Allergy vs. Asthma

Today was Zack's big allergy appointment. It was a VERY long appointment. After 3 1/2 hours we have discovered that Zack has asthma. We first went into a room and met with a doctor. We went over a million questions. After all the questions the doc said "Well, we can do the testing to make certain, but he has asthma." Zack had two of the four factors: 1) he has had more than 3 attacks in a 12 month span. 2) he has family history of asthma (daddy). So we went ahead with the testing and sure enough he tested negative for all the allergies we tested him for. What they do is take off the shirt and first give him a "control" bite. Like a mosquito bite to make sure he has a flare up. Then they draw numbers down his back with a pen... 1-12 and pricked him with each allergy. If there were bumps then he would have been positive for that particular allergy. But like the doctor had said, he tested negative for each one.

The doctor came back in and talked a little longer. He said a few years ago they would have called what Zack has "Reactive Airway Disease". Which means that his lungs have a hard time circulating air when he has colds, runny nose, ear infections, etc. Now they just group RAD with asthma because it can be just as dangerous. They didn't officially do an asthma test because he is too young. An asthma test consists of blowing in a tube for several minutes, which is why they usually wait until they are 6 or 7 before doing the official test. Due to Zack's past though he officially declared that Zack has asthma. He gave me some meds if he starts a runny nose or cold to help clear out his passage ways to ward off attacks. I also need to continue daily treatments. It is scary, but now we officially know what he has in cases of emergencies. We won't have a blank stare when someone asks us if he has allergies or asthma.

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