While at the ENT's office found out that the boys have lost both of their ear tubes (they are unfortunately still in their ears but just sitting there and neither of the boys would let the doctor come close to just gently scraping the tiny tubes/ear wax out of their ears). Of course not. They acted like the doctor was trying to remove their brain through their ears. The doctor was smart and realized it best not to harass the boys further and just let the tubes fall out on their own. Thank you for that, and I'm sure other patrons of the ENT office appreciate that as well.
So the boy will go back in 6 months just to see how things are going and if it all looks good then they most likely will not be going back again unless there is a further problem with ear infections.
However, my daughter gets to go back to the ENT allergist on September 11th. She was there a year ago to have some allergy testing done as we were concerned about her reactions to bug bites/bee stings and we wanted to make sure she wasn't actually allergic to them. She was always coming up with odd rashes when she came home from preschool, so we thought she might also be allergic to something at the school. We never did figure out what the problem was but whatever it was it went away half way through the school year.
We've always known that she has sensitive skin and from the MOMENT she was born her ex pediatrician was telling us how since she was a red head she'd have skin issues all her life (blah blah blah....same crap I've heard a million times because I'M a red head so yeh, I've heard it). Sure enough, yes she did in fact have skin issues. We were always told "Oh don't worry it's just eczema do this this and this and she'll be fine. Fast forward almost 6 years later and my daughter is STILL dealing with what we have thought was eczema this whole time.
While talking to the boys ENT I showed her some of the same spots on the boys (they don't have it as bad as Kams does though). Turns out...it is NOT eczema. It is actually Keratosis Pilaris (otherwise known as...chicken skin, which I think is a gross and awful name and won't be using). It is essentially the build of keratonin. Which is something your skin produces naturally to help protect it from the suns harmful rays. Sometimes your body produces too much or it clogs folicals and low and behold it produces the little pimple like bumps on the skin. Mainly on the cheek, shoulder, thigh and sometimes buttocks areas. No one knows why it happens and it can be due to genetics, or other conditions. It can also happen in perfectly healthy people too.
There is no cure for it though. It will be something all three of my kids deal with their whole lives. They aren't alone though because it is something they inherited from their Mom. Great. So they got my red hair and my skin issues, ugh.
I dealt with skin issues my whole life. It sucked. I was teased relentlessly for my skin issues because I was led to believe I had acne, when it was more than likely a flair up of the keratosis pilaris. I remember having these very same types of bumps on my face in 3rd-5th grade. By the time 6th grade came around I was having actual acne issues on top of it (thank you early puberty, I hate you). I struggled and suffered through acne all throughout high school, it was awful. I didn't like my skin I felt gross in my own skin because no matter what we tried, no matter what the dermatologist prescribed nothing helped. I suffered on. FINALLY by the time I was a Junior/Senior in high school and was actually wearing make up more often the acne got a LOT better, and now it is only an issue during those wonderful mother nature times of the month, and is even then VERY tame and mild and of no concern compared to what it used to be. However, the damage is already done. I'll never get rid of all of the scarring, both physically and emotionally. I'll never "love" my skin or truly feel comfortable in it.
So I want to help my daughter by getting her keratosis pilaris sorted out NOW. Help her learn how to cope with it early so she can help avoid flare ups and how she can treat it when she does have a flare up. I still get it on my shoulders and thighs, I'm just glad I actually know what it is now. Compared to some photos I've seen of it on line, I am glad Kams and the boys and I do NOT have it as bad as many children and adults do! It could be a LOT WORSE!
Mae
