An Apple A Day Does NOT Keep the Doctor Away

All signs point towards little Hamlet being allergic to apples. At first he would just develop bright red cheeks and chin after eating applesauce, essentially making him look like a pint sized clown. While adorable, I suspected that it probably wasn't a healthy reaction and avoided the fruit. 

Unfortunately he was inadvertently fed applesauce over the weekend when I was at the ER getting my wrist checked. Monday he showed some signs of a rash but I didn't think much of it.  He crawls everywhere and often exhibits bumps etc. from scaling every obstacle in his path. Tuesday morning he woke up covered in hives. From his forehead to his ankles, my little Timmy was covered in tiny red bumps. Needless to say, he was miserable. 

I wasn't sure the source of his reaction until his cheeks turned bright pink, tipping me off that he might have consumed apples. After his eating applesauce was confirmed, I called his pediatrician. We have an appointment with a pediatric allergist next Thursday, and in the meantime he is on an extremely restricted diet. On the advice of his doctor we are only offering  a handful of foods we know to be safe until we have more information.

I'm really worried that his apple allergy is only the tip of the iceberg, and that more foods might be involved. I'm hoping that I'm wrong and that I am just worrying for nothing. Ultimately we will adjust and handle whatever restrictions he needs, but I am hoping that his limitations will be few. In the meantime, yesterday I purged the freezer of all of our applesauce and whipped up 4 cakes. Scott's students will benefit from Timmy's aversion.