Allergies Part 2 - Rosin

In my previous post I spoke about my Cobalt allergy,
I am also allergic to Rosin (AKA colophony.)
Rosin is the sap from pine and spruce trees,
it is used to produce turpentine oil and colophony.
There are 3 types of colophony, gum wood and tall oil.
The only treatment for this allergy is avoidance
& as Colophony is found in so many everyday
products, it can prove difficult to avoid.
The photo to the right shows a reaction I
had to the glue on the seam of a pair of ankle boots,
I have had it for quite a few months now.
I have to be careful when I buy shoes that have
seams as they usually use glue as well as stitching
I also ended up with a red itchy band around my
ankles from the rubbery elastic in a pair of socks once
Other names for colophony are:
Abietic acid/alcohol, Abitol colophony,
Abietyl alcohol, Dertomal 18, Dercolyte ZS,
Methyl abietate alcohol, Dertophene 18,
Foral 105, Gum rosin, Granolite SG,
Hercolyn D,  rosin, rosin tall oil, staybelite10,
 terebinthinate, W-W wood
Colophony are found in the following items:
• Adhesives, such as sticking plasters, stamps, tapes & glues
* Ashphalt products
* Brewery pitch
*Caulking compound
• Cements for linoleum, rubber, shoes, lens coating
• Chewing gum
• Cleaners for machines, leather and removing grease from clothes, pine oil cleaners
* Clothing (prewashes, tackifier
• Cosmetics eg eyeshadow, lipsticks, mascara, rouge, hair pomade and transparent soaps, sunscreens
• Dental floss, Dental cements and impression pastes
• Depilating (hair-pull wax) agent
• Diapers, incontinence pads & feminine hygiene products
• Disinfectants and insecticides
• Fireworks
• Floor coverings (adhesive) e.g. linoleum
• Glues eg postage stamps
• Grease (axle) and lubricants
*Inks (ceramic, marking pens, printing)
*Insulation tape (electrical and thermal insulating tape)
*Jointing tape• Match Tip
• Medicaments – as a preservative, adds adhesive properties to ointments and creams e.g. wart removers, nappy creams, cold sore cream, (disinfectants,insecticides, preservatives
 *Modelling clay
 * Nail polish
• Newspaper
* Oils (core oil, cutting oil, tall oil)
• Ostomy appliance
• Paints
• Paper Products (largest single use) – adds water resistance, glossy paper, photographic paper, can labels, toilet paper
• Pens – felt tip & artist pens
• Polish for floors, furniture, shoes and cars, coffee beans
• Polythene (polyethylene)
• Printing – inks, paper & photograph
• Resins eg epoxy resin, those used for musical instruments
• Rubber – synthetic, neoprene
• Sawdust and resins of pine and spruce and wood fillers
• Sealants
• Shoes (adhesives) and clothing
* soaps
• Soldering fluxes and soldering agents
• Solvents
• Stains
• Surface coatings eg price labels, rust-proofing, 
• Tacky substances – to prevent slipping eg athletic grips, sports handles (golf, tennis)
• Varnishes
• Waterproofing agents eg. Cardboard
• Waxes

I've found that I am allergic to makeup and shampoo/ conditioner, I avoid anything that has a sparkly/opalescent look, I also stopped dyeing my hair. 
Feminine hygiene  products proved difficult, especially when i was menstruating every fortnight which was for about 5 years, 
luckily I don't have to worry about that anymore. 
Stress also makes the problem worse, so de-stressing techniques can be beneficial. 
My advice would be to have an allergen test if you suspect an allergy that way you can avoid the allergen and can possibly prevent hypersensitivity.

