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...

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...

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...

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...

The blood test was soon after my visit to the dermatologist. As you can see in the photograph, the skin on my arms was so bad still inflamed and sore and angry and weeping in places too and cracked it was impossible to take blood from my arm in the usual place. So it had to come out of my hand.  I had not been too bothered by Blood tests in the past but in the hand was sooo painful for me. The nurse was great but there was still just a lot of pain and I was glad when it was over.  Little did I know at that point that I would need several more Blood Tests in my hand but anyway...I was glad it was over for now.  The results came back quickly and Fantastic I DID NOT have Lupus! I was overjoyed at this point , at least one of my worries was over. However it was short-lived as I was not getting any better. I stayed out of the sun, I applied the strong potent steroid creams, I used the emollients, I bathed in the prescription bath lotion.  However, there was mi...

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...