Comments on: Itchy Rash? Stop Blaming Your Laundry Detergent

By: Alice

Alice — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:30:23 +0000

Great it’s all in my head… my husband changed detergents on me this weekend without consulting me and now I’m in itchy hell. I guess Irish Spring rashes are a phantom of my imagination, as well. Thanks.

By: Billi

Billi — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:20:34 +0000

bought purex liquid and have been itching for three days so i have to have allergy

By: Cameron Milne

Cameron Milne — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 05:17:33 +0000

Cameron Milne…

Hey, thanks for the post.Thanks Again. Really Cool….

By: Lay

Lay — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:21:47 +0000

I agree, it’s so much easier to eliminate the easy things first before spending money on doctors who so frequently are ill informed. I have detergent sensitivities. I know this because whenever I try a different detergent, new soap, or they change the formula to one I use I break out it itchy hives everywhere. Tide is the worst. I don’t know what it is in Tide but it kills me, even the fragrance free stuff. All free and clear seems to be ok so far, unlucky for me my grocery store stopped carrying it and I’m stuck suffering until I can find a detergent that doesn’t cause me trouble. 1% is still 1 in 100 and that is A LOT of people doc.

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:13:23 +0000

Another cause of itching to rule out is morgellons disease. It’s a bit like having mites, nits etc but unresolved after medical treatment. Worth checking symptoms out on this one symptoms continue on…

By: Dr. Benabio

Dr. Benabio — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:52:14 +0000

Dear Laundry Detergent Allergy Sufferers,

I appreciate that many of you are allergic to your detergent — based on the number of people who have landed on this post, thousands of you would actually have this allergy (1% of 100,000 = 1,000). If you believe you are allergic to your detergent, then I’m sure you are. The point I’m trying to make is that laundry detergent is commonly blamed for causing an itchy rash when in fact it is rarely the cause (this is from published data, not my opinion see: Belsito, D. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology; “”Allergic contact dermatitis to detergents: A multicenter study to assess prevalence.” February 2002).

It is wonderful to hear about your experiences of having your rash improve when you changed to a fragrance-free detergent. This post is to inform people that if you have an itchy rash, then there are many things that you can do to get better. Changing your laundry detergent is one of them, but it’s not the most important. (by the way, I have no interest in any laundry detergent, regular, hypo-allergenic, or otherwise).

Thanks again for all your comments. Keep them coming!

J Benabio

By: Dr. Benabio

Dr. Benabio — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:24:47 +0000

Adam,
Well over 100,000 people have read this post. If 1% are allergic to their laundry detergent, that’s well over 1,000 readers of this post who are actually allergic to fragrance in their detergent. Sounds like you’re one of them.

I hope you are, and stay, well. Thanks for contributing.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 03:23:29 +0000

B upkus! As soon as I have perfumed laundry detergent, I itch all over and get bumpy rashes where I itch. Take away the perfumed laundry detergent and it’s gone. I see many other commenters saying the same thing.

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:08:16 +0000

I must be in that 1% then. I had used powdered Tide in the past with no problems. Since getting my front loading washer I was using liquid Tide with no problems. I started having spots show up on my shirts so I switched to powdered HE Tide. After washing my sheets and pajamas in the powdered HE Tide, I woke up at 2AM itching like crazy. I could feel that my skin was not dry. I had red blotches around my waist, neck and shoulders. I showered and changed the sheets. The itching went away. The next morning this reaction had kicked off the histamines in my body and I spent the whole day sneezing. No more powdered HE Tide for me! I have a few family members who also cannot tolerate the powdered Tide.

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:31:25 +0000

I agree with several of the other people who posted here- allergies and sensitivities to laundry soap (Tide!) are totally real and a huge drag. I think that the doctor here missed the compassion and awareness boat. There are many people, myself included, who are painfully allergic to such conventional products. Research and statistics may show that only a small amount of people are this sensitive but please consider that the ingredients are horribly toxic and known to cause grief- don’t discount real people in summing up this idea please.
Thank you.