Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Grass Allergies?

Does anybody out there have any experience with grass allergies in their little ones?

This rash that Deuce has been battling is not giving in.  The initial problem spots are getting better but new spots are popping up.  Not a lot, but enough to drive me nuts and they are leaving discoloration marks on his legs {they are supposed to go away over time}.  The only conclusion that I can draw after spending lots of time on google, is that he is allergic to grass.  The rash is pretty contained to his legs and even more so, mostly below the knee.  We are still applying the steroid cream twice daily, taking oatmeal baths every night (with a splash of white vinegar, based on advice of a football mom who I later found out her child is allergic to grass), using Aveeno lotion after bath and applying hydrocortisone throughout the day.  The grass allergy idea just kind of hit me this weekend, so I've been putting long socks on him all week, as opposed to his Crocs.  We'll see if that helps.  The football mom said her son used to break out in a bad rash too and over time he built up a tolerance to it and it doesn't really bother him anymore.  They still cover him up for football but that's to keep him from itching at all.

I feel like there is very little information out there about a grass allergy in children under 2 and short of having that very painful allergy testing done, I thought I would use my blog as a resource to see if anyone is familiar with this type of thing.  We haven't been back to the doctor since I came up with this grass thing because I don't think that there is much that can be done if it's proven true.  Much medically, anyway.  They can't really take any over the counter allergy medicine at 16 months so I am going to try things at home first to see if it clears up.  I spoke with the pharmacist as well to see what he recommended and of course he said consult my practitioner.  But once I told him I worked at GSK, and I wasn't asking for a diagnosis, I just wanted his opinion about allergy medicine, he lightened up and gave me some suggestions for things to check for at home.  He said to make sure we change the air filter regularly, change his sheets often, keep his legs covered when he goes outside, and pay attention to everything that goes in his mouth.  He could be putting something in his mouth that doesn't strike me as an issue but it could be causing this reaction.  I hadn't thought of that (other than foods).  We haven't given him any of the danger foods (nuts, fish, etc) so I don't believe it's that.  I am just really drawn to the idea of grass since it's primarily localized to the lower half of his legs.  He doesn't seem to be in any pain or bothered in any way so that's good.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

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