Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Ow, quit it. Ow, quit it. Ow, quit it...

Attention Karen and other needlephobes: This isn't your entry. Come back later. Really.

So, yeah, allergy test part one yesterday: Dust and dust mites, grasses, trees, tobacco, and animals. My biggest reactions were to dust and dust mites, cats, and one type of grass, but I had at least some reaction to everything except feathers. (So I can keep my down comforter, at least.)

Shopping list for this weekend: Dust-reduction slipcases and sheets, and an air purifier for the bedroom with a HEPA filter in it. Might go ahead and pick up air purifiers for the kids' rooms as well -- there's something like a 75% chance that they'll be allergic to dust as well, so we might as well do what we can right away, right?

Round two of the allergy testing will be tomorrow, and will cover other pollens and molds. I don't expect to get off any lighter for those.

I tell you, if we decide to get Penny and Alex tested for allergies, though, we're going to shop around and find an allergist who will do the testing that they gave Matt, which exposed him to the various serums with these little brush-like things. I got the stuff injected under my skin. None of them hurt too much, but I counted over 100 individual injections. (22 separate serums, delivered multiple times in varying strengths, though after the 2nd or 3rd round, she started eliminating things that had already either maxed out the reaction or had the same reaction regardless of serum strength.)

This morning, my arm looks like I slept on a bed of nails, or perhaps had a bizarre accident with one of those pin art toys.

And with reactions like I had, there's pretty much no chance the doctor will recommend anything but shots. That'll be once a week for... probably most of a year. And then every other week for another year, and... like that. Three to five years is the usual run. At least that's a walk-in thing, and the office is over near the Y, so I can just swing by and get my shot on the way to exercise.

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