Ouch... again.

Speaking of allergy, for reasons unknown to me, I suddenly got into plenty of allergic reactions lately.  The best Malay proverb to describe the feeling now is "sudah jatuh ditimpa tangga".

Night cough please go away...
For more than 2 weeks, I was coughing like mad almost every dawn.  It's called post-nasal drip.  It results from allergic rhinitis.  Before I started coughing, I was sneezing quite badly.  But I knew it's not infection because apart from sneezing, my throat was perfectly fine (not sore, not red), there was no fever, and I felt okay when not coughing.

This reminds me of what took place back in 2007 when I was suffering from allergic rhinitis for about 2 months.  So bad, I even lost weight.  An episode of fever coupled with very tiny red rashes all over my arms, and my doctor ordered a full blood test, which confirmed that I was indeed suffering from an allergy.

I didn't, and still don't know exactly what I'm allergic to although I used to suspect it's cat's dander, dust mite, and perfumes. 

Fine, and I no longer suffered from anything as bad as that until very recently.  Since I'm no longer exposed to cats now, perhaps I may rule out cat's dander as an allergen.

Loratadine did quite a good job although not 100% perfect in alleviating my symptoms of allergic rhinitis, likewise dexchlorphenyramine although I don't quite fancy the slight drowsiness caused by the latter because that would mean missing on one milk expression session.  The ideal is of course not to go on any medication when breastfeeding.  But sometimes I just can't help not taking medication as long as they are generally safe (only very small amount passes into milk).

Later on, my doctor prescribed Clarinase (a combination of loratadine and pseudoephedrine), and budesonide spray.  The latter is steroidal, but after weighing the pros and cons, I have decided to use a little of the spray for a only few days. As for the use of Clarinase during breastfeeding, its pseudoephedrine content may reduce milk production a little, so I hardly take it for fear of losing milk like during Alvin's time.

Note: Fortunately, this occurred after I have donated my extra EBM, so my milk-children are not exposed.  Although these are safe for breastfeeding, I think most parents will be uncomfortable about it... so better not.

Complaint no. 2
Now that the symptoms of allergic rhinitis are beginning to disappear (fingers-crossed... touch wood), I am faced with a new sort of nuisance - urticaria!  Or simply known as hives.  Actually it's not all-new because I had slight hives during my sneezing and coughing days which I managed to suppress well due to the antihistamines I was consuming.  All-in-all, it's been on and off for more than 2 weeks by now.

 On my left hand

I remember complaining about hives once in this blog back in 2011.  Dishearteningly however, the hives now are much worse than that.

My complaint centers on two main reasons - looks and discomfort.

If I were to wear short sleeve and skirt, observant folks would have spotted the redness right away.  I'm not vain by fearing others seeing it, but I'm worried if people who do not know it think it's some sort of contagious skin disease and thus want to get away from me for fear of getting "infected".

The discomfort?  Needless to say, I spend a lot of time scratching despite knowing that scratching not only doesn't help, but is bad for the skin because I apply strong friction onto it.

Doctor after doctor...
Red spots above my lips.  Red spots around my throat.  And red-looking hives on my legs, still.

As it was public holiday for Aidilfitri, I could only see a doctor the next day to confirm what's on my throat.  I was worried about spots on the throat because other than a weird sensation when swallowing fluid, there wasn't any feeling of soreness.

I didn't visit the regular doctor whom I used to see because his clinic was closed for the week.  So I visited another doctor whose clinic is located in a neighboring block near my workplace in the morning.

Of course whenever I see different doctors (although I will try my best to avoid it) I will tell them my history... what happened earlier, when, what medication I took, etc.  

Then the doctor checked my throat and skin on my legs.  She told me it's a throat infection and that I need antibiotic.  She told me she'd prescribe amoxycillin, to which I replied 'ok'.  I've taken amoxycillin before and tolerated it well, no allergic reaction. 

Despite having consumed loratadine earlier, the itch didn't go away.  In fact, the swarm of hives only got larger and red.  And so I went to the doctor (again!) near my home in the evening.  My doctor-phobia Alvinvin would have screamed out loud doing that, and I happily went from doctor to doctor.  But of course I always reveal my full story each time I visit a doctor, be it the same doctor or another.

At the end of the troublesome punya consultation, I was give an additional prescription - levocetirizine.

So far I have only consumed levocetirizine once, this morning.  So far, I notice my itch had subsided very minimally, and the red patches are still there.

Conclusion
Allergy oh allergy.....   I have never really been comfortable so far.  If only i know what I'm allergic to, but I don't. 

I did not eat or use anything new. I was not on any medication prior to this.  The budesonide nasal spray may not be the culprit for I've used it before back in 2007.  Also, I'm not on any pill, injection or Implanon.  So what's the culprit?  Or is it due to any hormonal imbalance?

This year is by far the worst ~ in hospital for 2 months for bed rest, and now chronic allergic reaction, gosh!

Oh God, please let me complete at least 6 months of giving my baby exclusive BM this time (if not 1 year as I wish it to be).  I do not want Ken-ken to be allergy-stricken like me, although I could see a risk of him becoming the same as me, because I see he has sensitive skin around his face.