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Apr 24, 2013

And the Verdict Is....

Remember a few days ago when I told you about the Allergy Clinic I signed up for? Well, today was the day! It was also a little crazy, hectic day with the clinic sandwiched between a softball game for Scout and Pack Meeting.

So after Scout's team got totally trounced, 13 - 1, we hustled to the van and raced to the University of Utah Healthcare Center at Daybreak. We were about 5 minutes late and I'm pretty sure we were the last two seated before Dr. Kevin Wilson started to speak.

He told us all about the different allergens and how his clinic could test for them and then recommend treatment. Scout was getting pretty restless especially when he started talking about the "skin prick" test. Thank goodness they had cookies for her to nibble on. I had originally planned to have her tested for allergies as well, but as the doctor described the process in detail, she started with, "I'm not doing that!" I'm pretty sure she repeated that phrase about 25 times.
When the good doctor was finished, the nurses and medical assistants began administering the allergy tests. It was kind of cool, actually. They had a tray, kind of like a tiny egg carton with 8 different substances in it for each forearm. After swabbing the areas with alcohol, the nurse used a plastic applicator with 8 little arms. She dipped the applicator in the substances and then pressed each one into my arm.

They promised there would be no blood, but they were wrong. Three of the little applicator arms actually broke the skin and a tiny drop of blood appeared in the drop of substance. It didn't hurt, but Scout was pretty upset by it and it wasn't even her arm!

When she told the nurses she wasn't interested in participating, they smiled and moved on. I'm sure they thought I was being ridiculous, but she has never shown signs of allergies before so I wasn't that worried about getting the tests done even if they were free.

After 20 minutes and a couple of games of Hangman with Scout, the nurses started back around to read the tests. Some people had flaming, itchy red spots the size of quarters on their arms, but not me. Mine stayed small, about the size of a large zit. The nurse kindly informed me that I had zero allergies! Which was news to me because if you remember right, the pollens in the air have been driving me a bit crazy lately, but maybe their mix just wasn't quite right for me. They certainly weren't interested in making me an appointment with the doctor like they were with the six-year-old on our table that had huge red circles up and down her arms.

All in all, I was glad to know that I don't really have to worry about allergies right now, but if I did, I would know just the number to call, 801-587-8368. And their cookies were pretty good too!

**I was compensated for attending this clinic and writing this post, but the opinions are all mine.**

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