Sunday, July 8, 2012

Of Allergies & Antihistamines

Hey Humble Readers...

Remember how we all went to the wildlife park last weekend?  And how my Beloved, Ginny, and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes? 

Of course she got bit more than 25 times.  And the bites weren't going away for her.  They were getting worse instead of better.  The welts currently range in size from a dime to a toonie (about an inch).  On her wee little arms, legs, and back.  Please forgive the poor quality of the photos.  They were taken on my cell.



I spent some time online yesterday looking for examples of bug bites, thinking that maybe she got bit by something other than mosquitoes (ticks were foremost in my thoughts... along with the scary diseases that they carry).  Yesterday, some of them looked almost like bed-bug bites, which made absolutely no sense, and by this morning several of them looked like tick bites (the bulls-eye shape).  But what was throwing me was that Ginny was acting completely normal, not ill by any means, and this was now more than a week after she had been bitten.  She didn't even seem to be scratching at the bites all that much.

So, this afternoon we went to a walk-in clinic.  It turns out my wee girl is seriously allergic to mosquito bites, and potentially other bug bites.  She's now on oral bena.dryl and topical bena.dryl four times a day, in hopes of bringing the welts under control.  The doc mentioned that her eczema may predispose her to reactions like this.

Can I tell you, I feel like a big time Mummy-fail.  This is the first time I've had to seek out medical attention for her for anything other than a check up or a routine vaccination.  I know it's ridiculous, but I feel like I should have been able to protect her from this.

5 comments :

  1. Poor Ginny! Preslie reacts the same way and it IS terrible. Don't beat yourself up, Mama...it's so unexpected, at least it was for me. You did exactly the right thing. Hoping that she (and you!) feel better very soon. ((Hugs))

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  2. Oh no! That's just awful!!! And there was no way for you to know, or to protect her from it... unless you wanted to raise her in a bubble, but even then the bubble might be made of something she could be allergic to... LOL. Just saying, you can't protect against everything, and at least now you know so you can do what you need to. *hugs* Hope she gets better soon!!!

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  3. Oh, I am so sorry! You are not a failure! No one can anticipate everything, you did your best! I hope Ginny feels better soon!

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  4. I understand how you feel! Last week we went to the pool and even though I slathered on the sunscreen Rubes still got a little red. I pictured her fresh baby cells being morphed into evil cells by the suns rays and felt just terrible. Poor Ginny. At least she isn't too upset by it. That would be way worse!

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  5. Damn mosquitoes! I react the same way Ginny does. Poor thing!

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