The Usual Suspects

I recently had a profound realization that my daughter, Cypress, has not suffered from extreme asthma/allergies in a long while. Up until about a year ago, it was frequent visits to Emergency doctors with a limp child struggling to breathe.  Or it was sympathetically watching her continuously wipe a raw and red nose that constantly dripped.  I remember when Cypress was barely one and wound up on 3 x's daily breathing machine treatments, then again at age 3. The allergy seemed to always stem from a different circumstance, which baffled us. We don't smoke or have pets, nor do we wear perfume so it was easy to rule those out. Once she had a really bad allergic reaction to petting a friends cat who had been indoors several weeks (lots of hair), but she didn't explode around all cats, all the time. 

I thought maybe it was something
I did or ate whilst preggers :(

We also tried testing for food allergy by eliminating common culprits but there was zero impact.  We didn't go the route of pin-prick food allergy testing because the doctors said they're not that accurate, and it just sounded painful. Chiropractic adjustments seemed to help when she got really congested, so that was a 'relief' but not a cure. (by the way, as an aside, Chiropractic adjustments did cure Zephyr's ear infection he got at age 1, and they never came back. MUCH better than antibiotics or tube-surgery). We eventually moved to the seaside so Cypress could have 'fresh sea air' since this was highly-suggested by numerous professionals.  However, Cypress not only continued to suffer from asthma/allergies, she seemed to get worse!  I thought 'oh no, she's allergic to seaweed!'.

We didn't even consider
petrol fumes

We all reached desperation one evening when I stayed awake all night, listening and watching Cypress trying to breathe, almost carrying her to Emergency in the middle of the night.  I really should have.  My husband took her to the local doctor the next morning and they put her on emergency oxygen straight away, saying next time don't wait. I couldn't figure it out. What made her have such bad reactions?

Thought maybe the cat

A dear friend from Atlanta, Georgia saw me post on Facebook about the symptoms, and he highly suggested I try a Kinesiologist who specialized in children and asthma/allergies. I contacted someone he suggested in London, who gave me a name nearby to me.  This Kinesiologist was no longer taking new clients, but she listened to our story and wanted to help.  It was a bizarre experience.  I wasn't sure what to expect, and found it a bit awkward going through all the testing she did.  The good news is that it's painless! Cypress got to sit on my lap or next to me, and they used me as a 'medium' to see the reactions she had from various 'culprits'.  After 30 minutes of testing, the Kinesiologist confidently proclaimed that Cypress was allergic to Hydrocarbons. 

Hydrocarbons?

Thought maybe piles of moist leaves

I was lost, I had no clue, but thankfully, my super smart hubby explained it all to me on the drive home (ensuring windows were rolled up when we passed a diesel truck!).  The day before Cypress had had her really bad reaction, three major culprits occurred:

1) She had rec'd some cheap girly pretend makeup that she put on herself and all her toys (sparkly lipgloss = petroleum=hydrocarbon)

2) The kids had painted their pillow cases with some fabric paint pens (= hydrocarbons)

3) The grill had tipped over outdoors burning some fat on the coals producing massive smoke (=hydrocarbons)

Didn't realize some paints
were the problem

As hubby continued to explain typical 'hydrocarbons', the lightbulbs started going off over my head.  Wow, so all this time we tried all the 'usual suspects' we had completely ignored hydrocarbons. 

Since that trip to the Kinesiologist, we now avoid hydrocarbons as much as possible, and Cypress is educating herself about it all.

Thankfully, we live a lifestyle that doesn't come in to contact with many hydrocarbons on a regular basis, but just the few we were unaware of were causing big problems. Since the diagnosis, and the changes, Cypress hasn't suffered ANY attacks. She occasionally struggles to breathe when she's running around playing, but that is getting better as well. Oh, and I also notice that her hyperactivity has improved too. Cypress has always been like a bull-in-a-china-shop with her hyperactivity. Full of energy that wears me out. Probably could have been easily diagnosed with ADHD, but now she's calmer. Still energetic, but constructively so (usually!).

All is better now....Yay!

That's my blog for the day. Inspired because of the noticeable improvement, and also thinking to post about it in case anyone else is struggling with similar symptoms.  I would HIGHLY suggest to pay a visit to your local Kinesiologist.