Henry is Officially Allergic to ...

As you can see from the nose drippage, something was not right with Henry since we moved.  His eyes were constantly gunky and his nose was constantly oozing clear (sometimes green) mucous.  At first I thought he had a cold, as people kept telling me that green mucous is a cold symptom.  But upon further review, I was convinced that the more time he spent outside the worse his symptoms became.  Keeping him indoors before 10am, and bathing him before bed (despite his eczema) seemed to improve his symptoms.  I signed up for daily email alerts on the pollen count.

We finally decided to see an allergist who performed a scratch test.  On  a baby, the allergist does the test on his back.  Henry squirmed and squealed, although it was better than the blood draw.  She did the standard baby tests:  dust mites, mold, pollen, dogs, cats, dairy, nuts, seafood, etc.  The results revealed that Henry is allergic to ... DOGS.  I was shocked.  He had zero reactions to anything else.  ARGH!  She checked his ears for an ear infection, but couldn't see past the gobs of ear wax.  Her recommendation was to give Henry Zyrtec before going to a dog-infested - ;) - house, and after leaving the doghouse, we should strip him of his clothes and bathe him.  She also said to take him to the pediatrician to check for an ear infection if the symptoms didn't subside.  Two days later, I took Henry to see the doctor, and lo and behold - he had a mild ear infection, which was likely caused by the latent congestion from dog exposure.  It was a sneaky ear infection, one that did not include fever or ear tugging.  Phew!

It is nice to know why he's been goobery, and the ear infection was a bonus discovery.  Now that he's done with his antibiotics, the boogies and cough are gone.  He's been in contact with 2 dogs since - the first time I gave him cetirizine (the generic Zyrtec) and he was fine.  The second time a cockapoo licked him and Henry immediately started itching his eyes.  Why was he playing with a cockapoo?  Chris is in denial of the allergy.  Let's hope he outgrows this allergy!