Hi all,
Just joined to ask a quick question ... tried to find info online elsewhere but still need some clarification. Any help appreciated--I'm a 28 yo father lacking proper dad training.
My young son is on vacation from school and visiting me in the States for the summer. He's currently boarding in England near his mother's place. I am not too familiar with his health record over the last year or so (we split Feb. 2009, and have only seen him once since) but do know that his only "official" allergy is to peanuts and soy--and none of that is anywhere near him here, I made absolutely sure of that (as did his mum)!
To get to it: He's had a rather desperate reaction to something or other over the past 3,4 days now, the symptoms as follows:
-red, watery eyes
-slightly "puffed" eyes in the morning (not just from sleepiness, I don't think!)
-serious sluggishness (could just be missing his friends, tho...)
-excessive blinking (perhaps I make him nervous, but it seems pretty regular)
-he made a compalint about
pain or cramping in his arms.
Read an article that gave some insight--
www.purematters.com/healthy-body/allergies/is-it-an-allergy-or-a-cold --but his symptoms seem to cross over into both "hay fever" and "colds" categories, as you can see from above.
So it comes down to I can't tell if it's natural allergies given the seasonal shift going on over here, or a cold (can you even get a cold in the summer/fall?), or something else entirely. More worried above the "something else entirely." Again, I am quite sure it's not a food-related reaction, but my paranoia is a bit high given that he's my son and I want to take decent care of him if on;y for the next month or so. Don't want anything to happen to make him uncomfortable or sick for an extended period.
I do know that seeing a doctor is the responsible thing to do, and I certainly plan to, but we're kind of out of the way in the country and won't be able to see her till Monday, Friday the earliest. I know this may seem a bit immature or misinformed, asking all this, but I'm a bit overwhelmed dealing with this :( Thanks,
-Thom