We get dear son’s blood tests done at Quest Diagnostics a month or so before the appointment. The blood draw does not go well, but that’s on us.
Husband, son and I trek up to Baltimore, leaving thankful daughter going home with a good friend from school. Dear son is so happy thinking about his poor friends still stuck at school. Instead of “Are we there yet?” we get a lot of “Are they still at school?” then “ha ha ha ha” responses.
At the Dr. Wood Appointment
We check in and then speak with an associate of Dr. Wood’s. This young doctor chats with dear son about his food allergies, his safety at school and how to administer the Epipen. She shows us the blood test results, which are about the same. Peanut number is very high, etc. Son bangs his head on the wall and laughs and laughs.
Dr. Wood comes in a short while later and does a quick physical exam. Dear son answers his questions well and they chat. This is all nice but I’m wondering if we should have made the trip…
Any Other Concerns?
“Son had an itchy throat after eating soup once. And at a house with a cat where he didn’t eat anything because they had nuts out. And maybe one other time. Any ideas?”
“Did the soup have soy protein isolate as an ingredient?”
I kept the label from the soup. “Yes, but it’s at the bottom of the list!”
Bingo!
Dr. Wood explains that some kids with peanut allergies who start becoming sensitive to soy will be bothered by very small amounts of “soy protein isolate”. This is a very concentrated source of soy protein found in soups, processed meats and other processed foods. This also explains dear son’s bad tummy ache after a turkey casserole at a relative’s home. It wasn’t that he pigged out and ate too fast!
Ditching Unsafe Food
We came home and sorted through the food. I added “soy protein concentrate” to the NO list. But we kept the foods with just “soy protein”, “soy flour”, “soy lecithin”, “soy oil”. Dr. Wood was specific about not removing foods that son was currently tolerating fine. I had a couple questions as I sorted through our pantry / freezer / shelves and his office was very helpful.
So, was it worth the trip to Baltimore? YES!