I peeked into my blog stats last week and saw that someone had found me by Googling “vinegar allergy.” Oh yeah..I went back and read the post from almost 1 1/2 years ago, Vinegar Allergy. Who knew?
I had written a post after a particularly harried evening alone home with Adam who at the age of 24 months vomited after eating “minuscule” bites of fish for dinner, gagged, vomited, and then swelled up like a pufferfish after I washed his face. The cloth had vinegar on it. I thought he was being a culinary drama queen with his dislike of fish. I thought the hives were from the vinegar.
By the time I was done reading, I felt absolutely sick to my stomach as waves of realization washed over me.
My son is not allergic to vinegar, despite the fact that yes, I had washed his face with a cloth that had some vinegar on it. We had fish for dinner that night. His vomiting, hives, swollen face, and gagging was a food allergy reaction before I knew that he was allergic to eggs, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy and coconut.
I did call a pediatrician that night on the after hours number and was told to give him two teaspoons of Benadryl. Followed up on it with our regular pediatrician. Mentioned it to at least one more. Every time I was told, “hmm…it’s a topical reaction.” I asked if it meant that he could be more likely to have food allergies. I was told no.
I wish someone had asked more questions. Why did you wash his face? Why did he vomit? At this late date, I’m not sure how much information I gave, but I know I wasn’t given the full answer.
Frankly, I’m more than a little angry about it. I’m angry at myself. I’m angry with each and every physican I discussed this with, ESPECIALLY the one on the phone that evening who should have told me to give Benadryl and then call EMS since I did not have an Epi Pen at that time.
According to the Food and Allergy Anaphylaxis Nework, Anaphylaxis is occuring when:
1. A person has skin symptoms or swollen lips and either :
- Difficulty breathing, or
- Reduced blood pressure (e.g., pale, weak pulse, confusion, loss of consciousness)
2. A person was exposed to a suspected allergen, and two or more of the following occur:
- Skin symptoms or swollen lips
- Difficulty breathing
- Reduced blood pressure
- Gastrointestinal symptoms (i.e., vomiting, diarrhea, or cramping)
3. A person was exposed to a known allergen, and experiences:
- reduced blood pressure
Hives + swollen face + gagging + vomiting = anaphylaxis.
I didn’t know then, but I do now.