Allergies Part 1 Nickel & Cobalt

This is not a pity party and I'm not after sympathy, but I ran into a lovely girl at the  cosmetic counter, I overheard her talking about her eczema. I advised her to get an allergy test, I hope this post  might help others going through these allergies. 2015- Addit- I have since found this interesting information about eczema I have researched the subject as the information I was given was limited.  I have had to change careers, as I could no longer work as a Nurses Aid The picture shows the day that I gave up my  nursing career, every pore on my face turned  into a blister and subsequently popped.  My hands were swollen and my fingers bleeding, my lips & face were swollen  & covered in a yellow crust and it was extremely painful. A swab of my face showed i had staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus.  While I worked in the Nursing Home we had many lectures about infection control & they would tell us the best form of prevention is intact skin, which I didnt have on my hands & that allowed it to be open to infection. I had to wear washing up gloves to shower myself for at least 6 weeks & could only use plastic cutlery as I am allergic to stainless steel as well.  I am allergic to nickel (slightly) Cobalt (severely) & to Rosin moderately/high some times it feels like i have itchy blisters that feel like I have battery acid on my hands. ........I will break it down into sections, Nickel and Cobalt are very similar I have actually had an allergic reaction to non allergenic earrings because they are made from Stainless steel. I contacted a company and they said they are allowed to have less than .1% or something like that I cant remember the actual figure ....... you can read about it here Cobalt is the blue pigment  in porcelain, glass, pottery, ceramics, enamels, blue and green crayons and water colour paints. It is in metal plated objects like buckles, buttons zippers snaps eyelets, jewellery, utensils, tools, metal  medical prostheses  dental plates,  hair dye, detergents, cosmetics (especially shimmery products) deodorant, cement and vitamin B12 shots that are given for anaemia. This means I have to take into considering when purchasing items studs on jeans,  zippers, buckles on a handbag, watches, glass frames, scissors, saucepans, clasp of necklace, metal badges, pens, bra underwire, decorations, clasp and adjusters, zippers and decorations on shoes, handles on doors, car keys and coins are all off limits. Yes I am allergic to money! I also have a reaction to my mobile phone,so I tend to text people. It sounds hard and it was at first but then it becomes a habit and a normal part of your life. Basically I try to avoid everything silver and shiny, including handrails, which is a factor when catching a bus or train to work, especially when you have to stand or go up/ down stairs. It is also a factor when considering a career or workplace and how it will affect you,  Men have a greater frequency of sensitization to nickel/cobalt at work than women and wet work increases the likelihood of a sensitization and assists with the transfer into your body. You can become allergic after exposure to a large amount or if a material comes into contact with broken skin such as a cut or sunburn. It can also be genetic and often  cobalt, nickel and chromium allergies go hand in hand. There is no way to desensitize a person with nickel cobalt allergy with shots, pills or any other method avoiding cobalt/nickel is the key treatment. I find the less i expose myself to it the better I can tolerate small amounts of exposure without reacting. Luckily I dont appear to be affected by food containing these metals Here is some information I found recently on the internet, which i felt was interesting, as I think you can become hypersensitive and become allergic to foods, I'd hate to think I couldnt have salmon steaks again.    Some people are sensitive to metal salts found in certain foods. If so, flare-ups of pompholyx may occur after eating foods containing nickel, cobalt or chromium salts. You can try avoiding the foods in question to see if it helps, although this strategy rarely works. To avoid nickel salts, eliminate canned foods, foods cooked in nickel-plated utensils (including stainless steel, which contains nickel), herring, oysters, asparagus, beans, mushrooms, onions, corn, spinach, tomatoes, peas, whole grain flour, pears, rhubarb, tea, cocoa, chocolate, and baking powder. To avoid cobalt, cut out apricots, beans, beer, beets, cabbage, cloves, cocoa, chocolate, coffee, liver, nuts, scallops, tea, and whole grain flour. Conventional medicine treats pompholyx with steroid creams or ointments and with antihistamines to relieve the itching and stress reduction techniques can help, biofeedback is often recommended as part of conventional treatment. Try visualization or hypnotherapy to take advantage of the mind/body connection in skin disorders. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) can be recommended for eczema. GLA, an unusual fatty acid found in evening primrose oil, black currant oil and borage, has specific nourishing effects on skin, hair and nails. Take 500 mg of GLA twice a day. Try eliminating milk and milk products and using aloe Vera gel, calendula lotion or cream, and try chaparral lotion, salves or a homemade poultice made from steeping leaves of chaparral (Larrea divaricata) in water and placing a cloth soaked in the liquid on irritated skin for 15-20 minutes four times daily.