Mystery Rash

The title may be deceiving.  Pretty much all of Rapunzel's eczema is a mystery rash.  But the other day, she broke out on her face during lunch, and left me scratching my head.

Everything on her plate was things she's eaten multiple times before:  Trader Joe's round crackers, Turkey lunchmeat, and cucumbers (she also had watermelon and banana on her plate, but she didn't eat them).  I re-checked the ingredients on the crackers and lunchmeat again, and they were all free of her allergens.  I texted this pic to one of my allergy-mom friends.

She agreed that it looked like a reaction.  After going over the ingredients with her, she had suspicions about the Sodium Nitrite found in the turkey.

She sent me an article about skin reactions to nitrates/nitrites and after doing some more of my own research, I wonder if this is what caused it.  So I guess we'll add that our list for now.  That's something we'll definitely be asking the Immunologist about in May.  Looks like it'll be more extensive label reading for me.

But ANYTHING to help this sweet girl feel better!

Mommy Fail

Last night I wanted to take the kids to do something fun after dinner because I knew Eric would be home even later than usual.  I googled myself silly to try and find a dessert that Rapunzel could have somewhere easy.  I found that Orange Leaf had 2 flavors of dairy-free "frozen yogurt":  Orange and Pineapple.  I looked over the ingredients and decided the pineapple was ok!  So I grabbed a pack of gummy bears from our pantry, loaded the kids up and headed to Orange Leaf.  I explained to Rapunzel that the only flavor she could have today was Pineapple and that I'd brought our own gummy bears for her to put on top and she was thrilled.

So all the other kids picked which flavors and toppings they wanted (I made them all go easy as they have been known to overfill and overtop their bowls, resulting in a $6 dessert! LOL

We all sat and ate our frozen yogurt.  Belle and Rapunzel finished first.  Then Rapunzel came and laid her head in my lap.  I asked her if she felt ok, and she said she was just tired, but I wasn't so sure.

Fast forward to after we get back home and I get them all into bed.  I sit down at the computer and the screen with the Orange Leaf ingredient list is still up.  I look at the ingredients again and see that the pineapple flavor contains ORANGE JUICE (Rapunzel is allergic to oranges).  I don't know how on earth I missed that.  I read every ingredient, but for some reason that must not have registered in my brain.

Luckily, she didn't seem to have any major ill-effects from it.  She didn't seem to feel great afterward, but it WAS getting late, and she'd gotten up early that morning.  So maybe she WAS just tired.  I'm just thankful that she didn't seem to react too bad to it.  We'll still be avoiding oranges until she's tested again.

But yeah, total Mommy Fail. :(

On a bright side, here are a couple funnies from the yogurt shop:

Me: Belle, what toppings did you get? 
Belle: I got a cherry, and a twig, and...
Me: a twig? 
B: yeah, this...
Me: that's a Twix 
B: but I just got one.
Me: it's not TWIGS. It's TWIX.  
B: oh, I always called it twigs.
 
Aurora: I'm done with this spoon.
Me: ok you can throw it in the trash.  
A: I licked it off, so I'm just gonna put it in that bucket (of new spoons)
Me: no, you used it, you have to put it in the trash.  
A: but look how clean it is!

Never a dull moment with these kiddos!

And... any other Big Bang Theory fans out there?

Magnezzzzzzzzium

So after my post about needing to find ways to get Rapunzel to sleep better, I had some friends suggest Magnesium supplements.  I read about them and decided to give it a try.  I ordered some (with added Calcium and Vitamin D) from Amazon and started it last week.  I noticed a huge difference in her sleep.  When I go in to check on her at night, she's asleep (and not scratching!!).  When I get her up in the morning, her bandages are still intact (instead of ripped to shreds).  When I ask her, "Did you sleep good last night?", instead of answering, "No, I was awake all night," she answers, "I don't know.  I don't remember."  Which to me, means that she slept!!!  She still wakes up during the night (she'll tell me she was awake at 4:12am or 6:27 am because she looks at the clock), but I'll take it!  Her skin has been in much better shape since she's been sleeping better.  Thank you to those who suggested the Magnesium!  It's been a huge blessing!

