ENT & Allergist

It feels like I have not posted in ages. I took Randy to the ear, nose, and throat doctor because he had a failed hearing test and his tympanogram (sp?) showed that his ear drum was flat. The audiologist stated that the flat ear drum usually meant there is fluid behind the ear and referred us to the ENT clinic.

We waited a month and saw the ENT. Can you say "Waste of time?" The doctor came in and of course asked me all the same questions that I just told the nurse: "....26 weeks.... 1 lb 10 oz.....latex precautions.... failed two hearing screenings...hydrocephalus...." He then looked in his ears and said that the eardrum looked dull. He wanted him to take a tympanogram. He said if he passed it, then he would take another hearing test.

And then he tried to leave the room. Now anyone who knows me can predict what happened next. I said, "Hold up! I have a few questions." I asked him if Randy's weak suck and lack of interest in his bottle could be related to the fluid on his ears. He said no. I asked him if the fluid in his ears could be allergy related. He said it was possible, but the only way to tell was to remove the allergen and see if the fluid goes away.

The nurse gave him the tympanogram again. This time both ears got a flat reading. She then told me that I should bring him back in 3-4 months. Is your mouth hanging open too? The nurse noticed my puzzled look and asked if I wanted to talk to the doctor again. "No thanks." Can you say waste of time?

The allergy appointment was the total opposite. The nurse asked me a few history questions. The doctor questioned me too, but she did not ask the exact same questions. She probed deeper and even asked different questions. She was calm and did not act like she was in a hurry. She decided to give him a blood test instead of a RAST (skin) test. She did not want to risk a severe reaction. She has a phlebotomist in her office, but felt more comfortable sending him to children's since his veins are almost non existent. She tested for: milk, soy, eggs, latex, dust mites, and a few other things I can't remember. She said to bring him back in 2-3 weeks.

Well, today the nurse called and said that his blood test was negative for milk, but positive for egg whites. The latex test was not done (they probably ran out of blood because they did not fill all the vials. That is a long and horrible story for another day). She is going to do a skin test for the milk when he goes back. The blood test can have false negatives. The skin test can have false positives.

When she first said eggs I thought, "OK. No eggs for you buddy." Then I thought about all the things made with egg: pancakes, cookies, yogurt, ice cream, casseroles, lunch meat, some breads, donuts, muffins, chicken nuggets, etc.....