and generally threw a tantrum of pure anger. I clearly remember how sharp my anger was and in my head there was no rationality left.

The level of my reaction would vary depending on what I ate (how sensitive I was to it), how much I ate, and how old I was. I was lucky. I got my allergies under control for the most part by the time I was about 13. It took until I was in my early 20's for them to be under really good control, but I still see my face flush at times and if I am tired I get overly sensitive and snappish even still.

Around the time I was in 5th or 6th grade I started to recognize that hot burning feeling inside my head (emotional not physical) that mean the rage of an allergic reaction was coming on. I started to learn to clamp down on my reactions- to really think about what I was saying before I said it- to monitor how I said things and my body language. It took a lot of practice and often times I would seclude myself in my room with a book to ride out the storm.

My daughter didn't show any signs of allergies until around 18 months. She had eaten candy canes before- mostly as a treat from the ladies at the bank. She had never had a reaction and stayed her joyful easy-going self. I had several friends remark on how easy of a child she was and no trouble when I had to have them watch her. She slept through the night within the first 2 weeks of being born and had great nap and sleep schedules well established.

In December of 2008, I started noticing her behavior shifting towards more aggression. She would pinch and bite at her cousins. My husband and I stayed consistent with our parenting ideals and tried to help her through this phase. Then one night, as my parents, Nora and I were going to drive around town to look at the Christmas lights we decided to give her a treat of a candy cane. Big Mistake. Huge. We were gone for less than 20 minutes and decided to stop at the video store on the way home.

In the lights of the store we could see her cheeks were fire engine red and she was throwing herself around on the floor screaming and crying for no apparent reason.

We quit giving her anything with red food dye in it, which is hard if you use any sort of processed foods at all.

By eliminating that trigger, she calmed back down after a dose of Benedryl, and the rest of the vacation was relatively peaceful with only normal episodes that one could expect of a 2 year old.

More later...please stay tuned! Feel free to leave comments! We would love to hear from others who are on the same journey as us!