Itchy Rash? Stop Blaming Your Laundry Detergent
One of the first things that patients do when they develop an itchy rash is to change their laundry detergents to hypoallergenic or fragrance free. For some reason, it is widely believed that laundry detergent is a common cause of skin allergy. It’s not true.
An excellent study done several years ago published the the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology showed that although 10-15% of people with dermatitis (an itchy skin rash) blame laundry detergent, less than 1% of patients who were tested actually had an allergy to detergent.
Most people who have an itchy rash don’t really have an allergy at all; there are many causes of itching, including dry skin, medications, bug infestations, etc. Therefore, the percentage of people with an itchy rash who are actually allergic to their laundry detergent is probably much less than 1%.
Of course, there are some people who do have an allergy to some component in their detergent such as the fragrance or bleaching agent, but this is rare.
So, before you chuck all your laundry detergents and change to a fragrance free or an “all natural” product to stop your itching, remember that this is unlikely the cause of your rash.
Instead, invest in a good moisturizer and apply copiously and often. If the problem persists, see your physician.
Great tip! I can’t tell you how many people have said that they’re allergic to detergents, hospital sheets, etc. I bet most of them have dry wintery skin.
Dr. B,
My husband actually is allergic to the laundry detergent I used to use. I was using just the usual powder detergent and he broke out. It started out small on his chest and arms b/c of the shirts I was washing. I told him it was just dry skin cuz he hardly ever puts any lotion so we started putting it on him. A week went by and it wasn’t getting any better. Then when we got married he of course started sleeping in the bed with me and he broke out all over his body. The doctor didn’t say it was from the detergent, just to think of anything we had done differently. So he came up with the laundry detergent. I didn’t believe him at first. And of course I had a box full of detergent and I didn’t want to buy anymore. Come to find out, his mom has always used a free and clear liquid detergent with no color and additives (His dad apparently had sensitivity to it too).I switched to a liquid and with that and the help of the salve the doc came him, he cleared right up.
We went on our honeymoon a couple weeks ago and he started breaking out again. The hotel uses powder detergent. That night we went to the grocery, picked up some liquid, washed the sheets and towels and he was fine. Luckily we brought the medicated salve with us, otherwise it would’nt have been a pleasant trip.
But I do believe that is people’s first conclusion, “i broke out so it must be my detergent.” You’re right, it’s not always the case. I guess my hubby is in that 1%.
Dear Dr Benqbio, After I had my last child I developed many sensitivities to my usual bar soap, hair shampoo, and laundry detergent & fabric softener sheet with a itchy redness upon contact with my skin, so I switched to fragrance free products and now I always rewash my laundry using baking soda to remove all the soap from the laundry.
who is the one to blame?
Good article. but there are lots of hypoallergic ones too
Types: hypoallergic, natural, homemade, coupon, coupons, history, substitute, research, tablets, low suds, low sudising, liquid, organic, wholesale, cheap, ingredients, how to make laundry detergents.
Or you could wash your clothes without detergent – try the BioWashball. No detergent, no residue, ecologically friendly, and 1 ball costs around $34 and lasts for 3 years or 1000 washes. Can you imagine cleaning clothes for 3 years for only $35????
Just pop it in the washing machine with the dirty clothes. Clothes come out clean, soft and smelling clean, AND the planet and your skin are not exposed to detergents AND you save money. Check it out!
My child reacts with-in a few minuets to things washed in detergents, we use all soap products. I agree it’s not an ‘allergic’ reaction – but it’s certainly a sensitivity.
Only yesterday I put an only bib of his sisters on him (washed last in detergent) He had it on for 20mins while he ate – 4hrs later he still had an angry rash on his neck till I washed it with soap and moisturised it, skin then settled within 20mins.
I’m sensitive to laundry products too; the wrong powder can have me scratching like a loon.
1% is still one in every 100 and when you think about the amount of people with itchy skin that’s a lot of people.
