Sep
2012
I am allergic to what?
I first realised I had an allergy when I was sailing in a week long competition and needed to tape my hands to preserve them. I borrowed some brown sports tape and thought nothing of wrapping the plaster around my hands to protect them from getting rope burn and blisters. After a full day’s sailing, I took the tape off. It stung a bit but ripping tape off skin usually does.
That night, I woke up with itchy, burning hands and by morning, the tops of my hands were covered in tiny, raised blisters. With five more days of sailing to go and knowing all of the pressure that would be on my hands, I attended the medical tent. My blisters were treated like burns. Cream was applied, they were dressed, put into latex gloves and then covered with my sailing gloves so that I could continue competing. By the end of the competition, my hands were a mess.
My next major reaction was after a dance class. There had been a ballet lesson before my class and the dancers had put resin on their pointe shoes to stop them slipping. My arms came in contact with the floor at some point and a familiar reaction appeared on my arms over the next few days.
It was time to do something about it. I saw an allergist who did a patch test. There were no surprises that I had a significant reaction to rosin/colophony.
Now I have a name for what I am allergic to but I am no closer to living an allegy free life. It seems rosin or colophany is in a lot of every day products from soap and shampoo to newspapers. I have boxes of once-used moisturisers, shoes that have been worn no more than a few times (because I’m allergic to the glue that sicks them together), soap bars, shampoos, sunscreens and make up, all that have left me with blisters. I have even sampled moisturisers and had no reaction until I start to use it more regularly. My face often looks like I’ve had a pimple breakout.
What exactly am I allergic to? Everything it seems. The trouble is, there are so many different names that rosin can go under. Here’s a list of what I should be avoiding. *slaps forehead*
(click to enlarge)
Information from dermnetnz.org
I’d love to hear if anyone shares this allergy and how you manage it. I’d also love to hear about any skincare products that you may be able to recommend.
Alicia O'Brien
September 24, 2012 at 4:30 pm (241 days ago)Wow!! I’ve heard of some people getting a rash from bandaids, but that looks nasty. There’s such a wide range of stuff that contains rosin, I’d never heard of it. So how do you go with the pollen from pine trees? You would do no good living here, we have forests of the stuff! Thanks for enlightening me on this allergy
Kaz
September 24, 2012 at 4:53 pm (241 days ago)Thanks Alicia. I can’t recall coming in contact with pine trees. I’d worry about the sap if it contacted my skin. Thanks for hosting
Prue @Modern Nomads With Kids
September 24, 2012 at 4:46 pm (241 days ago)I have only recently found out that my skin has the same irritation when it has sticky plaster on it. I needed stiches in my next and as soon as I got home from the doctors it was red raw. I haven’t noticed anything else but I have been using only sorbolene as moisturiser for a long time, I swear by it!
Prue
Kaz
September 24, 2012 at 4:51 pm (241 days ago)Thanks Prue. I found sorbolene work well too but it feels so oily. Wish I could treat myself to a nice moisturiser one day without worrying about getting a reaction. Thanks for stopping by
carmen
September 25, 2012 at 10:54 pm (240 days ago)I have to say I get this Kaz. Although for me, it’s not rosin. It’s paper wasps, medications, anesthetics… and the latest – food. Seriously I’m down to a limited number of vegetables and a few cereals. *sigh*
Are you able to use Vegesorb at all? It’s the only moisturiser I find effective and non greasy.
Hugs! x
Kaz
September 26, 2012 at 7:16 am (240 days ago)I’ve never heard of Vegesorb. I will have to look it up. Thanks hun. What a pain in the toosh allergies can be. x
Robyn (@slightly_deep)
September 25, 2012 at 11:29 pm (240 days ago)What a pain! My little girl has an egg allergy that can be a bit tricky, but it;s not too severe. The worst one that someone I know suffers from is what my MIL has. She is fructose intolerant. It;s kind of like the opposite of diabetes. So she can’t have anything sweet without being violently sick. No fruit, no sugar- nothing. The sweetest thing she eats is cream! Those types of things can be pretty rough!
Kaz
September 26, 2012 at 7:15 am (240 days ago)Oh that is a worry. I am lucky that even though the allergy testing said I had some mild allergies to some food, I haven’t been sick. Just itchy.
jess@diaryofasahm
September 26, 2012 at 2:46 pm (239 days ago)Oh this does not sound cool! I am sensitive to a lot of adhesive tapes, but not to this extent.
It must make life really hard.
Kaz
September 26, 2012 at 2:49 pm (239 days ago)Just frustrating Jess. Lots of wasted money on products that I can’t use
Thanks for stopping by.
Becc
September 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm (239 days ago)You just wouldn’t believe how much I understand your predicament. I do have allergies but my biggest pain in the butt are my food chemical intolerance’s (particularly if they occur in natural food like fruit and veg which obviously do not feature an ingredients list
)
You may also have just explained why I have a reaction to newspapers, wrapping paper and tape etc. Who knew!
Kaz
September 27, 2012 at 12:32 pm (238 days ago)It is a big pain in the butt. I get hay fever symptoms when I drink some wines (that sucks, lol). Have you been to get tests done Becc?