PSA

Today I took my son in to be tested for a suspected hazelnut allergy.  I had binged on Nutella (surprise! not.) when he was just a little nursling and he broke out in bright red eczema on his chin and cheeks.  I quit eating Nutella, and my poor baby's rash went away.  And then earlier this year, I accidentally let him have a chocolate truffle with hazelnut in it.  He got the exact same rash all over his cheeks and chin again.
Pretty obvious.  So, while I was hoping to be wrong (because I was about thinking Emberly had a shellfish allergy! yay!) , I didn't know how else to explain those symptoms.
As it turns out, he is in fact allergic to hazelnuts.  And brazil nuts.  He's never had those and I don't care one way or the other about them, so okay.  But then the allergist tells me he's allergic to almonds!  What?!  I use almond everything, all the time.  Almond butter, almond milk, almond flour, sliced almonds, roasted almonds; you name it!  He eats them all the time with no loud, obvious rash to speak of!
So then the allergist goes on to explain that toddlers/preschoolers often have trouble articulating swelling and itching in the mouth or throat and simply react by shoving their hands in their mouth.
Click, click... BOOOM!
That was the sound of cogs fitting together inside my feeble brain.  Bauer constantly shoves his hands in his mouth and whines about his mouth/throat without being able to really tell us what the problem is.  I'll quickly look, not really see anything and conclude that he bit his tongue or his 2yr molars are bothering him, maybe even sinus drainage making his throat sore.  Or think that it's just another expression of anger for his easily pissed-off little self.  It never occurred to me that something he ate was causing uncomfortable itching/swelling.
I am so thankful that I discovered this before I caused anaphylaxis by shoving almonds down his throat almost daily.  And hopefully I help someone else who doesn't know why their little one is shoving his/her hands in his/her mouth!