Allergic dermatitis

[auburn1]

After 18 months of chronic itching & rash all over my body (especially hands and scalp) and rubbing on all sorts of steroid creams and emolients prescribed by my GP, I have been totally cured. Yes, seems like a miracle I know...my hands were dry, cracking and full of tiny blisters and I was constantly told by doctors it was 'Pompholyx Eczema'. I finally managed to get myself referred to a dermatologist and get a patch test done. 82 different chemicals stuck on my back while I went about my work and rest for 48 hours but boy was it worth it!! Only one patch, a mixture of two preservatives, methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone caused an angry reaction, all the rest...fine. I went home armed with an A4 sheet explaining all about the allergen which is used in many cleansing products in order to kill bacteria & fungi (basically, to improve shelf life!!) The dermatologist said to check shampoos, washing up liquids, dishwasher products,etc I was using as this chemical would have to be clearly written on the list of ingredients by law, because it is a known allergen. Well, to my astonishment, I found that it was indeed clearly marked on the list of ingredients of both of my regular shampoos (Tresemme & Head & Shoulders), Fairy washing-up liquid, Comfort water softener, anti frizz hair serum & dishwasher rinse aid I'd been using. You can easily get other products without this preservative if you're prepared to scrutinize ingredients (I now carry a magnifying glass when shopping) Would you believe, this quite toxic chemical is also in baby wipes and bubble baths. It is banned in Canada & restricted in Japan (lower concentrations) Hope this helps some of you....I was at my wits end so feel it's my duty to spread the word

[MarcieMom]

Hi Auburn1,

Good that you found the ingredient from patch test. A lot of products we use may contain ingredients we are allergic to, so it's no surprise. In fact, it isn't that easy to read product labels, identify all the allergens, and find one that doesn't have any possible allergen! So, it's really good that you've identified yours. Will be great if you comment in this post, about patch-testing, thanks!
http://eczemablues.com/2012/02/sensitiv ... atch-test/