Friday Funny

Interview with Rapunzel, age 7

 How does having eczema make you feel?
It makes me feel itchy.  When I'm itchy I wish I didn't have eczema at all.

Are you itchy a lot?
Pretty much all the time, but not sometimes.  I'm always itchy at night though.

How else does having eczema make you feel?
It makes me feel sad.

What about it makes you feel sad?
I don't like hearing people talk about my eczema.

I think people might talk about it because they care about you and want to help.  What are some ways people have tried to help you?
By not eating corn in front of me.

Because you're allergic to corn?
Yes

 Do you miss eating some of the foods you're allergic to?
Yes

Are there still a lot of foods that you can eat that you're not allergic to?
Yes, I can still eat fish sticks, and sweet potatoes, and Subway!  And a lot of other stuff too.

Do you ever feel like you miss out on anything because you have eczema?
I miss out on having clear skin like everybody else does.

Did you know that over 30 million people have eczema?
{huge eyes} NO!

How does that make you feel?
It makes me feel better that other people have eczema too, that it's not just me.

Is there anything about having eczema that makes you happy?
I'm happy when it clears up sometimes!

Are there things you can still do even though you have eczema?
Yes!  I'm good at reading and piano even though I have eczema.

Itching For a Cure

We will be "virtually" taking part in the National Eczema Association's "Itching For a Cure" Eczema Walk!  The actual walk will take place on June 8 in New Jersey.  Even though we cannot attend in person, we still want to be a part of this walk!  So I've created the team, "Let's Not Be Rash" to help raise funds and awareness.  We'd be so thrilled if you'd join us by donating through our page to the National Eczema Association!

http://itchingforacure.itchingforacure.dojiggy.com/letsnotberash

Dairy Free Review

We are almost a month into our dairy-free adventure.  Unfortunately, we haven't noticed any improvement in Rapunzel's skin just yet.  But we're going to give it a full two months before giving up on it.

Rapunzel has had a chance to try many different dairy free options.  Some she's loved and others she could do without.  Here's a run down.


Chocolate Coconut Milk has hands down been her favorite to drink straight up.  She drinks it almost every morning with her breakfast.

Vanilla Oat Milk has been a close second.  This is what she prefers to pour over her cereal and she likes to drink it on its own too.

These were the only two that she liked the taste of by themselves.

As for baking and cooking, I've had equal amounts of success with hemp milk and rice milk.  I use original if I'm making something savory, and tend to use either original or vanilla if I'm baking something sweet.  And no one has complained about anything tasting any different.

Rapunzel has liked all of the Coconut Yogurt that she's tried.  She's tried several different flavors.

And she's found the Plain Greek Coconut Yogurt to be a great substitute for sour cream on her tacos, bean burritos, and baked potatoes.

She's tried the Coconut Ice Cream in cookie dough flavor, and loved it too.  In fact, I snuck a taste one day and really really liked it.

I've used the Enjoy Life chocolate chips in a few things, and they taste just like regular chocolate chips to all of us!

Rapunzel has been very happy with the Coconut Spread to replace butter on most things.  She likes it on toast, but not on bagels (she sticks with jelly for her bagels now).  I used it to make frosting and that was pretty good too (though definitely a different flavor than I'm used to).  I didn't use it for a butter sub in baking/cooking and instead opted to sub canola oil.

I found these little "cheese" sauce packets at HEB and thought I'd give them a try.  They had alfredo and cheddar flavors.  I tried the alfredo and served it with shrimp and pasta.  It was just ok.  It didn't really taste like alfredo, but it wasn't bad.  I'm planning on trying the cheddar this week and making mac n cheese.

We still never found a true cheese substitute.  But honestly, Rapunzel hasn't minded.  She just eats her sandwiches without cheese.  And we make her pizza without cheese.  Her bean burritos and tacos are cheeseless.  And we don't sprinkle parmesan on her pasta.  She hasn't really minded at all.

So, while I'm not sure if we'll continue dairy-free after our 2 month trial, I feel confident that if we do, we'll survive.  Once I did all the research and found these safe alternatives, it's been pretty easy to incorporate them into our menu.