Our Visit To Tangkak

A little update on our visit last week. We stayed over at PILs and left for Tangkak in the morning. While waiting for our turn, we were told it's about 1 hour wait, we hopped to the kopitiam few units away and had our rotikaya. Seems like the dimsum and fish slice noodles are popular there but we already had our breakfast, we'll keep that for our next visit.


Steamed roti kaya with thick sliced salty butter, Amber's favourite.. she specifically asked for salty salty butter.. and paired with hot Milo.. yummzz,

but... all are NO-NO now. :(
Highly allergic.. eggs, bread, milk, sugar ... the perfect recipe for 'ITCHY'



Ooh.. how she relish it.. sorry Amber, rotikaya + thick salty butter gotta go. Wait till next year.. just one year only , ok ?

While waiting for the doctor :



Amber actually cried when she saw the doctor, because we couldn't explain clearly to her what's to come, as we don't even know, we casually mentioned to see a doctor for her 'itchiness' but Dr Wong, is quick to warm up and is very good with kids, very patient and takes his time to explain, asked about our medical history, environment at home and in the office, etc to investigate the cause of allergy. Amber was alright after a while and sat on hubs lap, following instructions, holding the test tubes in her hand as told.


Doc will then test hubs strength while he's holding Amber tight and Amber will hold the test tubes. Hubs should resist his push and if Amber is not allergic to that item in the test tube, his strength will be able to resist his push.


And for elements that she's allergic to, hubs will not be able to resist his strength. Magic ? Seeing is believing ! After going through a host of tubes, we knew she was allergic to : eggs, milk, house dust mites and candida.


A friendly get-well handshake with Dr Wong

The elements that she's allergic to and level of allergy

Dr Wong practises homeopathy, he explained to us how his treatment works, he mentioned something like.. the energy from the allergens are transferred to a saline solution.. I was too in a daze, to fully understand what he said but more or less I understood.

Amber has to take 2 drops a day, once in morning and evening to reduce her allergy and in abstain from ALL food containing the 4 elements : milk, eggs, candida and house dust mites.



He allowed me to take pictures and later told me.. the response time after taking d drops is abt 3 wks and until then I am nobody and dont' deserve any attention...

Very friendly and a polite doctor and for anonymity sake, I'll pass the contact to any readers who email me direct.

Meanwhile I'll be blogging on Amber's journey to recovery. Freedom from allergy is not a distant dream after all.

The Culprit

We made a short trip to Tangkak, Johor to see an allergy specialist. He comes highly recommended by reader/friend from Malacca, Linda. I am so glad through blogging, I have many concerned friends and friends like Linda who knew exactly how it's like to see your own kid suffer from allergies because she had a daughter went through the same allergic episodes like Amber.

The allergy specialist is a very qualified doctor who also practises at Mahkota Medical Center and Pantai Ayer Keroh. He uses an unconventional method of testing allergy. Hard to believe and seeing is believing.

As we entered his room, I saw many test tubes of allergens to test on. I was down with bad cough and sore throat and I thought might as well see him for some medics. He did the most amazing test on me.

He ran though my medical history and then I told him I was on a course of antibiotics - Amoxyclav which didn't work. Then he took a swab from my throat. I had to to hold the container with cotton bud swab and sample amoxyclav with my left hand and held my right hand straight. His index finger will be placed on my arms and I had to resist his push.. oopppsss.. my hand fell no matter how hard i resist his push.. Then, it's proven Amoxyclav didn't work for me and he tried another test with another prescribed antibiotics. This time, my hands resisted his push and he prescribed THAT antibiotic for me. .. ... and my throat does feel a lot better now.

To conduct the test on children, the child would sit on the parents lap and hold the test tubed and he would test the energy of the allergen against the parents right arm, held straight.

I was very excited when he tested on Amber. After many many rounds of testing, the culprits are :

- Cow's milk
- Eggs
- Candida
- House dust mites

4 items but a long list of food to avoid. Any milk or egg related products (yogurt, vitagen, ice cream, cakes, cookies and many many more or in fact, all of kiddie food) is to be avoided. No bread, mushrooms and food which contains yeast and to cut down sugar intake.

*phew*

Knowing what she's allergic to is mind boggling but we were given a treatment to follow strictly in order to cure her.

I was given an article to read on 'candida' , the bad yeast infecting her guts. The article also says candida causes extreme itchiness, especially itchy eyes, itchy backside and itchy nose and Amber has it all.

The doctor prescribed an antidote of saline solution from energy transferred from the 4 allergens. She's to take the saline drops twice a day and to see doctor in a months time.

I find it hard to believe but he tested again after placing a drop of the saline on Amber's mouth.
We did the same test, hubs holding her and the test tube with allergens and doctor pushed his arms down and this time hubs resisted. That means the antidote given is the correct antidote to her allergens.

Hard to believe but seeing is believing.

On a brighter note, Amber can take Isomil. Earlier on, we told her she can't have it coz it causes her itchiness, hence she calls it itchy milk. She's so happy to have her bottle of 'itchy milk' back. YAY !!! I can have my itchy milk !!! gosh.. i can remember clearly her expression. Getting her off milk was the hardest thing to do.

Now, I am on a hunt for dairy free and sugar free products, reading up on candida and house dust mites. I have to get her childminder to co-operate and think of a host of other things..

-- such as.. how am I to bake a cake for her birthday? I've promised her Barbie chocolate cupcakes (eggs, sugar and milk and main ingredients). Is it alright for her to have just a bite ?
-- how to reduce dust mites at home and childminders ? Change all her bedsheets and covers to hypoallergenic ?
-- is 100% elimination totally necessary or can I cheat a little until after her birthday ? Can you imagine... getting a 4 yr old to blow her own cake and not eat it ?

