Parabens, Phthalates & MSG

I recently have had a series of aggressive reactions:

- After eating Chinese take away
- When helping someone hang their laundry on a line

Having much better skin than in the past, I have become complacent. The worst thing about eczema is when you go into "destroy mode", it is hard to break yourself out of the deadlock hold of "the scratch" especially when you're trying to sleep.

MSG Destruction

The work place wanted to have a Fat Friday as a team meal and was persuaded to partake in a Chinese take away. I have avoided foods that have chemically laced MSG such as Chinese restaurants for such a long time and the skin condition was pretty good, I thought why not. It tasted quite satisfying.......but then the aftermath of an MSG feast. Headache, restlessnest and a darn itchy neck. My neck is an MSG / dehydration detector and it doesn't take long to destroy skin that has mostly healed.....red, raw and sore before I got up had lots to drink and an antihistamine to stop the itch attack that had now alerted the inner arms, the legs.....everywhere wanted to join the itch party.

The next day found several of my colleagues had suffered dehydration symptoms which I can only suggest it is MSG related.

* MSG = mono sodium glutamate. It is a naturally occuring substance added as a flavour enhancer.

Anyhow no more Chinese Take Away EVER for me.....as well as any other foods that contain MSG as an added ingredient (like crisps, processed meats, pot noodles and some seasonings). Me poor neck is a mess.

Parabens & Phthlates

The other day I helped someone put out their laundry, was over powered by the heavy fragrance, and broke out in rashes during the handling of their phthalate / plasticiser infested clothing….(yeah I am sensitive).  Why do I blame the phthalate? Cos the smell irritated me. In fact it could also be due to parabens still on the clothes. Parabens and Phthlates are 2 chemicals that is in many liquid soaps (body, hand, hair) and laundry detergents:

• Parabens: preservative to stop the product going mouldy + potential carcinogen + potentially reduces sperm count (endocrine disruptor) + skin irritant.The FDA think Parabens are safe:
  https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productsingredients/ingredients/ucm128042.htmThe EU bans 5 types of parabens in cosmetics such as from body creams but still allows it in shampoos/conditioners: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1051_en.htm
• Phthalate: helps to preserve the fragrance in the product. It is used to make plastics and is a potential carcinogen + suspected hormone disruptor

Ref: US National Library of Medicine
The FDA’s think it’s safe https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productsingredients/potentialcontaminants/ucm128250.htm

However the EU thinks differently on this and will be restricting the use of 4 types of phthalates: https://www.env-health.org/resources/press-releases/article/europe-finally-recognises-four

Additionally Phthalate exposure has been linked to an increased occurrence of atopic diseases including allergic rhinitis, wheezing, and eczema

FYI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4626318/

The person had told me they had added double the recommended dosage as their clothes were stained with a dye.  Unfortunately I had an aggressive itch attack and again only did something about it when I was tearing into my skin making myself feel un well.


Oh well back to the drawing board. Glad the sun is out.....

Hydrogen Peroxide

Have had one of those episodes of strange rashes. On one side of my face, have been suffering from hives or urticaria which swells, burns and stings. It looks almost as if someone has punched me at times. It later proceeds to continue with with a niggly itch as if insects are walking on my face, and then goes scaly. This tends to happen in winter and goes away for a couple of months in summer (GP said it's eczema). Been off and on since December.

In February, another rash formed on the inside of my thigh and was mirrored on the opposite thigh. I wish I had bothered to take photos.Anyway it has been itchy everyday and wondered about it occurring from lack of sun.

Anyhoo, I found a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and thought I'd apply it on the rashes. Have been using a dilution of 1-2. The hard redness of both rashes has reduced after two days of applying. Maybe it has bleached the skin. Will see after a week of application. Makes me wonder if it is some type of fungal infection instead.

BTW if you do decide to try this. Hydrogen Peroxide stings like #$%# if you have any cuts.

Wishing you happy healing

Doctor Doctor

My nails have gone white, my lymph nodes are enlarged and I have a body rash. A web search indicates that I could have anything from liver disease to lymphoma. So before I die of what ever I decided to visit the doctor.

Me: Doc my lymph nodes are up, nails are white and I have a rash all over my body.

Doctor: Hmm yes your lymph nodes are up - must be due to your eczema

Me: And my white nails. I've not seen them white before

Doctor: Hmm yes they are white! I believe this is also due to the eczema. Nothing to worry about. It should all get better when the skin heals. I can prescribe some cortisone cream.

Me: NO thanks. Am trying to get my skin to heal properly. I already did a one month course in Feb/March. It got better and then it worsened!

Doctor: Well it is the only thing we can prescribe to get it under control.

Me: Okay well I am salting it at the moment to desanitize it

Doctor: Really!!!

Me: Yes I get a fantastic burning pain, which is better than the itching

Doctor: What's the logic for salt?

Me: My skin gets better swimming in the sea.

Doctor: Well let me know after a week, becos as your eczema is so wide spread we'll get you seen by a dermatologist and put you back onto steroid creams.

...and so I leave thinking the salt has got to work. After one week, there is a mild improvement but nothing significant yet. I am going to leave it for another week!

By the way putting salt on the skin is really drying and requires loads of moisturising after. However, I have now been mixing this with Balenum Plus and this seems to be a better concoction.