To Flu or Not To Flu, That is the Question

I finally got my act together and made Conor's next allergist appointment. This is going to be one exciting appointment in that Conor will be re-tested (skin test) for his egg allergy and will also be getting his flu shot. What a day of fun and merriment.

This will be fun first of all, because Conor needs to be off his antihistamines for 5 days. This is a joy for everyone, in that his nose starts running like a faucet, and he starts getting all that itchy eczema stuff that he scratches until it is raw. He gets really tired of me telling him not to scratch, and always claims he is not scratching, but merely touching the affected area. He also enjoys seeing anyone else in the house do anything resembling a scratch, so he can proudly proclaim to them that scratching is off limits for everyone.

This is also fun since we are dealing with the flu shot. Conor once had the flu shot before we discovered he was allergic to eggs. (Oh, that is why his face keeps swelling up, and he gets hives every time he eats french toast ) I don't remember him having a reaction, but who knows if I would have known what a reaction was short of the cool impressive ones he has had to peanuts. Last year, we had finally found an allergist we were happy with, and he decided to give him a skin test for the flu shot before giving it to him. Of course Conor miserably failed the skin test, and we left shotless and reactionless. (except of course for the skin test). Later in the year we did get a bout of bronchitis, something resembling croup that resulted in a visit to the ER, and a bout of pneumonia. More fun times for all. Conor has asthma that mostly comes on when he is sick, just to complicate things even more.

So this year, our new allergist up here in Northern California, has said that with sweet little ones like Conor, she want to give the flu shot unless it is totally impossible. Basically this involves hanging out in the allergists office for half the afternoon with an epi-pen in hand, staring at Conor and waiting to see if he swells up, gets hives, or starts heaving. I know it is worth it, to try and prevent some of the really nasty illnesses he got last year, but geeze what a great way to spend an afternoon.

I can't wait!!