WoolWeenies Club

[Crankin]

I have been using the same detergent for years... All Free and Clear or Arm and Hammer Free and Clear. I only get this in the winter, so I suspect the wool. Or, I could just be going through one of my weird allergy/asthma stages where everything bothers me.
No, no, no. I will not give up my wool. I'm an x-small.

[Cataboo]

Can you maybe get some silk underlayers or silkweight type underlayers and just put that underneath all of your wool? It's not wool, but still feels nice.

[Crankin]

Well, I *don't* have wool long underwear. It's silk. I have a couple of smart wool base layer tops, which I can wear occasionally. I never wear wool next to my skin, except for the Kates and these smart wool base layers. But I am finding that on days when I wear my Shaks with a lycra or cotton shirt underneath, the itchiness develops over the course of the day. Also, when I wear regular sweaters with wool, with something underneath.
I am definitely going through some allergic thing that is being set off by something, maybe even stress (I am searching for my internship position for my last year of grad school). I am taking a wait and see attitude and trying to just let it pass. It's to the point that it's becoming even more than wool; regular cotton seams are bugging me, too. Guess I am just a princess!

[Catrin]

.....I am definitely going through some allergic thing that is being set off by something, maybe even stress (I am searching for my internship position for my last year of grad school). I am taking a wait and see attitude and trying to just let it pass. It's to the point that it's becoming even more than wool; regular cotton seams are bugging me, too. Guess I am just a princess!

In graduate school I had something like this happen as well - and it got so bad that I couldn't even scratch myself without breaking out in terrible red welts that itched to the bone. Most fabrics were irritating as well, and I do have asthma and allergies.

Sadly the only thing that helped was time, my doctor thought that my stress levels were adding to my skin sensitivity. She tried me on several allergy medications, but nothing helped much - eventually the problem rectified itself. I do think the combination of asthma and allergies can cause hyper skin sensitivity in times of stress, and the dry skin in winter doesn't help...so hopefully this isn't about your wool at all.

Have you tried an intensive lotion or cream? I have found at such times that this can be temporarily helpful, but of course there are so many out there that just don't help the problem even if they are marketed for "extra dry skin".

[Crankin]

Yep, Catrin, you described my situation exactly. If I scratch, I immediately get huge red welts/hives. Now, I can't figure out why this situation is so stressful... I went through the internship search for this year and it worked out. If I, for some reason didn't get one, I can change my concentration to the program where you only need to do one internship, and I still will have the hours for my license. This is my second time around in grad school and I know, that, this too, will pass.
I took a Claritin yesterday, which helped. Also trying to apply all of the self-care strategies I use with my clients. Meh, who wants a retirement age therapist who is covered in hives???
I've been experimenting with different lotions. Since I'm just about out of the ones I have, I will be going to the store to search for more. Aveeno seems to be the best. Still wearing my wool!

[Catrin]

Yep, Catrin, you described my situation exactly. If I scratch, I immediately get huge red welts/hives. Now, I can't figure out why this situation is so stressful... I went through the internship search for this year and it worked out. If I, for some reason didn't get one, I can change my concentration to the program where you only need to do one internship, and I still will have the hours for my license. This is my second time around in grad school and I know, that, this too, will pass.

Yep, but it is difficult to reason with stress

I took a Claritin yesterday, which helped. Also trying to apply all of the self-care strategies I use with my clients. Meh, who wants a retirement age therapist who is covered in hives???
I've been experimenting with different lotions. Since I'm just about out of the ones I have, I will be going to the store to search for more. Aveeno seems to be the best. Still wearing my wool!

Oddly enough, I have found that the original Nivea cream (in the blue container) the most helpful. It is a little greasy, but there is something about the formulation that seems to soothe my skin. I do not know if it would have been helpful during the most intensive problem, I discovered it last summer when I had a relatively minor flare.

I think that, at times, the effects of stress are cumulative over time, we get so accustomed to certain stress levels that we don't realize how high they actually are. At least that is how it is for me. Good luck, and I hope it passes quickly for you

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Crankin,
try a different detergent for a while. I used to happily use Burt's Bees lip balm many times a day for years, then I suddenly developed an awful allergy to it out of the blue.

