Allergies

Elizabeth has been struggling with her allergies lately.  Every morning she complains, "Mom, I can't breathe!" followed by some kind of ultra-stuffy nose inhale attempt.  And every evening at bedtime, she rubs her face and says, "My nose is so stuffy!"  After a few weeks of this, and attempts on my part to alleviate the problem with Clariten, Benedryl, and decongestants, I bit the bullet and made an appointment with the doctor.  So this morning after dropping Emma and the twins off at their various schools, we took a trip to the doctor's office.

Can I just say that going to the doctor's is so much nicer than it used to be?  The front staff seems on top of things (although I swear I have to fill out paperwork every time I go in), and the wait time is more than acceptable, making a trip last 40 minutes instead of 90-120 minutes.  Oh, and you don't have to make appointments weeks in advance.  Thank heavens they finally got their act together.

We saw Dr. W today.  He had a half-face model to help explain what's going on inside her head with those allergies.  He started his little explanation speech to Elizabeth with, "Heavenly Father made your nose this way," pointing to whatever the part of the nasal passage he was referring to.  He explained why allergies are so much harder on kids than adults most of the time, but I had to laugh.  I assume he doesn't explain like that to all his patients, but when your doctor is a member of the bishopric at church, well.... I guess that gives us special treatment.  It was a cross between a science and a Sunday School lesson.

I think I like knowing your family doctor.  (Unless it's MY doctor, for those OB/GYN appointments.  That's a whole 'nother thing.)

The verdict is no allergy testing right now.  Unless we are planning on removing the allergen (and it is likely outside allergens bothering Elizabeth), testing won't really change the course of action.  We've got a steriod prescription for a couple of days to get the swelling down (it's pretty bad), and a nasal inhaled prescription to try, in addition to switching from Claritin to Zyrtec, and enjoying the benefits of Benedryl at night until she's more comfortable.