How Far We've Come
Reviewing the fall season & it occurs to me that kiddo's allergies have been in check with only an occasional flare-up quickly squashed. It is amazing how much difference a year can make -- one of the few perks to keeping logs about all symptoms/illnesses. I remember all to well the first few years. And don't miss it in the least! Allergies, asthma and illnesses that piggy-backed each other. I track a year starting with the beginning of school & autumn. Odd, I know. But that's when the allergies & Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) ramp up.
When kiddo was 1 year-old going on 2, they were sick 17 times. And if memory serves about 14 of those were due to allergies going beyond the body's threshold to fight. That winter was especially nasty with flu, double ear infections, double conjunctivitis, bronchitis and pneumonia.
With the passing of each year; we've learned more about their allergies, triggers and how to successfully manage it all. Their health continues to improve. I'd be tempted to say they're outgrowing the allergies, but at this moment in time that is not the case. We've gotten better at seeing the beginnings of flare-ups and cutting them off at the pass. We aren't perfect by any stretch & flare-ups happen. Not hard to believe with so many variables to juggle. In addition to watching pollen forecasts, we monitor frequency & combination of the OAS foods, high PST enzyme ones and behaviors.
If you are new to OAS, here’s a day in the life of: Most of the year my kid can eat bananas every day. It’s a cross-allergen with ragweed. In the fall, they can only eat 2-3 bananas a week spaced out at least every other day. That was last fall’s threshold. This year could be different. Any more than that and eczema flares up. They get a stuffy nose, earaches and the beginnings of asthma kick in. The other part of the equation is how much environmental allergens play into it. There are multiple allergens & multiple foods. They cannot eat peaches and bananas on the same day regardless of the season. In the fall, they cannot eat them on days next to each other. So if they have a banana on Monday they can’t have banana or peach on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday they could have peach and no banana again until Friday. ~excerpt from Racing Through Fall with OAS!
The diet is so precisely orchestrated during high pollen counts that a flow chart would be helpful. I've been tracking patterns and reactions for so long that it's actually become second nature for me. Good for me, not for others involved with food preparation. I have not made a flow chart other than the one stored in my mind. I do have notes that I refer to when my memory is fuzzy.
I'm excited to share that not only are symptoms minimal this season, but we've even been able to trial some new foods. Food introductions during allergy season was not even considered until this year. It was all we could do to manage symptoms in attempts to avoid illnesses. We've hit a huge noteworthy milestone!
