Can I be allergic to my own soap?

[bayougirl]

Hi all,

I started with itchy little bumps about 6 weeks ago, the dermatologist thinks it's a contact rash. I started itching in the shins of my legs, then up by my neckline and then to my arms and the trunk of my body lastly. I haven't changed any detergents, gone anywhere different or anything like that. I did put flea stuff down on the carpets (only in the bedrooms-about 1 hour and vacuumed back up), opened a new box of dryer sheets and was using sea salt in food. Everyone keeps asking me if it could be my soaps! I usually don't get itchy until sometime in the early hours of the a.m., right before waking up. My reasoning that it isn't the soap-I would be itching right after my bath (around 6 p.m.) not 3 or 4 a.m. What do you guys think? I've been using my soaps since around November, could I develope an allergy at this point?

Thanks

BTW-it was settled down for the last couple of days and I woke up this a.m. itching again.

[Lorrie]

You can develop an allergy at any time. Yes, you could be allergic to your soaps. Maybe try ruling it out but using a different soap and see if it gets better.

[Grannyscandles]

This sounds really bad but could you have fleas in your bed? If you sleep with pets it is totally possible.

Lots of rashes are irritated by heat and maybe that is why you start itching in the middle of the night when you are all snuggled in and warm.

I don't it's your soap. It sounds like something else is going on.

[scentlady]

It may be the dryer sheets too if you're using a different brand. Maybe stop using the dryer sheets and the soap until the rash is gone. Then add them back one at a time to see if you develop a rash. If it's the soap you'll have to look at your recipes and see what you might have changed recently. Sometimes with contact dermatitis you never figure out the cause.

I'm not a fan of dryer sheets. Some of those fragrances are really strong. My ex always smelled like a dryer sheet. lol

[bayougirl]

I had my sister's dog here while they were on vacation. When she came to pick her up I asked her if the dog had flea and tick stuff on her and she said no! I was shocked, but that's why I put the flea powder down in the carpet, to make sure we didn't get any. The dog was scratching while she was here, but I don't think we have any. Both my dog get a flea/tick pill once a month to prevent flea and tick from biting them.

I did start a new box (the same brand and scent) of dryer sheets, I stopped about a week ago, just to see if it made a difference. I thought that maybe they might have changed something in the formula or maybe it was just aggrevating the situation.

I was pretty good for about 2 days, didn't have to take benedryl or anything and the bumps weren't bugging me, but early this morning they kicked up again. I'm still trying to eliminate things, but I would think if it was the soaps, that every night I would be itching worse right after the bath from using them. I could break down and use Lever for a night, I guess. Yuck!

Thanks guys.

[LeahRB]

I am just getting over the same type thing. I had a weird rash that started on my legs and spread up all the way to my neck and arms and lasted for weeks. They were like small pea sized bumps that kind of itched, but not real bad. So I've done some research and I think it may be a sun allergy. I've stayed out of it for a while now and it is getting better. They say if you have a sun allergy to wear sun block.

Another thing I read about was pityriasis rosea. You may want to google that, too. Strange red rash that can last up to 8 weeks.

Hope you get better soon.

[Judy, USMC]

I developed a rash similar to yours years ago. The final determination by the doc was my shower water temperature was too hot. It was taking the oil out of my skin - couple that with the summer heat - and the rash developed. The rash only came up the day after I was hot on a really hot day, so it came and went.

My solution was to decrease the water temp and switch to a moisturizing soap. Didn't know any soap makers (like the fine folks on this forum) back then so I used Dove.

Just offered as another possibility ...

[Kitn]

Do you use CO in your soap recipe. I am very sensitive to it and get the itchy rashy bumps from it. I switched to PKO and all is well.

[Lorrie]

I did start a new box (the same brand and scent) of dryer sheets, I stopped about a week ago, just to see if it made a difference. I thought that maybe they might have changed something in the formula or maybe it was just aggrevating the situation.

I was pretty good for about 2 days, didn't have to take benedryl or anything and the bumps weren't bugging me, but early this morning they kicked up again. I'm still trying to eliminate things, but I would think if it was the soaps, that every night I would be itching worse right after the bath from using them. I could break down and use Lever for a night, I guess. Yuck!

Thanks guys.

Did you use the dryer sheets on your bedding? Try washing them and not using the dryer sheets. I know when I had a allergic reaction to laundry soap I didn't find out until it was like a month later. I went threw the whole house and rewashed everything that I could and it cleared up. My rash was worse in the morning because it was summer and it was hot and I didn't have AC and I would sweat at night.

I hope you find out what it causing it because it totally sucks when you have an itchy rash and can't figure out what is causing it.

[bayougirl]

That's one of the first things I did was rewash the bedding. If fact I changed the sheets with ones I hadn't used in a while. No such luck. I'll probably wash them again the end of the week, I've been using vinegar as the softener in the rinse cycle and throwing them in the dryer with just the dryer balls. And on a side note, I had bumps mostly on my arms and legs, and places where my clothes weren't! The last place I got them was on my stomach. I guess it's just going to be process of elemination.

[WillowBoo]

Eliminate possibilites one at a time. Sun allergies, food and medicine allergies USUALLY start on the chest, neck, & trunk, sometimes arms. Detergent allergies for me would start on the waste band of my clothes. I've never reacted to anything with it starting on my legs. Legs could mean contact with a poison plant of some kind, maybe brought in by the pet. And, it keeps spreading.