I have read this article that only 1% actually suffer from laundry detergent allergy’s and rash. I am a redhead with a very fair complexion and well I am here to say that I unconditionally do have another rash because my wife bought liquid laundry that was on sale and 2 days later I developed yet another rash. I have suffered from rashes my whole life and is always after we use a product that is not free and clear. My question is what the heck can I use to sooth it and get rid of it. I have been itching for 4 days now and its not getting any better.
Most people who stumble upon this are probably in that “1%” for the most part. I personaly have allergic reactions to certain soaps and scenteed laundry detergents. When using unscented I have no outbreak issues at all…but surely enough when someone else washes my laundry in scented detergent I break out quickly. I have mnay other problems with sensitive skin, such as having reactions to pool water. It could be various chemicals in the pool water, most likely the chlorine. Most people who have 1 sensitive skin problem, have many.
I must be in that 1%. I still have to believe it’s more people than that. I have had this problem since I was a child (Frest Start was the detergent) and know a few others who do also. I use Melaleuca (internet or telephone order) and no longer have problems. I just got home from vacation, thought I would chance it using the cottage’s detergent, a Purex (believe it or not), and here I am itching my arms and planning to check another garment (pants) and see if my legs itch afterwards.
If laundry detergents do not cause allergies then please explain to me why i am up at 4 am with only about 30 minutes of sleep because i was up all night itching? This happens to me every time I use Sun laundry detergent. I was unaware of the fact that someone washed my sheets with it and now I’m doomed because i have to go to work with no sleep. I don’t believe that I’m not allergic to this product.
I have a VERY itch skin, primarily under arms, under boobs, groin, head hair. It is absolutely unbearable. Have switched laundry detergent many times to no avail. I have used many many creams and gone to many many doctors. No one can help me. My brother said I have inverse psoriasis but I have no rash. It’s occurs only in the summer when I sweat. The itch is just in areas that I sweat. HELP
Thanks……
@Dawn Wolf
Dawn – I have the EXACT same problem! Did you ever find out what the cause to your rash was? Help!
PUREX 3 IN 1 SHEETS. DO NOT USE. Severe allergic reactions
I’m wondering if random people were tested for sensitivity to detergent in this test. Is this 1% of random people or 1% of people who claim sensitivity? Who gets tested for that anyway? I haven’t read the article but the only allergy tests that I know of that doctors give regularly are for animal, dust, grass, and maybe food allergy. Lotion might help but I think that some lotions or soaps dry out skin excessively. My mother and I have both had reacions to some scented soaps on inner elbows/knees, a sign of eczema apparently. I can’t say that it’s an allergy but eczema is an allergic reaction. I also react to scented candles. Maybe I am not allergic because no one is testing for it.
Detergent DOES cause dry and itchy skin. There’s no doubt about it. Fragrances and dyes are poisonous. Why do you think nobody uses those weird color toilet paper rolls anymore? It’s because of the rashes and infections that it causes in women. No man made fragrance is safe. If you’re using perfumed or dyed products it’s just a matter of time before it becomes toxic to you. It’s okay to poison yourself, but, please don’t use these products on children.
a test re wash a load of laundry after you have dried it do not add any soap or detergent i believe you will be amased at the results . suggestion use detergent only when necessary ” grime ” probably once every 4or 5 loads. taking a shower? only wash where you sweat/ learn the song grandma” lye SOAP it aint detergent|| so use soap if you can find it what do they say TRY IT YOU”L LIKE IT
1% out of what 5 people
If you change your detergent and it go’s away
It is let time and money then the docker
So Blaming Your Laundry Detergent and fix the problem and save money people and get your deterrent in commonsense
I started using Tide just after I got out of the hospital for a minor surgery; needless to say in three months and after 3 hospital visits, two dermatologist and several GP appointments, after I finally ran out of Tide my rash left. I was told everything from stress, to bed bugs when I set my alarm for 2 and 5 with a flashlight handy, to scabies when I ran out purchasing all the necesary lotions and potions and washing every piece of clothing I own to dry skin, and these were licences specialists giving me these diagnosis. I drove my poor husband crazy! Makes you wonder what the doctors do really learn in university. I was black and blue from itching, small scabs all over my body, I couldn’t make my drive home without pulling over to scratch my ankles into a frenzy, a serious frenzy until I bled. My husband woke up one morning to see a fork in bed with us, I used it to itch the bottom of my feet and my back. My sheets were full of blood, my scalp had scabs and I was up all night scratching thinking I caught something from the hospital or even worse, I was allergic to wine. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is an ingredient that will drive you nuts and not in all laundry soap, so why do they have to include it in the mix. Thanks TIDE
this site is full of it….i have never had rashes like i have today…my entire family has developed the same kind of rashes, all occuring since we purchased the new front loader he washer…and if you do the research on it. you will see that your wrong in saying the he detergant doesnt cause rashes….something is wrong with the new soap to give this many people rashes… do the research…this many people arent all wrong…something needs to be done about the new soap and the rashes it is causing
@Mike
the cause is he soap….google it ….lots of people with the same problem…me and my entire family has rashes also…they didnt start until we purchased the new front loading he washer….research it..
