As
FigNewTon stated on her blog about a month ago, she has been diagnosed with a lot of allergies. I had a similar emotional reaction to the news at first. My reaction was more one of relief, though, because we finally had an answer to the blisters on her arms and face that looked more like acid burns. Then, I responded more practically. What exactly is she allergic to? Although it feels a bit like everything, the list is in fact quite short.
She is allergic to nickel and cobalt, both metals commonly found in... well.... everything; more specifically jewelry, snaps, buttons, buckles, zippers, tools, utensils, instruments, machinery parts, vitamin B12, hair dyes, cosmetics, pottery, glass, crayons, joint replacements, dental appliances, shell splinters, cement, paint, resins, printing inks, tattoos, welding rods, electroplating, animal feed, tires, coins, keys, eyeglasses, hairpins, purse latches, eyelash curlers, metal cutting fluids, coolants, orthopedic plates, screws needles, and metal alloys. Like I said... everything. Metal alloys? That is anything that is made of metal really. The cans that food come in, even organic foods, contain metal alloys. Flatware. Some of these things she will never come into contact with. Some things, like dental appliances, we can't avoid. We are working on getting her contacts. It is a fight with the insurance company to prove that it is a medical necessity. Vitamin B12 is very difficult to avoid. Jewelry we had already figured out. It has a simple solution. She doesn't wear any. Snaps, buttons, buckles, zippers are a bit more difficult to avoid but we are learning how to find clothes that don't agitate her skin. It is definately a learning process.
She is also allergic to sorbitan, a preservative. I thought this one would be easy since we don't eat very many foods from a box. However, the only yeast we can buy is individual packets of red star. The jar has sorbitan. The off brands have sorbitan.
And then there is the compositae mix. This includes artichoke, burdock, coneflower, chrysanthemum, camomile, dahlia, daisy, dandelion, elecampane, fleabane, feverfew, gaillardia, goldenrod, marigold, ragweed, sunflower, sneezeweed, sesquiterpene lactones, tickseed, tansy, and yarrow. She was quite happy about the artichoke since she thinks they are gross. Camomile on the other hand is one of her favorite flavors and scents. Dandelion leaves? A delicious addition to salad in the summer. Sunflower? She used to put the seeds on her salads as well. This list becomes even more complicated to avoid. Something on this list is in almost every hygiene and cleaning product on the market. In fact, there are quite a few things that I am having to learn to make at home. Amy, of
Great Cakes Soapworks, has been a great help. She went through her products to let me know which ones don't have sunflower oil in them and recently has made a few more soaps without it. Our dish soap uses her clarifying facial soap as a base. I'll let you know how that works out in another post. It is making right now.
Some things we were able to eliminate from her life immediately. There are some things that we just had to run out of. I feel bad about that since FigNewTon's skin hasn't completely cleared up yet, but I couldn't just throw away a new bottle of detergent and since we go to the laundromat, I can't do her laundry separate either.
