Laying it on the line, parent style

[drwex]

One of the challenges in parenting L is that we cannot trust his self-reports of conditions such as hurting, upset stomach, etc. He doesn't reports his condition, but rather says whatever he thinks will get him the attention he wants.

We're in the car this weekend en route to a party. Pygment is checking to make sure that K has taken his antihistamine.

L: I need an antihistamine too
Me: You haven't been sneezing or sniffling. I don't think you need one.
L: Well, but my throat hurts
Me: If your throat hurts then it's probably the case that you're sick and we shouldn't take you to a party. So if your throat hurts I need to turn the car around and take you back home. Now, does your throat hurt?
L (in a very small, quiet voice): A little.

(L continued to insist that he, too, has allergies, which led Pygment and me to explain in fairly clear detail just what's involved in allergy testing in terms of needles. I also had to explain "white to move and mate in three" which is how I describe the back-scratch version of allergy testing.)

Comments

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Do they test kids on their backs?

My allergy tests consisted of three rows of 12 sticks (the simple pricks that hurt) each on the insides of my forearms (72 sticks total) and three rows of 6 actual injections on my upper arms (36 additional injections of allergens.) Some of them burned so bad going in I was in tears.
After 20 minutes they gave me an antihistamine because I was so itchy.

Yes, you can show this comment to L.

[c1.livejournal.com]

I got a non-injection test once, but it was a total drag.

They covered my back and arms with tapes, each one of which was covered in an array of small metal dishes (about 1/4" in dia.) into which they placed a drop of a common skin allergen. Every dish had a number, and each was cross referenced to the list of allergens.

Easy, right?

Yep.
Except I had to wear them for 72 hours. Straight.
No showers. No strenuous activity-- horseplay was right out. Sit on the sofa and read or watch TV. (Edit: I just remembered-- don't sleep on them, either. I don't sleep well unless I'm on my back.)

Worst of all was that after a few hours, they itched terribly. Not because of the allergens (I came up clear), but because you can't scratch them, lest a tape peel off and invalidate that part of the test (and you'd have to go back for another round of those allergens, meaning more itchiness).
I can't imagine what it would be like for those who were allergic to one or more of the substances.

I swear, it was like the Chinese Water Torture, not even mentioning the ripe smell I had after the second day.

You can share the story with L as needed.
Consult your doctor if irritation persists, or if symptoms continue, yadda-yadda-yadda.

[tigira.livejournal.com]

That would have been absolute hell for me - I get contact dermatitis from adhesives. *sigh*

[c1.livejournal.com]

Including medical tapes? I don't know what they'd do in that situation. I know that some people can't have tape, so Kling bandages are the solution when a circumferential bandage is an option. Perhaps they limit the testing site to the arms, but that would require multiple visits-- my back was *covered* with these tapes, as were my upper arms. (They avoided lower arms for reasons of functionality WRT activities of daily living.)

[tigira.livejournal.com]

Yeah, even supposedly hypoallergenic tapes. Hah. The material of the tape may be hypoallergenic, but the adhesive sure isn't.

I've had to convince medical personnel on numerous occasions that the protection tape can provide is not enough for the weeks it will take for my skin to calm down. (Now, to be fair, there are also times that it makes sense to suck it up and have the whatever bandaged, but that's not as often as some would think.)

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

That method of testing is how I found out I was allergic to colophony (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosin") specifically, after having had a couple of allergic reactions gone systemic. Fun! Fortunately, not all adhesives contain it. Unfortunately, there's no way to know which ones do.

This reminds me of F with meds

[tigira.livejournal.com]

Usually he doesn't want them. While potty training, though, he hit a point where he was holding his bowel movements and it was starting to get painful. After several days I gave him a stool softener to help him. It did. He felt accomplished.

A week later he was a little constipated, or as he said, he needed the "yummy medicine that makes the poop move down." (His words, but I had to try not to laugh at the way he worked out how this medicine must work).

*sigh*