Allergy is a major cause of illness in the United States. Approximately 50 million Americans including millions of kids have some type of allergy. When your body overreacts to a substance which is actually harmless to most people, you are said to have an allergy to that substance. The substances for which the body overreacts are called allergens. When you have an allergy for laundry detergent, the body’s immune system treats the laundry detergent as an invader and therefore, reacts wrongly when exposed to laundry detergent. This situation is also known as contact dermatitis, which is responsible for skin inflammation whenever the skin is exposed to a substance that irritates it. Contact dermatitis is triggered by innumerable natural and synthetic chemicals, including those found in soaps, household cleaners, laundry detergents, metal jewelry, perfumes, industrial solvents, cosmetics, fabric finishes, shampoos and even antibiotic ointments. Common types of skin exposures that can lead to contact dermatitis include kitchen cleaning, hand washing, general cleaning and bathroom cleaning. Amongst all the commonly noticed allergies, laundry detergent allergy is the most common type of allergy.
What Is an Allergy?
The inappropriate reaction of the immune system of a person, attempting to protect the body from the allergen, compels the body to produce antibodies, called immunoglobulin E (IgE). In order to defend against the allergen, these IgE compel the mast cells and basophils (allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals into the bloodstream, including histamine. These chemicals affect the eyes, nose, throat, skin, lungs or gastrointestinal tract, etc. of the allergic person. Any future exposure to the allergen can trigger the allergic response of the body again. Every time the person eats that food or is exposed to that specific allergen, his body will attempt to get rid of the allergen and he will have an allergic reaction. Allergies can be passed through genes but that does not mean that if you have an allergy, your kids will also have the same allergy. There is just the likelihood of getting the allergy. Sometimes, children are found allergic to a substance, for which no family member is allergic. Since, laundry detergent allergy symptoms can develop in an almost endless variety of ways, let us see what they are.
Laundry Detergent Allergy Symptoms
Laundry detergent ingredients may lead to skin redness and skin rashes on hands. These symptoms may appear several hours after the contact with the detergent.
The symptoms of laundry detergent allergy include dry, chapped skin after an initial exposure to detergents or other cleaning products like fabric softeners, whiteners, bluing agents, stain removal agents, bleaching agents, etc.
Repeated exposure to the allergens may cause itchy, red and scaly patches.
Further exposure of the already irritated skin, to the allergens may make the skin swollen, blistered and scaly. There may be burning or stinging sensation.
In case of laundry detergent allergy, if the skin continues to be exposed to the detergent that is triggering the skin reaction, the situation may become a chronic (long-lasting) condition. The chronic contact dermatitis may lead to the thickened, dry and scaly skin and sometimes, pigment changes and areas of hair loss are also noticed.
If laundry creates such allergic problems, here are some laundry tips for you.
Wash your hands with water immediately after you come in contact with the detergent. You can apply soothing creams also. Read more on natural remedies to cure skin rash.
As there are no tests to detect a laundry detergent allergy, you should first of all discover the reason behind the skin allergy and you should find out the allergen detergent by observing your own habits yourself.
Avoid the use of that particular skin irritant and that only can prove to be the best treatment.
If you are fond of housekeeping, always use gloves to avoid contact with the detergents.
Use of a fully automatic washing machines can reduce the contact with detergents and thus, can reduce the chances of skin reaction.
Homemade laundry soaps can reduce the chances of laundry detergent allergy.
In case of itchy rash, apply calamine lotion and cool compresses. You may also apply over-the-counter cortisone cream.Consult a dermatologist, for the treatment of irritated skin. He can prescribe some tablets to reduce the effect of laundry detergent allergy on skin.
Now that you are equipped with all the information about laundry detergent allergy, you can follow the precautionary steps to prevent the further irritation of the skin.