What Am I Allergic To

Contacting Companies About Skin Care Ingredients If you have sensitive or allergic skin or any other skin condition it may well be necessary for you to know a full product ingredient list or at the least to know that the ingredients you are allergic to are NOT in the product. In my experience you need to check both the range in general and specific products you want to use within the range as some may be OK and others not - within the same range. Please never assume it will be alright for you.  Many of these ingredients are perfectly OK for most of the population and are good at their job but if you are allergic you need to know which products carry them and avoid those products!!  I found it easiest to email each company I was interested in and I got a good helpful response from most with a few sadly not responding to me. Some were quite suspicious, maybe thinking I was just trying to find out their "secret" ingredients ? Most were fine...

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 wors...

How To Read Product Labels To Keep You And Your Skin Safe If you have skin allergies of any kind you will rapidly become an avid label reader! However reading labels carefully does not mean this will fully protect you. For example, if you have a perfume allergy you will need to be extra careful.  Words you will need to watch for are:- fragrance EDT parfam perfume toilet water. So that seems obvious, doesn't it? However relying on the words fragrance-free, non-perfumed, and the like does not always mean there is no added fragrance to the product. It may be - but you cannot assume.  Sometimes fragrances are added to products not to make them smell nice but to mask the unpleasant smell of the other ingredients, the amounts may be small but if you are allergic it can cause you a problem.  Other times a fragrance may be added for its use as a preservative, not as a perfume, yet it is still an issue to those who are allergic.  I...

Perfume And Fragrance Allergies  I have an allergy to fragrance and perfume. It came up on my skin patch allergy tests as quite a "good" reaction (which in my case was a big red welt that took 2 months to go down).  I was somewhat surprised as though I have never worn a lot of perfumes. I have worn one or two when going out for dinner, a special occasion etc and loved various body lotions that were perfumed.  I adored my scented candle collection and loved filling the home with natural fragrances... I always knew my skin was a little sensitive as I could only wear a couple of perfumes and they were of the "purer" variety. Experimenting with lower end teen type perfumes would generally bring me out on a little irritating rash when I was a teenager so I quickly learned to avoid those. However, with others I was OK. For years I have used washing powders and liquids for clothes that invariably tell you that they have a fres...

Skin Patch Allergy Testing  I had skin patch testing done for my unexplained skin condition. It does not hurt but is a little inconvenient and the reactions I found to be a bit itchy. However, it was certainly worth it to find out why my skin was reacting so badly. I wish I had it done much earlier. Skin Patch Allergy Testing Procedure The procedure I went through took one week. I had to first go to the clinic on a Monday morning to have the patches with known allergens onto my back. It felt like a series of very large sticking plasters. After that I was not permitted to get the area wet or damp so I can only have very shallow baths and not very warm either so as to avoid steam getting the patches damp.  Due to all the markings the nurses make it is wise to wear a T-shirt or shirt you don't care about as the marks may stain clothing. I wore a couple of old T-shirts day and night. It is actually easier to wear clothing that unbuttons d...

Ten People To Tell About Your Allergies.  So you have a diagnosis of various things you are allergic to and is it important that you tell anyone else? It is, of course, your decision... In my case, I felt that it was important to let key people know so that I did not put myself in danger of going through all the blistering and rashes all over again. Also because one of them is Penicillin it is vital that no one gives me that.   I am allergic to 5 main things:- Fragrances Balsam of peru Two preservatives commonly used in skincare and medical preparations. Penicillin. Due to this, it is important that key people in my life are aware of them and the reactions I can have. 1.  The Person You live with . In my case, my husband has had to change a lot of his products as well and we have had to change how we clean our home and wash our clothes so clearly he needs to be involved and aware. He has been very supportive!  2.  Friends and wid...

My next mission was to find products I CAN use. I trawled the shops in our high street and well it difficult. I checked skincare, haircare and basic household products ad could not find anything that was suitable for me with the allergies Next, I tried the internet. I basically went about it this way. First, I tried the brands I knew, brands my friends used and then did a search for skin-friendly products under various search terms.  This took a long time.... even when I found the brands often, surprisingly often there were NO ingredient listings! On some, there seemed to be partial listings and a very few actually did list the full ingredients. So with many could not tell if it would be Ok for me or not.  I decided that the only way I could be sure would be to contact each manufacturer and ask them if the product would be any good for me. So I composed a letter and emailed it out to probably over 30 companies.  I have to say most were very helpful, some assigned a...

I really didn't expect much at this point. I mean how could I be allergic to anything. I had never in my life before been allergic to anything! I met with the dermatologist. I have to say the staff at the hospital who did the skin patch allergy testing were absolutely wonderful! They were calm, chatty , friendly and helpful. The nurses were just great and the doctor was very understanding. I knew from the Wednesday check up when they removed the patches that had been put on, on the Monday that there had been 3 reactions...  They intensified over the next day or two and by Friday I had 3 nice red welts or as they put it 3 "good" reactions! You can see them in the photo. So it was easy to tell what I was in fact allergic to. The dermatologist explained everything and gave me 3 sheets with the allergens on them and essentially told me to completely avoid ALL the allergens for the rest of my life. She said it would mean quite a lifestyle change.... I was initial...

Early January and back to the dermatologist. I saw a different one and he said that he was so surprised my skin was still red, sore  and inflamed and that it was time we got a deeper look and he ordered Skin Patch Allergy testing.  He suspected an allergy to something and it was clear by now that it was not to the sun!  So next step skin allergy patch testing! Have to say I wasn't thrilled by this but after talking to my own GP I realised that at this stage and with my skin still pretty sore it would at least determine if I was allergic to any chemicals etc so it would be better to have it. 

OK so I was waiting to see the dermatologist. In the waiting room were so many people with skin conditions, even little children. I had no idea before that so many people had so many skin issues.  I was doing my best to hide my own skin as I thought it looked horrible, yet it was so sore and itchy and inflamed I didn't really want any clothing on it. You can see my skin in the photograph above.  Being dressed for me was simply agony.... When I saw the dermatologist she took a history then asked me to undress to my underwear so she could examine all my skin. This took a little time  and afterwards she came back with a diagnosis. She said I had severe sunburn! I was quite shocked by this as although we had been on holiday I had covered up, worn a factor 50 suncream, not sunbathed, and worn a hat so I really thought I had been very careful.... Anyway so in a bit of a daze i was directed how to use a steroid cream - a potent one to relieve the irritation and the inflammat...

The rashes spread up onto my neck and chest and maybe because the skin is so delicate in that area it became very painful, so painful that I had to get more painkillers from the Dr.  This pain was scary  Then one day it all really flared up and my husband rang the Dr who prescribed a spray to help me with the itching and pain. The spray worked quite well.  I went to see the Dr again and we both agreed I needed to have a referral to a dermatologist.  The rash had started mid June and it was now nearly September. I was unable to work, unable to do much really as my arms, neck and chest were either irritated, sore, itchy, or downright painful.  Sleep was only possible with the antihistamines and  I was ready, so ready for this to end....my doctors had done everything to help me but the rash was not going away....