Anaphylaxis- The first of many lessons learned and a Biphasic Reaction

Every mom looks forward to their child's First Birthday. The cake, the party. However, for me, being a new food allergy mom, it came with added stress. I breastfed for the first year, I adhered to his food allergies and kept them out of my diet.  I was in control. At the time of his first birthday, he was allergic to Dairy and Eggs. My biggest concern was, what was a good alternative for milk? I did lots of research on almond milk, oat milk, other non-dairy milks. I finally found Ripple, a pea protein based milk. It checked all the boxes and was the most identical with vitamins and protein to Whole Milk. It was perfect and I was so happy. Until...

Fast forward a few days after his first birthday. It was in the evening (Lesson learned-- Don't try new things in the evenings) I decided to give him a taste of the Ripple Milk. It was literally a fight, he DID NOT want to try it. After much fuss, he finally took the smallest of sips and then refused any more. I didn't push it, he took a sip and I was happy with that. 

About two hours later, it was bedtime. Probably 8pm. We did our nightly routine and put him to bed. Shortly, thereafter our dog started to bark at his bedroom door. I walked into his room to check on him and he was covered in vomit and had huge hive welts from head to toe but was awake and seemly normal, given his appearance. His ears were swollen, belly button was swollen, had hives the size of quarters around his groin and his body. 

I immediately called for my husband, he came running upstairs. My first instinct was to call the pediatrician. (Lesson learned-- NEVER call the pediatrician, if you're under the care of an Allergist. Call the ALLERGIST!!). The nurse who was on call, said to give Benadryl, which we did already and that she'd call back every hour until the symptoms started to go away. I asked her, if we should call 911 and give Epi, she said "No" because he wasn't showing signs of shortness of breath. Now I know, ya'll are probably screaming at your computers and cursing my name for listening to this advice. In my defense, I THOUGHT a pediatricians office would be up-to-date on Anaphylaxis...… after the fact, I learned, most aren't. Ours wasn't. This was our first anaphylaxis and everything our Allergist coached us on went out the door. I was in full panic mode and listened to what she told us. He was still acting completely fine, laughing, talking, no shortness of breath, had energy. If anything else developed, I was to give Epi and call 911. About an hour later, the hives went away and he started to look better. Vomiting stopped. I kept him in our bed that night, so I could be close to him and barely slept.

The next day he woke up fine, like everything 6 hours later never happened. So, I took him to daycare that morning. Explain to them what happened, so they could keep an extra eye on him. I called the Allergist to give them an update on the event. He immediately said, next time to call them and not the pediatrician. He reviewed the Anaphylaxis Action plan again with me. Giving Epi to me, was so scary, it's something that is very unnerving. He once again said "if in doubt, give Epi and call 911. You will NOT hurt him by giving Epi!"

Noon rolled around and I got a call from Daycare. Lucas started to vomit again but not showing any other signs of Anaphylaxis. I immediately left work and called my husband. Then called the Allergist. They said he could be having a Biphasic reaction and to take him to the ER for observation and treatment. We picked him up and drove to our hospital. They took his vitals, all were fine. I explained what happened the night before. They gave him a steroid and kept us for 2 hours for observation. We left the ER with a 5 day course of oral steroids. All was good after that. 

I was very grateful he only took a sip of the Ripple Milk. I felt bad for forcing him to take a sip after he put up such a fight. I almost think his body knew or he had some sixth sense not to drink it. Not many families get an Anaphylaxis do-over. I thank God every day that he gave Lucas another chance because I failed him that first time. 

Please please please-- learn the signs and symptoms of Anaphylaxis and a Biphasic reaction. Give Epi and call 911 Immediately, even in doubt. I learned so many lessons that night. Don't make my same mistakes. For more information on Anaphylaxis visit FARE

Now, he was allergic to Dairy, Eggs, Peas and Pea-Protein

A biphasic reaction is a two phase anaphylactic event. This means that after anaphylaxis is treated and the symptoms go away, they return without you being re-exposed to the allergen. The second reaction can be less severe, equal to or more severe than the first reaction. - from www.allergylifestyle.com

With much love and support,

Megan

DISCLAIMER

Posts on this blog, are written from my experiences as a parent of a child with food allergies. I am not a medical expert. Please always consult your physician for medical advice. This blog is not a substitute for professional advice. Due to the ever changing manufacturing process and/or ingredients, please check food labels each and every time to make sure they comply with your food allergies.