What Am I Allergic To

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...

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...

Ok so I left the dermatologist with my three sheets of information about the allergens I was allergic to and I knew what to avoid.  The sheets were very detailed and useful and also gave the other chemical names of the allergens so i knew what I had to check on every product. It was very clear and excellent information.  What Can I Use For Skincare?  When we got home we checked all my skincare, haircare and body care- not one product was any good for me- believe it or not, every one of them contained an allergen!!! So they all went into a bin liner to be given away. Next, we checked the household products- things like washing up liquid, furniture polish, bath cleaner, kitchen cleaner- again Not one I can use- allergic to them all!! Then the washing liquids and conditioner we used for clothes- Nope I cannot use that either !! We ended up over the course of two days with a massive sack of pretty much useless products. We decided to give them all away..... No wo...

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.