pedia visit

JB had his 3rd dose of pentaxim last Saturday. We're now 3K poorer but this is one expense that is on top of our priority list. We had a very long talk with his pedia. JB's tummy area had been dry for the past weeks and the pedia told us that this could be three things:

(1) allergy to soap
(2) allergy to chicken
(3) atopic dermatitis (aka skin asthma)

For number 1, the pedia decided to change his soap from J&J's top-to-toe wash to Cetaphil soap (300 pesos a bar!). She added in her prescription Cetaphil lotion (jaw-dropping 600 pesos!) to be applied on JB's tummy thrice a day. My mom was already suspecting that the arroz caldo we fed him might have caused the dryness so we stopped feeding him that since last week. It's a good thing, though, that the dry part doesn't seem to bother JB at all. He's not scratching it or anything and he's still his usual active self.

For number 3, the pedia asked us if there's history of asthma in the family. Unfortunately, I had asthma when I was young but my last attack was when I was still 9 and the attacks were not severe enough for me to be admitted to the hospital. Puros home medication lang ako. JB might have inherited this from me, so the pedia told me to pray that this would not lead to skin asthma. Although she told me that skin asthma starts on the arms, we should still be observing JB's condition for now.

Another thing we talked about is JB's runny nose during the night and early morning. Her diagnosis: Allergic rhinitis. She prescribed another medication for this if his colds persist during the night. Fortunately, the nights following our visit to the pedia, his colds didn't attack at all. Thank God! The prescribed meds remain untouched.

We're praying that there will be no more attacks of colds during the night and that the severe dryness of his skin is not skin asthma. I was already a bit sad after our last pedia visit because of what I learned. His condition is not severe but, just like any mother, I want my son to be COMPLETELY healthy.