Looking After Your Allergic Skin

Looking After Your Allergic Skin 

Here are a few tips to looking after your Allergic skin.

First please consult your doctor to get a diagnosis and medical advice on your skin condition.  

Identify and avoid the trigger allergen.

If you are able to identify the trigger or possibility for your skin allergy do tell your doctor about it. Clearly avoid that trigger ingredient. 

You may need to be prepared to be referred to a dermatologist or to have skin tests to determine your condition or allergies.

Use whatever washes and creams your doctor prescribes for you exactly as prescribed. If you get any reaction from the use of the prescribed creams do tell your doctor straight away, there will be alternatives they can give you.

 If you would like to use other creams do check with your doctor first and use in a very small area to test out first for several days before using more widely.

Watch your skin carefully for any improvement and any worsening of the condition and try to pinpoint if you can what helped or hindered that change.

Keep to a basic skincare routine. Now is not the time to be trying out new skincare unless it is medically advised.

If prescribed ask how to use your steroid creams properly

If you are prescribed steroid creams or ointments to use, do make sure you know how to use them properly and how much to use for the area you are treating and how many times a day. It is very important to use steroid creams correctly. Discuss any concerns you have with your doctor. 

Tell Your Doctor If Prescribed Or Non Prescribed Creams Make Your Skin React. 

Your doctor may prescribe emollients to use. Do use this as directed. It should help your skin a lot.  However, if you don't get on with it or if your skin gets irritated at all do tell your doctor immediately. 

Smooth emollients in the direction of skin hair growth only- do not rub or smooth against the direction of hair growth. 


Drink lots of clean water and eat as healthy as possible.

Discuss Your Health Needs With Your Doctor. 

Discuss with your doctor - Consider cutting down on or stop drinking alcohol for now.

Discuss with your doctor - If you smoke consider trying to stop or cut down.

Discuss with your doctor whether you need to avoid sunlight or not. 

Discuss with your doctor-if any workplace duties that may affect your skin or if you need to be off work. 

Keep Skin Clean And Hygienic 

If you find that heat makes your skin feel or look worse do try to keep the skin as cool as possible.

Wear soft gentle fabrics next to your skin

Wear clean fresh clothes every day. You may also find it nice to change your bedding each day or every other day-particularly if your skin is shedding, infected or blistering. 

Unless medically advised not to,  have a lukewarm bath every day - your doctor may well advise bathing in a specific wash. Ask.  

Take Care When Applying Skin Care Ointments And Moisturisers

If using a very greasy emollient like Diprobase you may find it useful to drape an extra sheet over the bed and tucked in at the top so that your skin is touching the extra sheet rather than the whole bedding. That way you wont need to change the entire bed every day! 

Likewise it may be helpful to use a clean sheet or towel across the sofa to prevent the greasy emollients seeping into the upholstery. 

Tell Key People About Your Skin Allergies

Tell your hairdresser/beautician, dentist, etc that you are dealing with sensitive or allergic skin. Give them the list of allergens so that they can put it on your records and avoid using the allergens with you. 

With your hairdresser you may need to take your own hair shampoo/conditioner with you to ensure that you are using products safe for you.

How To Wash Clothes For Sensitive Or Allergic Skin

Avoid The Allergen...

Clearly  once you know what you are allergic to the trick is to avoid it! However, it is not always that easy. 

When it came to washing clothes I trawled through so many brands of washing powders and liquids yet I could not find one that I can use. I wasted so much money on washing liquids and powders that caused my skin to feel at best itchy and irritated or even started my skin rashing again. We obviously need to wash our clothes so what could we do? 

One alternative was to go back to our grandmother's day and wash in pure soap flakes. So I bought some and they work really well! However, you cannot use these in the washing machine or you have foam everywhere! So I use these for all our delicates and small things but I simply am not prepared to hand wash everything! 

So I started to search for what I can use in the washing machine and we found washer balls... 

There are quite a few varieties but they have similar things in common being- you can use them in the washing machine, they last  a long time so are economical, there is nothing in them I am allergic to and they are better for the environment. 
They were certainly worth a try! 

What Are Wash Balls Like?

In my experience, they work very well on normal loads of washing. Clothes and sheets are clean and fresh.

 Clearly as I avoid all fragrance products I choose the ones with no scent so our clothes no longer come out of the washing machine smelling of the washing powder scent, essentially they just smell-well -clean.

However I have noticed that they are not quite as good as getting rid of major dirt. I now find that if there is gardening dirt or oil etc on clothes it is best to soak them first in soap flakes prior to washing.

However, that is the only downside! 

We no longer have to lug home heavy liquid or powder washing products, it is certainly more economical, saves a LOT of space, are so much better for our environment than pouring detergent down the drain and when we need another its just a case of a few clicks of the mouse!   

Even if I didn't have a skin allergy condition I would now use these type of eco wash balls.  

Surcare Washing Liquid Or Powder

When I use washing Liquid or powder the best one I have found so far that does not irritate my skin is SURCARE. It is something I use when the clothes need a bit more washing, are a little dirtier or for ones I have used gardening or doing dirty jobs.

The conditioner is also very good and in my experience keeps the clothes nice. I do find with Surcare it is better not to use too much in the wash.

The Benefits Of Steam Cleaning Your Home

Steam Cleaning Your Home

If you are in a position where many of the usual cleaning products are not good for you either due to skin allergies or other reasons such as breathing problems etc, or if you are simply looking for a cleaner, greener, more environmentally friendly way of cleaning your home - then do consider Steam Cleaning.

At the outset purchasing a steam cleaner is more expensive than buying a bottle of bleach for example. However, if you count up how many bottles of various cleaning products- for your kitchen, your bathroom etc actually cost over the course of say a year you have probably more than paid for the cost of an average Steam cleaner. 

Steam cleaning is also in my opinion very effective, killing germs, getting rid of the visible and invisible dirt and grime and leaving surfaces beautifully clean. All without that horrible chemical smell or any harm to your children, your pets, yourself, or the environment. You are just using the power of steam. 

There are steam cleaners to do work of cleaning the bath, kitchen worktops, toilets, sinks, pets bowls and bedding areas, tiling and flooring.
 
You can also use some steam cleaners for steaming clothes to freshen them up, freshen rugs and curtains.  

Some steam cleaners are very light and small enough to be hand held and very useful for those everyday jobs in the kitchen and bathroom and for steaming jackets and other clothes. 

Others are bigger and can do more heavyweight jobs around the home-cleaning carpets for example. It all depends on what you want your steam cleaner to do for you. 

Instead of just masking bad smells steam cleaning can help to eliminate them. 

Don't just spray on a false scent on top of your home , you can steam clean and make your home properly clean and fresh.

Have a look at the selection of Steam Cleaners below - these are just some of the ones available. We have used a steam cleaner for quite a while now and are very happy with the results.

BISSELL SteamShot Deluxe Hard Surface Steam Cleaner

Wagner Spraytech 0282014 915e On-Demand Steam Cleaner

Phueut Pressurized Handheld Multi-Surface Natural Steam Cleaner