The boy and the birch
We finally, after sixteen years of progressively worse sneezing, eczema and itchy eyes, took the boy for allergy testing. Interestingly, they still do the scratch test. The plus with this method is the instant results. After being pricked with approximately 36 allergens, I watched the boy squirm, trying not to scratch for the 20 minutes it takes to get the final results. First his arm turned flaming red. Then giant welts appeared all over his arm. He made some pretty funny faces.
After this allergy season, he was the one pushing for the test. I’d never seen him suffer so badly. We’re going to start shots and hopefully get him somewhat immune before we ship him off to college in two years.
During the agony of the test, with his face contorting, dying to scratch his arm, we determined that his most intense allergies are birch and oak. Naturally, we’re surrounded by trees. The allergist proclaimed the birch welt to be the largest he’d seen in quite some time. The nurse wanted to take a picture. Our kids always turn out to be medical case studies. I think they wish they were slightly less interesting, medically speaking.