What Am I Allergic To

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!  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...

Whew! The hot dry weather we have been having has not really agreed with my skin. It has dried out much faster and wen it gets dry it gets sore. As its been sooo hot I have felt like I have needed two cool baths a day- this has helped with the soreness but need to be very careful not to increase the dryness.  So I have been keeping well hydrated by drinking lots of water and applying moisturiser. I have also stayed well out of the sun and the heat whenever possible.  Luckily our patio area is in shade for most of the day after about 11am. I used to think this was a negative but now it is an absolute positive !  So I can still sit outside with friends and enjoy the garden not being in the sun!  Currently wearing at least two light layers of clothing so that any sun cannot hopefully get through. I also have a shawl that has an inbuilt sun protection factor of 50 which is just perfect for wrapping up in and not getting hot while being protected. I wear a big hat...

According to The Daily Mail Doctors are calling for a ban on the use of this preservative methylisothiazolinone . If that is the case it is in my opinion a GOOD move!  This is one of the preservatives that I am allergic to and it is increasingly being used in so many products-skincare, shampoo, wet wipes etc. It does increase shelf life so you can see why it is attractive to manufacturers and also don't we as consumers love a long shelf life on our products...  However, with an increasing number of people suffering skin rashes, scaling skin, and eczema/dermatitis it does not seem to be a good way to go..... I know for me I have to avoid anything that has  Methylisothiazolinone   within it and that really cuts down what is available to me to use.  Watch this short video to see what a diagnosis of allergic to  methylisothiazolinone means for us.    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2357697/Doctors-ban-face-cream-chemical-b...

With a possible diagnosis of Lupus and a possible diagnosis of sun allergy and photosensitivity hanging over me, clearly, the last thing I needed was to be in the sunshine.  So even though it was the middle of summer at this point I avoided the sun. I kept indoors often with the blinds down as any heat or sun would make my skin sore and hurting. It was pretty miserable! If I went out I covered up as much as possible. I hated being warm anyway at this point. I wanted cool breezes, rain and clouds! I missed the summer really altogether!  I did get quite down at this point as I thought IF I was really allergic to the sun how would I live life and what restrictions would it bring.  I am an outdoor type person and love walking and being outside in the countryside, gardening etc and I was not happy thinking that I would not be able to do that. So I needed to find out more about sun allergy and how to handle it.  So I spent time reading and learning and waited for t...

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....

If I could have spent this time totally in a cool bath I would have! I hated these scabs! I knew they were a good sign and I knew they were protecting the delicate skin underneath but they were so hard, so ugly and I wanted to be rid of them! Well, they did start gradually dropping off- usually in the bath but occasionally on the sofa or in the bed!! Yuck! We were changing the bed every day and keeping sheets on the sofa to catch the scabs! Well, it wasn't pretty but it was a necessary part of healing- there were just sooo many of them - all up my arms. I cannot recall how long it took all the scabs to fall off but it took a while. My arms were very stiff and sore and the itching and irritation were terrible so I stayed on the meds. I stopped the steroid tablets though as Doctor only wanted me on a very short course. I struggled to wear any clothes - I could not wear anything on my arms at all and had to cut up clothes so they were without arms. I felt awful and must have loo...

I rang the doctor surgery the next morning, it was a Monday and typically there were no appointments left. The receptionist asked if I needed to see a doctor urgently- hmmm I thought well no I am not bleeding or having breathing issues so No - but I said maybe I need to see someone- so she booked me in with a nurse for half an hour later. Thank goodness our doctor is close by as the walk there was a nightmare, my arms felt heavy and the blisters were now filled with a weird fluid.  I went in to see the nurse who took one look at my arms and said you need to see a Dr today - now! She said she thought it was infected and that I would need antibiotics. she didn't really want me to leave the surgery and sorted it out for me to see the Dr as soon as he had a gap. I went in to see our doctor, I had seen him before and he is a very calm, measured doctor, nice and professional. However, I saw the look on his face when he saw my arms and knew he was shocked at what he saw.  I r...

So how did it all start? Well, we were on holiday in a wonderful sunny climate and I was diligent as usual about wearing sunscreen and keeping covered up and in the shade. I am very pale-skinned and I can't take much sun so I am very careful.   We had a great holiday, sightseeing, resting, relaxing, a quality much needed time. On the day before we were due to fly back I noticed a small bumpy rash on my left forearm... it was a bit sore and a little itchy but nothing to worry about much.  To be cautious I went to the local chemist who thought it was a heat rash and gave me some gel to put on it and said to stay out of the heat. It was our last day anyway so this was not a problem for me.  Nothing changed much, we flew back to the UK , went shopping the next day in our town and drifted off to sleep that night. I woke up on a Saturday morning and there was a BIG CHANGE - looked at my left arm- it was covered in large - I mean - HUGE blisters!!  They sort of grew...

I wanted to start this blog with an expression of thanks to my healthcare team. In all my experiences of my skin condition one of the main things that has kept me going and kept me calm is the caring, professional and calm approach of my family Doctor.  Looking back I feel it is so important to be able to talk with your family doctor, to be honest how you feel, for them to be honest with you, and to feel able to ask questions, discuss concerns, for them to listen to you  and to feel like you really are a partner in your care and treatment.  I was so lucky to have that communication with my Doctor. later I will share some of the most useful questions I asked and the questions I was asked to help to advise me and help me to recover and deal with my skin condition.  For now I just wanted to say thank you to my doctors-they know who they are- for sticking with me through all of this quite horrible condition, for answering my many queries and questions and helping m...