It's Just a Little Pinch

Many of you know that we have been battling eczema around Coop's lip for almost 3 years now. When it first showed up we assumed it was teething and that it would eventually go away. Then, when it didn't go away we assumed it was the heat and humidity or the dry and cold winter air. These past few months we have been having a really hard time controlling this and many times it has been bleeding which puts him at risk for infection - especially here in China. When it gets really bad, I have to use cortizone for a few days, along with his Aquaphor which he uses probably 4 times a day. He will also sometimes get ear infections and just be out of sorts.

These past few days he has had a pretty bad outbreak, been crying, and not sleeping all night. Today I decided that we need to find out what is causing this so we can help him better. I took him to the doctor to have them peek in his ears (looked good!) and to ask about the eczema. He said exactly what I had been thinking...it is most likely a food allergy causing this. He decided to take blood and test for almost every allergy he could. He thinks it is most likely lactose or gluten, but also said it could be mold.

Coopie was extremely brave when the nurses took his blood. Mommy almost fainted, but he held tight to his lolly and only gave out a little cry when they "pinched" him. He told me later that it was much better than a shot!! I'm thankful he wasn't traumatized!

We should get the results back next week sometime. We really want the answers, but at the same time it is a bit scary. If he does have food allergies I will have to buy almost all imported goods for him because I cannot read the Chinese labels. The good news is that if he does eat something on accident - we will know right away when his lip flares up. We're praying for some answers because I really don't like to see him so sad!