Something has been driving me nuts the past few weeks. I’ve been itching like crazy, like hives, like I’ve walked into Newman’s flea-ridden apartment on Seinfield. My hands would itch so I’d wash them in anti-bacterial hand soap, dry them and do it all over again as they’d be itchy again. It was hard to sleep too. I re-washed all my bedding, re-anti-fleaed my cat, bug bombed the apartment but I still itched. And like I said it was worst on my hands, but also on my back and sometimes my feet. I know it’s mosquito season but there can’t be this many mosquitos.
Then the light-bulb went off and I figured out why the itch. I changed laundry detergent. I had switched to Tide With A Touch Of Downy (TWATOD). I figured why not? Built-in fabric softener and I had always used Downy on my bedding and stuff without problems. But it turns out I had an allergic reaction to it.
One reply on “TWAT OD”
I had a bad allergic reaction to Tide with a Touch of Downy, even though I have no problem with separate Tide and liquid Downy. The odd thing about this reaction is that it consists of itchy, red papules or bumps that look like insect bites. They may occur in pairs or clusters, and particularly occur behind the elbows and knees. Most cases of contact dermatitis cause a more confluent rash, not sporadic papules like this. Thus, the lesion looks like insect bites. Dermatologists may likely diagnose these lesions as mite bites (scabies) or “bed bugs” and may treat accordingly. The lesions take a few weeks to go away, and I have some residual scarring on my arms, legs, and face. If you have such a reaction to Tide with a Touch of Downy, it is important to report it to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission at: https://www.cpsc.gov/incident.html. You also may contact me, as I am tabulating the cases, at pjacmail-tide1@yahoo.com.