I’ve been noticing a lot of Christmas tree allergy questions coming up on social media in the last few weeks. For people with chemical allergies, the winter holidays aren’t just a time of celebration – they’re also a time of avoiding cinnamon-scented products, scented candles, holiday shopping crowds, and even Christmas trees. I found myself […]
This question pops up on Facebook almost as often as “Which products should I use to avoid ‘x’ chemical?” A positive patch test for chemical allergies can provide some complicated results. Not only do you have to get your head around all of the chemical names and where these chemicals are found but you also […]
I’ve encountered a certain subset of people over the years – people who have allergies or who might have allergies and don’t care. I’ve seen family members, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who seem almost apathetic of their allergies or possible allergies. As someone who suffers from rather severe but atypical allergies, it’s a bit disconcerting. […]
This is a follow-up to my initial post discussing the possible causes of chemical contamination, particularly with propylene glycol, in commercial eggs, especially North American eggs. I mentioned in my first post about eggs that I wanted to try some unwashed eggs from free-range, organic birds to test to see whether the level of chemical contamination […]
There are anecdotal reports of nickel in sweat causing contact dermatitis, but I wanted to look into the science of this phenomenon to see if it had any scientific backing. Google is my friend. Here’s what I found: The first study I came across examined the incidence of nickel in bodily fluids after people were fed […]
We know that people with food allergies can become sensitized to their food allergen to such a degree that they can no longer even be around the smell of the food, or touch it, as for example with peanuts. What about the reverse? What if you have a contact allergy, preventing you from being around […]
As you may remember, I was feeling rather ill early in the week. I’ve had a nasty cold since last Friday, in which my throat was on fire and coughing was a killer. One day I drank apple cider vinegar and raw honey all day [Homemade Cough Syrup and Other Remedies], the next I decided […]
It’s an interesting conundrum: When you’ve started to remove allergens and experience relief from symptoms, how do you know when your body is functioning normally again? How do you know when your body is experiencing no more allergy symptoms? If you’re anything like me or the people whose stories I’ve read, you suffered from allergy […]
Just over a year ago, an allergist gave me a patch test that changed my life. Those chemical-filled patches taped all over my back helped him to identify five contact allergens that answered a lot of questions about why I had been feeling so awful, inside and out. A year later I am still learning […]
Five years ago, gluten-free foods were just beginning to make an appearance in mainstream grocery stores. Gluten-free was becoming more known, and people with no specific gluten issue or celiac disease were experimenting with gluten-free as a diet choice rather than a medical one. Around that same time, lactose-free dairy was just beginning to enter […]
I’ve been having odd allergy symptoms for a while now. It seems that soon after eating a certain grocery store crust (for making your own pizzas), eating certain gluten-free bakery cookies, and eating certain gluten-free hamburger buns from the same bakery I have horrible redness and itchiness around my mouth (outside my mouth, on the […]
Before I found out I had an allergy to isothiazolinones, I had a strange allergic episode. I was at work, and for multiple weeks straight, my eyes itched to badly that I was pulling out my eyelashes and my nose stuffed up enough to make me feel like I had the flu. The floor below […]
On Monday, I wrote about allergies to propylene glycol and their connection to polyester. Since last week’s all night blanket-making fiasco, I’ve had some results, and learned a few more things. First, along with changing to the new blanket and getting well enough to sleep in my own bed again, I’ve been trying to wear […]
Since finding out about my allergies, there are a lot of things I’ve avoided doing because I know it would cause a flare-up. For people around me, they would never consider these things a problem, but I’m always thinking about how to avoid rashes. Go figure. My husband and I recently celebrated an anniversary. When […]
Large masses of people. *shiver* They used to not bother me at all. Now I fear being a part of a crowd, especially indoors. The combination of cleaning chemicals used in commercial establishments, fragranced body care products, and laundry detergents and shampoos wafting through the air makes me fear for the next several days. Itchy, […]
I’d like to talk today about environmental allergies such as allergies to fragrances. Those annoying signs are everywhere now: Scent Free Workplace/Office/Hospital/etc. I used to wear low-fragrance products, and think I was doing the right thing. After all, if they can’t smell it, it can’t hurt, right? All that changed the moment my body started […]
Commercial hand-washing dish detergent such as one might buy in a grocery store is a very useful product. It removes vast quantities of grease, it rinses clean, and it’s super-concentrated. When you have chemical allergies, and start to realize what’s in the things you use, your perspective changes. Most commercial dish detergents contain isothiazolinones. The […]
I have had he occasion to stay at friends’ homes a few times since finding out about my allergies. It always makes me at least a little bit nervous, but I’ve come to develop a bit of a routine and packing list, which helps a lot. Plus choosing to stay with friends who are aware […]
← Allergies to Toilet and Tissue Paper, Part 1 After all of the issues with toilet paper, I started researching alternatives, and I decided to give “family cloth” a try. Family cloth is a term used to describe using reusable fabric pieces to wipe yourself rather than paper, although we have changed the term in our […]
Did you know that rolls of what we now call toilet paper were originally sold as facial tissue (for blowing your nose, etc.)? I never would have thought about my toilet paper being a problem if I hadn’t seen it on the methylisothiazolinone Facebook group. I have been having an issue with toilet products […]
“Cellulose” refers to a polysaccharide coming from plant cell walls and vegetable fibre, whether it be from cotton, wood, hemp, bamboo, or something else. Cellulose is the most abundant natural polymer, and is often reacted with other chemicals to form slightly different cellulose-based compounds conforming to specific needs. Pure, natural cellulose is not considered an […]
When you find out you have allergies, making a few life changes is not so much an option as a necessity. When you have reactions so bad that they affect how you think and act every moment of the day, you’re almost excited to make changes and relieve the discomfort. The problem is, your family […]
I figured out at least four years ago that I was allergic to something in my facial care routine. My skin on the apples of my cheeks would become red, flaky, and raw, and my eyes would itch. I tore out my eyelashes to try to stop the itch. I tried removing parabens because they […]
I’ve been wondering for a little while now whether I might have avoided some of the allergies, sensitivities, and food intolerances I have if I had gotten help to figure out the cause of my problems sooner. Heightened Response The body is an amazingly complex construct. I won’t pretend to have any specific medical knowledge, […]
I have known I was allergic to the adhesive on some band aids for years. Applying the wrong type of band aid would leave me with dihydritic eczema if applied on my hands, and horrible itchiness and red, bumpy rashes if applied anywhere else. The rash took weeks to go away completely, and my topical […]