Phase II of Operation Brayton Healthy

Today we saw the allergist/asthma Dr. They did a lung ability test and he did very well on it, but he still thought Bray sounded wheezy and that combined with other things would point towards asthma. They also did an allergy test to see what he's allergic to: results ~ almost all outdoor allergies with a slight mold allergy (only one type of the 3 that they test for). With that said, he recommended using Singulair to treat the allergy/asthma all in one. After coming home and reading more about Singulair (actually, Chris did the research) we are going to go with Zyrtec and hopefully that will take care of it. There are just too many unanswered "issues" with Singulair and I would hate to give it to him only to find out it was put on the market with out enough testing, like Guardasil was. Obviously Singulair isn't killing people, but it is being researched to see the connection between the drug and "suicidal tendencies" ~ not something I want our son to have the effects of!

Here is how the allergy test works: They have 5 foam/tube looking things with a needle in the middle of each one and these are all on a handle thing so this is done 4 times with different solutions ~ 2 on each arm. These hurt when being done and then they itch like crazy. Bray wasn't thrilled, but held out and once again was a real trooper! He had to sit like this for 20 minutes and then after the timer went off outside our room, wait another 10 minutes until the nurse came in to clean this off his arms.
On his right arm, they have the controlled prick, histamine, glycerin, pet allergies and mold. The only one that got really red and looked like a mosquito bite was the histamine and a slight mold. My camera on my phone didn't really show the redness very well, but if you look closely, you can see the red.

On his right arm, they tested the tree allergies, grasses and weeds. This poor arm was all red and welty looking! They put the marks on the arm so they can see where the pricks were in case they don't swell up. They also have to label what row was what, so on his wrist is 5, 10, 15 & 20 to mark the numbers that would coordinate with the sheet that they have the tests labeled on. The thing he is most allergic to is Orchard Grass, which we have never heard of. . .


I just have to let everyone know the camera trick that Monica told me about. I've been noticing when I take pictures that they look so much better if I don't have to use the flash. Sometimes that isn't an option because the picture just won't turn out, but Monica had read that if you cut out a coffee filter just so it will cover your flash, that filters the light and it SO works! Here is an example: (I was trying to take a picture of Bray and get the light just right)
TOO DARK:


TOO LIGHT (WASHED OUT):


JUST RIGHT (obviously not Bray, but you can see how we are not washed out at all!):


The boys are now out on the deck playing in their slippers, enjoying the 60+ degree weather we have ~ so beautiful!!! Perfect for sitting on the deck enjoying a beer, but I've already had a glass of wine and that's enough. ;-) Okay, I just have to clarify what they are playing. Taite quickly finished his homework so he could play with Bray. They are playing Star Wars. While playing, Niko (the neighbor dog) showed up; muddy as usual this time of year. He came up to the patio door to torment our dog ~ okay, maybe it was just to see the boys ~ when Brayton had an idea! Niko could be the Code Commander (I think that's what they called it ~ Star Wars is not my thing) so they sent him off to find out what the enemy was up to. Niko went into the yard about 50 feet and stopped and turned towards the boys. Brayton says "Oh, wait, he sees something!" Taite yells "What is it?!" Have I mentioned how much I LOVE their imagination? Oh, that and Brayton feeling good??