[Biciclista]

who was it that just bought burt's bee balm?
some big heavy company did.

[OakLeaf]

Clorox.

Hope you find something that works, Crankin. I'd be miserable if I couldn't have my wool!

[Crankin]

I might buy a different detergent; I am almost out of one bottle of All and even though I have another, this might be a good time to switch. I remember doing this another time, for the same reason.
I feel much better today. No itching. I have sort of narrowed down the source of the stress, which isn't my search for next year (although that is annoying). It's the fact one of my colleagues is leaving on maternity leave and my workload is going to increase 50%, with no increase in time to do the job. It's great experience for me, but, geez, I am not getting paid for this... I am paying!
Oakleaf, I will never give up my Shaks and my Jones Wares pants. Particularly since I just found out that JonesWares is a local company, run by 2 women (whose dad was a long time racer, who made wool jerseys. they still use his designs).

[kmehrzad]

[QUOTE=Crankin;488708]Yep, Catrin, you described my situation exactly. If I scratch, I immediately get huge red welts/hives.

I have this problem in the winter months. There's no regularity to it and I have no idea what causes it. I'm not stressed and I've had allergy tests done with no conclusive evidence. My dr. told me to take 1 tablet of Loratadine whenever my skin starts to itch and hives appear. The Loratadine does the trick in taking away the itch and welts. My daughter started experiencing the same thing this past year ... again no regularity or clue why, but she takes Loratadine whenever needed. After about a week, we no longer need to use the antihistamine - until the next episode, which could be a month or longer. Sometimes it seems there's no explanation for this condition.

[Triskeliongirl]

It is actually possible to be allergic to cold temperatures, in that exposure of the body to cold air can ellicit a true immune response. This happened to my daughter when she started going to college in Boston. In her case its the cold air hitting her bronchial system that triggers first an immune response, which if it isn't controlled can then result in a secondary bacterial infection. So, maybe discuss this with a doctor. She needs to avoid breathing cold air, and has a respirator if she becomes symptomatic.

[Biciclista]

Funny, i just read a nytimes article about a guy who was allergic to cold. His hands would swell up when he went swimming. took him a while to figure it out.

[Crankin]

Geez, Trisk, I would hate it if it were that! But, I don't think so, as it happens on days I am not outside, except to walk from my car to my office, etc. I generally pull my neck gaiter up over my mouth when I am x country skiing, etc. in the very cold weather, like below 20 degrees, so I am not inhaling the cold air, although it doesn't take long before I have that sucker pulled down because I sweat!
I hated wool as a kid, although I definitely wore it, always with something underneath. But, it made me feel itchy at times. Of course, it was not merino. And then, about 22 years ago, I had a bout of asthma/allergies where I also was getting the itchiness, red welts, and "lines" anywhere that a waist band, etc was close/tighter to my skin. Since I was living in AZ and it was summer time, like 112 degrees out, it sort of blows the cold theory. I don't dispute that this is some type of allergic, autoimmune reaction. But, it seems to appear and disappear when I am in a state of heightened reactivity, brought on by stress, not environmental things. The wool just brings it out.
I guess if I had decided to stay home and loll around after quitting my job, I wouldn't be having the stress I am having now. But then again, staying home with nothing to do made me stressed, too! I am heading out to ride my bike or run, depending on my mood, shortly. Since wool will be included,
I will report back.

[Dianyla]

I've also had problems with chronic hives as well as dermatographism. After eliminating all of the skincare/detergents, I ended up tracking my food intake and narrowed it down to a few culprits. The big one that I can almost prove is food colorings, especially FD&C Yellow #5. Others I'm not sure about are preservatives like sodium benzoate, etc. It was really hard to tell because I wouldn't get anything immediately after eating. It took days of a dose accumulating in my body, and then another external trigger like stress, menstruation, heat/pressure/friction, or being sick with the cold/flu.

Now that I've figured out the foods, I still occasionally get periods where I get lots of hives and it's usually something I've eaten (say at a restaurant or free food at work, god I need to learn to say no!) or because I'm sick.