Reaction to the Reactions

Leon has had a very distinct, very persistent cough when the seasons change for the last few years. I thought he just had some mild allergies until his bus driver moved him to the back of the bus because he was coughing so much, after which it occurred to me that that’s not just “normal” allergies.

So his allergy testing appointment was today. Within a minute of getting tje “shots,” he started screaming bloody murder and crying that his back itched so much, but all I could do was blow on it and hold his hands to keep him from scratching. It was a horrible 15 minutes, and in that time, his back lit up like a Christmas tree.

He’s allergic to Bermuda grass (an extremely common lawn grass here in the south), all wild Texas grasses, some seasonal fall weeds, dust mites, and MOLD. The welts that had him screaming the loudest were mostly the mold ones.

I’m honestly really shocked. I expected the doctor to just tell us it was probably an upper respiratory infection and send us on our way. I just wanted to take him to that appointment to cover our bases. But even the doctor and nurse seemed surprised by how many reactions he had at his age.

I feel horrible that I just assumed it was a seasonal cold every time. Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but Minh and I don’t really have environmental/respiratory allergens like that, so I kind of just assumed he wouldn’t either.

So he’ll have an inhaler going forward to help with the cough, and we’ll start regular allergy shots to hopefully help his immune system. And probably some Claritin too.