Have you ever had an allergy to any laundry detergent?

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mark_wpduet

mark_wpduet

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Dec 29, 2008
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Story: So for YEARS I've been using powder in the big bucket called Windfresh (Sam's Club) But recently I ran out and just started using liquid because I didn't want to deal with the big bucket... Maybe about a month at this point. A week ago.. I pulled a muscle in my back. I had this new heating pad unopened in the closet. Sunbeam (probably made in China).. So picture me on my bed watching tv sitting up against a pillow with the heating pad on low heat that I'm leaning up against...It's like a soft plush heating pad..It felt sooo good and warm... but I started itching.. and I'm thinking... Holy crap I'm allergic to this laundry detergent. My back broke out in a rash...but ONLY my back..and that's NEVER happened to me before. and I've used heating pads plenty of time in my life...

Then I started thinking.. Wait... wouldn't I be breaking out in other parts of my body that clothes touch... not just my back... if it was indeed the laundry detergent? I stopped using the heating pad and it took a good solid week for me to get over this rash.. I was putting organic cator oil all over my back.

So I'm wondering a few things... because I really don't know. If someone is allergtic to laundry detergent... would they break out only in certain places or just everywhere their clothes touch the skin? If someone is allergic to laundry detergent, would it matter if the clothes are properly rinsed? Would they still break out?

Honestly, I think it was NOT the detergent but the material on the heating pad... whatever is in that plush material. This is the type of heating pad that you unplug the cord and the entire thing goes on the washer.. I washed it...but I don't know if washing it would keep me from being allergic to that material...or if it was something on the material that needed to be washed off...

crazy
 
I need to use the extra rinse option on modern machines or the detergent not rinsed out thoroughly would make me itch, and I'd get rashes where I get moist from sweat, my back, groin etc. My mum was one of those that had a bad reaction to Persil's (UK) new system (I think it was called), one of the enzymes they used was initially blamed, but I think it was subsequently claimed to be one of the other ingredients.

Could yours be Hot water bottle rash, Erythema Ab Igne :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythema_ab_igne
 
Sounds like heat rash. You were laying back on the heat pad which iirc the instrx warn you not to do. Same with an electric blanket. Heated mattress pads are a different story probably because they have less wires and don't get as hot.
 
I have a weird nerve in my shoulders that's not quite in the right place, resulting in agonizing pain when ever a certain muscle gets just the slightest bit tensed up.
That's why I always sleep with a T-shirt on even if I wear nothing else, even in summer.

Only thing that does help is heat, and quite intense heat so.
I have a hot water bottle with a synthetic cover that I fill with water from my temp controlled kettle set to 80C / 176F.
(BTW don't do this unless you know your skin handles that, this is way into burn territory...)

And without fail it always itches.
With the amount I sweat usually, if it was any kind of detergent or fabric thing, I would be getting hives ALL the time.
But I don't.

You've pretty much narrowed it down yourself.
You don't get any symptoms in daily routine, even if a lot of your stuff with direct skin contact is washed with that specific detergent.
You only get symptoms when you use that specific item that specific way. So it's either that specific item or what the specific item does.
And since being directly allergic to a fabric is significantly less likey, it probably just the heat.
 
Maybe that was it... from the heat... but I wasn't lying up against it with my bare skin....something was between me and it...but I've done this same exact thing before many times...until this new pad... which like I said was on low... and didn't feel overly hot...just barely warm on low... weird...
 
It's the type of heating pad that's plush built into it... in order to wash it, you wash the entire thing (which I did) but I haven't used it since I washed it.. I haven't used any heating pad now since I'm freaked out now about it burning me and may not even be realizing it. I'm just so confused how this didn't happen before... I've literally laid up against a heating pad and it felt HOT in the past...way more than this one... and I had no issues... I guess that's why I either thought it was a detergent rash or the material of the heating pad itself... not the heat... but I'm second guessing maybe it was a heat rash... I honestly don't know.
 
A few weeks ago, my lower right leg and ankle began itching horribly. I knew I shouldn't scratch it, but holy crap it itched so bad so I just couldn't help it. Over the next couple days, the situation worsened into a bunch of small red bumps around my ankle, and they spread about a quarter of the way up my calf. I thought at first it was my laundry detergent, because I had just bought a new jug of Tide Clean Breeze liquid, but I've used that before with no issues. I put ointment on it religiously over the subsequent week and really tried super hard not to scratch, and the problem eventually went away.

I suspect it was some kind of rash, but no idea where it came from as it hasn't reappeared at all. Perhaps my right sock had a large concentration of detergent that didn't get rinsed out properly. Maybe it was my body soap, and it only affected that one area and only for a short time at that. Who the heck nows?

Our bodies do weird things sometimes.

I hope you are feeling better and the problem doesn't come back. Itching is no fun, that's for sure!

Ryne
 
Only had one friend who needed to use a special laundry detergent that he wasn't allergic to, and may have had to buy it at Costco, maybe trying a lot of other different kinds before a membership there'd led him to...

We have had the Tide-free, All-free, etc. just for wanting a detergent devoid of scenting, maybe for our daughter's guineapigs, but that's about it...

What's surprisingly making me breaking out in hives or an itchy rash on my arms, wrists and fingers (my middle one got it yesterday) is actually PUMPKINS...!!!!

(Yes, I don't think I'm gonna be wasting this Halloween sitting and waiting in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to come)

-- Dave[this post was last edited: 9/27/2024-02:31]
 
I'm becoming more convinced that it's not the detergent.... It's either two things... the material from the heating pad or a heat rash... but it's mostly gone... it still itches a little some days... but NOTHING like it did there for a few days... It was maddening

I'm really bummed out because I love using a heating pad... especially if I'm cold in the winter... I've seen cats sleep on them
 
Sunbeam Heating Pad, Skin Rashes

I have the same heating pad. It's the second one actually, the first one stopped working after a few years. Ended up buying the same one as a replacement. Never washed it, just use a lint roller to remove the cat hair that's everywhere. As for detergent allergies, it may be the sodium laureth sulfate present in many products. Bobby Parrish mentions this in his video, fast forward to 1:44.


whitewhiskers-2024092712250405742_1.jpg
 
Yes, Gain and regular Tide broke me out in hives and also caused some swelling. Had bought some Gain on sale and had washed my sheets and night wear. Woke up the next morning horrified, and it itched awful. I knew what it was and went bought some All Free & Clear and took a long hot shower to get it all off me. Took 3-4 days to clear up. My cousin had similar reaction to Tide, so it must be a family thing. I rewashed everything and no more problems.
Your reaction sounds like a reaction to the chemicals on the heating pad. That would be my guess.

Barry
 

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