As I reflect back, I do feel sorry for blowing my top at her many times. She's always complaining of itchiness during bedtime. We assume she wants attention and doesn't want to sleep. Hubs and I shout at her. .. 'itchy here, itchy there, you EVERYWHERE also itchy, especially when you have to oi-oi , you'll be itchy'.
When we go shopping, she'll complain of itchy backside and I have to take her to toilet, clean the toilet (u know how dirty our shopping complex toilets are) and wash her backside, scratching her anus while spraying water until the my little queen feels relief , then dress her up, continue shopping and only to have her screaming "ITCHEEEEE' again minutes later.

Oh my ! I certainly hope those days will go away soon.

With the doctors treatment, we'll have to go back to Tangkak periodically to check on her allergy level. We'll have to bring it down to zero, then avoid the allergic food for 1 year for the body to build up immunity and then only can she consume those allergic foods.

The hassle of travelling to see a doctor at Johor and to be on a special diet is just a SMALL PRICE to pay for her relief.

I am thankful for finally getting some answers to end her misery and I am HOPEFUL she will be cured this time around.

Getting to the root of things

We've been battling with Amber's eczema since birth. Poor Amber, as a baby, she didn't scratch much or fuss a lot when she has a full blown bout of eczema attack.

Now, she scratches a lot esp around the eye area. I'm really concerned that the 'itchiness' is affecting her development. Last week, during our parents-teacher meeting, I was told she can't sit still and concentrate during class and. Once she scratched her backside so hard, the other kids stared and laughed at her... and to make matters worst... few kids followed and did the same. I felt so sorry for my little girl.

I was even told by some 'smart alec' friends and relatives that I should get her checked by a doctor for she shows signs of having ADHD... and this is so unfair.. to pass judgement on my daughter when they hardly know her or spend time getting to know her. Do you think it's fair to label a child as having 'ADHD' by just a short observation ? BAH !!! these people really annoys me, they should just put their foot in the mouth !

I've tried numerous creams and lotions to control her eczema and we always have to rely on cortisteroids. I've also eliminated seafood from her diet and hardly gives her eggs. She's been on soy milk and I've seen some improvements but I'm still not happy with it.

None of her paeds recommends a blood allergy test done. In fact, most of them tells me, there's nothing much I can do. I did talk to someone from the blood test department at a local private hospital and she too tells me it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly what she's allergic too and furthermore it's hard and painful to draw 3-5cc of blood from a toddler.

Well, this weekend we are going see a highly recommended doctor who may give us an answer to her cause of allergy without testing her blood. Hubs and I are very excited and hope we can get an answer and solution from the doctor. Wish Amber luck !

New Products for Kids

I found some gorgeous products at Giant recently for Amber's eczema prone skin.I'm sure it's suitablet for other kids too :

Halos n Horns - Skincare for Sensitive Souls

Shampoo & detangler, baby bath, hair & body wash







Halos n Horns was founded by Leila Wilcox. Her son suffered from sensitive skin and sometimes flared with eczema after bath. The chemicals in his bath was the culprit and she went on a mission to research around for chemicals which caused skin irritation and later came up with her own range - Halos n Horns with a mission ' to remove chemicals linked to eczema, asthma and other health risks'

I bought the whole range for Amber and I'd say this is worth a try. Find out more about their products at http://www.halosnhorns.co.uk/

Over in UK, it's £2.99 per tube but now it's retailing at Giant supermarkets at only RM5.99, this is a STEAL !!!

Moisturizer

Recent hot weather is really killing us and itching up Amber. She would scratch, scratch and complain her itchiness especially when she's in the car, strapped up in her car seat and unable to scracth.

Since her birth, I've been applying Aqua cream emollients all over her body and Elomet (steroid based cream) on troubled spots. I've also tried countless tubs of lotions and creams and some work, some don't. Not many choices available here as most are not fragrance free

Aqua cream is the best emollient but it's also very sticky and hot. I have to blast on the air con and fan when I apply. My sis in law recommended me Sorbolene cream, which is common used by Australians but not available in Malaysia then.

Last week at Guardian Pharmacy, I chanced upon Redwin Sorbolene Cream, a glycerin based moisturizer for senstive skin, fragrance free too!



Verdict : Easy to apply, but takes a while to rub in, a light lotion and makes the skin feels smooth and soft without the lasting icky sticky feeling.

I hope this lotion works on Amber. I feel the itch when I see her scratch. My poor girl, she's been battling eczema since birth. Her paed gave us the assurance she'll outgrow it and I hope he's right.

Moving, FINALLY !!!

The big move is tomorrow, 27 November 08. This time, we've engaged professional movers , Felix Relo, to pack, seal , wrap our furnitures from our old rented condo to the new house.

The last few days, Danny, maid and me was really knackered out from moving the small (but heavy) items. We had to lug everything from the car park, up to the living room and up to the bedrooms. I've moved all the clothing (except enough for a couple of days) and kitchen stuff to the new house. The movers will charge a lot more to pack for us, so for the small stuff, we'll do it ourselves. Hopefully, tomorrow's move will not take too long. I just cannot wait for another couple of weeks to properly settle down.

Amber has been really demanding lately. She asks for our attention the moment she wakes up. She wants me to feed her milk, change her pyjamas and 'scratch' her. She's been having mild eczema attack recently and I must admit, I've been slack in applying mosturizer on her lately.
I'd better be more diligent in keeping her moist and healthy before I send her to new babysitter next month.