Randy reacted twice to apples last week.  The second reaction was the worse of the two.  I suspect that it might me a cross reaction with pollen or ragweed, but I plan to ask Dr. Assa'ad tomorrow at our allergy visit.

     The other reaction he had is worth mentioning because it is a perfect example of how allergic he is.  We had a playdate with a friend and her daughter on Friday.  We met at Mcdonald's due to the hot weather outside. We have done this many times.  It is something Randy looks forward to.  He just recently conquered the task of climbing up into those challenging playthings.

     Anyway, most of the visit went fine.  It wasn't until the end the we dodged a huge bullet.  I am telling the story now in retrespect, keep in mind I didn't have all the details at the time.

     Toward the end of our visit, I looked over and realized that Randy was eating ice out of my friend's cup of ice water.  It seemed harmless, even she said "no worries, it is just water."  But, I quickly reminded Randy that he shouldn't ever share anyone else's food or drink, no matter what it is.  Sometimes people eat things that are not safe for him and when they take a sip of their drink, those unsafe things can enter.  Therefore, if Randy shares the drink, he would ingest the allergen!

     Needless to say, my friend was totally caught off guard.  She has been awesome helping me manage allergy situations, especially when we meet out.  She just said that she never thought of the possibility of the "cross-contamination" of sharing a drink.

     Well, within minutes, Randy started breaking out all along his chin!  This time it wasn't just red, but large mosquito bite like hives started appearing.  I immediately gave him a dose of Benadryl and made him sit in a chair so I could keep an eye on him.  It seemed to take awhile to go away.  Once I felt like he was okay, and we didn't need to us the Epi-Pen, we decided to end our visit and go home.

     Pretty much as soon as I walked in the door, my friend was calling me on the phone.  When she got home, she immediately looked up McDonald's website and checked the ingredients in the salad she ate.  Mind you, I did not ask her to do this.  But, being the great person and friend she is, she took it upon herself to do it.  As it turned out, the salad she ate had a warning of trace amounts of almonds, and one of the ingredients was snow peas!  She did not have a dressing with egg, so I am sure that it was either the almonds or snow peas.  I will never really know. 

     The important lesson here is NEVER SHARE FOOD OR DRINK with Randy.  And, that it doesn't take much for him to have a reaction.

     Thank God he survived this one!