@Andrea
its the he soap…it all started with my family when we started useing the he soap..not a single rash until.
Got this itch,over 6 months now i have done every thing to sort this problem so fed up taken over my life . fine dust on clothes after wash like fibre glass !, i think its from cotton t shirts etc which has contaminated the rest of my washing caused by the bash the water out cycle on new so called eco washing machines and with the oxy based washing powder ,i have found washing powder to be very strong now ,you know when it gets on your hands and arms getting out wet washing,it burns!.
Some thing is not right and this is with alot of the washing powders and liquids i have used . Then you add the fabric softener with perfume which does not help, or the hot washes!!. so try this test on a dry t shirt , give it a lick does it prick ? if so try 40 ml surcare sensitive washing liquid with 30ml washing soda then extra 30 min rinse cycle and use 35 ml surecare sensitive fabric conditioner this may take a few washes to get washing so you can wear the clothes again with out the itch up to a 4 kg load.
dont use short washes!!!
GOOD LUCK.
The doctor is ill informed. Here’s an audio link (March 2010) that pretty much sums up the whole problem:
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2010/03/is-your-laundry-detergent-killing-you-softly.html?site=southqld&program=southern_queensland_mornings
Thanks for sharing, it’s nice to have other sources for my readers. I agree with the toxicologist on the podcast. However, he points out the toxicity of fragrance (solvents, preservatives) but says nothing about the risk of developing an allergic contact dermatitis from laundry detergent. Mine is not an opinion post, it is based on published data.
There are many reasons to avoid fragrance and perhaps we would all be healthier if there were fewer fragrances and antibiotics, but for most people who are suffering with a rash, laundry detergent is unlikely the cause.
I just bought some of that and have a load in the washer right now. Was it Pure and clear?
I only wish that I caught on to the fact that it was, in fact, the laundry detergent that caused strange itchy bumps to appear, first on my legs, then torso and finally my arms. Instead I searched the internet for similar rashes and symptoms. What I found was mostly very alarming – apparently rashes are one of those things that neither allopathic nor holistic doctors are very good at diagnosing – could be an immune system problem, heredity, a strange phenomenon with no explanation or an eruption from a venereal disease…aye aye aye! It was Target’s Up & Up laundry detergent with all natural surfactants and enzymes. I’m back to ALL Free & Clear. As soon as I switched detergent the bumps started going away, the existing rashes itched less and $400.00 later in medical expenses I’m virtually rash free. I’d say if you’re suffering from a mysterious rash eliminate the simplest things first…you could save A LOT of money!!!
I kinda don’t agree to what this article says. If it’s true then I’ll be that 1%!! Because I do allergic to Tide detergent. I’m allergic to all Tide detergent!! Whenever I contact to the clothes or bed sheet anything washed by Tide detergent, my body will start iching and it may causes rash… And it takes long to recover!! I’ve spent tons of $$ just to get rid of these itching rash over my body, from buying lotions to medicate cream and going to see a specialist… Days after days, rashes just don’t go away but it gets more and more all over my body. Until I made the last move – changing my Tide detergent to other brand. Surprisingly, my rash was half gone on the very first day. The second day I got better of course. Now I can have a good night sleep without waking up from those itching rash (it’s very painful can’t have a good sleep!!!)