Hindsight

Allergy rash on 2 year old Sophie

Way back in July 2012, when Sophie was 2, we discovered she had an allergy to artificial colors. That was the beginning of a new reality for us.

However, today I was feeling nostalgic and was going through old posts in her birth board on Babycenter.com, and found two posts I made about the same thing happening! One was in November 2010, when she was only 8 months old, and then again in February 2011, right after her first birthday. Both posts mention her common symptoms- eczema spots we couldn't get rid of, the rash on her face after eating something with food dye. And both times she had the full body rash like she did in 2012! I also in retrospect figured out another incident, a few months before the final one in July, that would have been from the same allergy (she had eaten a cupcake before breaking out, but again, didn't make the connection until much later).

I know "hindsight is 20/20," but I wish I had put this all together earlier! If  I had remembered the breakouts from one incident to the next, if I had started researching causes earlier - what might have happened?

Probably nothing, except an earlier diagnosis. The post from February 2011, I mentioned she was taking amoxycillin. Guess what the liquid contains - Red 40. That is a medication she can't take now, because there is no version on the market (for liquid at least) that is not dyed pink. The pharmacist checked the last time it was prescribed to her.

So what is the point of this post?

If your child has sudden, unexplained rashes, keep a very detailed journal. Foods eaten (even if nothing was new), medications, beverages, anything that could have been consumed. And keep it in a safe place, and refer back to it whenever the rash recurs. Even little rashes - most of the time Sophie just had very red cheeks and a few small bumps around her mouth. Now we've learned that is a consistent reaction of hers to eating something with artificial colors.