Skin Allergies – 6 Culprits That Can Give You Allergy
March 7th, 2010 | 
Author: Skin Allergies are different for every person. Someone who gets a skin allergy can get it in a confined area or over their entire body. There are even times when a person can get them on their hands and feet, making it difficult to do every day tasks. When a person gets a skin allergy, it’s called allergic contact dermatitis. The skin has a chemical reaction to the substance it has come into contact with. In these cases, you have to physically touch it to get the allergy. Some of the culprits may even surprise you.
Testing for Skin Allergies
One way to figure out what causes skin allergies is by playing a guessing game. However, there are no winners in this one. You would test products on your skin to see if have a reaction. Don’t worry, there is an easier way. Doctors will do patch testing. They take a small piece of skin (this doesn’t hurt) and then put each patch of skin in contact with the common allergens. They look to see if there is a reaction. The doctors do all the hard work for you and you don’t have to suffer.
These are some of the most common causes of skin allergies:
1. Nickel and gold. These metals are usually found in jewelry. The nickel is found in clasps or buttons. Gold is a little more common. Many pieces are made or plated with gold. If you have an allergy to either of these metals, usually a rash will break out where the metal touched your skin. Many people tend to have a reaction to costume jewelry.
2. Balsam of Peru. This fragrance is found in many lotions and perfumes. Another name for it is myroxylon pereirae. If this is the culprit of your skin allergy, check the ingredients in perfumes and lotions you use to see if this is present.
3. Neomycin sulfate. This substance is commonly found in first aid creams and ointments. Unfortunately, a doctor might prescribe a topical cream for a previous skin rash, only for the patient to find out they also have skin allergies to this substance. It can also be found in cosmetics, soap and pet food.
4. Bacitracin. This is a topical antibiotic. Some people might use it on cuts or burns.
5. Cobalt chloride. This is a real problem for some people because this is normally found in antiperspirants. However, there are other places cobalt chloride shows up such as hair dye and pieces plated in it (buttons, snaps, tools).
6. Quaternium 15. This is a preservative found in many products than women tend to use. It can be found in self tanners, shampoo, nail polish and sunscreen. Try to find products that do not use this if you have skin allergies to Quaternium 15.
Abhishek Agarwal
http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/skin-allergies-6-culprits-that-can-give-you-allergy-708869.html
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4 Responses to “Skin Allergies – 6 Culprits That Can Give You Allergy”
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Do you want to be free of your allergy and asthma symptons?
I personally guarantee that you really can:
how can I tell whether or not my cat has nerve damage in her tail?
A couple weeks ago, I noticed that one of my cats had stripped all the fur off the tip of her tail. At first I sort of shrugged it off, as she is susceptible to dry skin and sometimes over-grooms to the point where she gives herself a bald patch, but then I noticed she would constantly lick and chew on her tail.
Concerned, I took her to the vet, where she said it was probably allergies. She gave my cat a steroid shot to prevent any itching and said it would last 2-3 weeks. Kitty continued to chew on her tail until she opened up a small wound, so I decided allergies weren’t the culprit and my mother took her back.
The vet gave her a second examination and decided that she had sustained nerve damage to the tip of her tail, and the tingling was bothering her, so she would try to chew it off. The vet said there were two options
a) put an Elizabethan collar on her so she couldn’t reach her tail. Let the wound heal and let the fur grow back on its own. If the wound closed and she left her tail alone, great.
b) if she continued to try and bother it, she would have to have an inch or two amputated off her tail.
Now I wasn’t there the second visit to the vet, so I asked my mom how she had checked for nerve damage. She said the vet would pinch her tail at the base, and if she jerked her tail, she could feel it. She said that the vet reached the tip of her tail and the cat wouldn’t respond. There were two different methods the vet used, but I don’t remember the second method.
I guess we’re going with option B because, even with the collar, she can still reach her tail and try to mutilate it (if she’s determined enough). It seems that, since she can’t feel it (or something) she doesn’t realize it’s a part of her and viciously attacks it. If she doesn’t SEE the tip of her tail, she leaves it alone, but if she sees it, she stares at it in an annoyed manner and then starts chewing Therefore, amputating a couple inches of her tail seems to be the route we’re going. My mom has already made the appointment for next week.
It seemed pretty open and shut to me, but tonight my mom was demonstrating what exactly the vet did to check for nerve damage, and the cat (wearing the collar so she couldn’t see) seemed to react… and I’ve been sitting here ever since, occasionally pinching different spots toward the tip of her tail, and she seems to be reacting to it SOMETIMES, but I’m not *entirely* sure.
So I’m sort of at a loss. I don’t want to needlessly amputate a couple inches off her tail, but I have absolutely no idea what made her start doing this in the first place.
Does anybody have any idea why a cat would just spontaneously start mutilating the end of her tail? (It doesn’t seem to be stress/boredom related, nor is it feline hyperesthesia, allergies, a skin condition, or .. anything.. really)
Should I take her to a different vet for a second opinion?
Is there any other way I could confirm nerve damage in the tip of her tail?
Any help would be appreciated, as I have a very unhappy kitty wearing a satellite dish and it breaks my heart to see her so sad.
i would honestly go with option A… give it time to heal and see what happens.. if it happens again they’ll u’ll know that the vet was wrong and then take ur cat to a sound vet.. in the mean time i wound be patient. and use the cone on her. goodluck
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just let the vet and your mom do what they think is best / after they take off the tip of her tail she will be fine so don’t worry/ I rescue cats and have had situations like this B4
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rescue cats
I don’t know what could be causing kitty to do that or what you can do about it. When you’re at the vets office have the vet show you what he did to diagnose that. Maybe that will put your heart to rest.
I know how hard it is when my furry child has something wrong.
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