Lifestyle Choices

The Causes

Although allergies and allergic reactions to particular substances are not inherited, a tendency to them can be. If, for instance, both your mother and your father suffered from allergies, you have a 57 percent chance of them too. Approximately 15 percent of all women are said to be highly prone to allergic reactions, 25-30 percent are less easily sensitized (which means they will react adversely only to some substances, sometimes), and 55-60 percent are relatively allergy-free or only rarely prone to allergic reactions. But, on the whole, allergic complaints are on the increase, and cosmetic dermatitis and skin sensitivities are leading the field. For instance, in one study of skin ailments in the mid-seventies it was found that where, four years before, only 3 percent of the patients in Britain seen by dermatologists were suffering from skin reactions, in the space of a very few years it had risen to 14 percent.

The word allergy means “altered response” in Greek. If you are allergic to something, this means that your body has come into contact with it and instead of reacting normally to it or not at all, it has reacted with hostility. This seldom happens the first time you meet the substance (called an allergen), but if for some reason your body takes a dislike to it, it will create an antibody that is a chemical specifically made to repel any future invasion by the same substance. Then, when sufficient antibodies are available, they combine with the allergen, and this combination triggers the release of histamines and histamine-like substances, which by a series of reactions finally results in raised, red, itchy splotches on the skin. This is known as an acute reaction, for it occurs within seconds or minutes after coming in contact with the allergen. You can inhale it, say in the form of a hair spray, or you can take it in through your skin as a face cream or a makeup product.

There are also delayed reactions, which come about only after a few hours or even days after coming into contact with the allergen. This kind of reaction doesn’t occur the first time one comes near the substance. In the case of delayed reactions, there is no histamine formation, but, instead, during contact with the allergen the body’s white blood cells come to recognize it as foreign and mobilize themselves to attack. Then the capillaries in the area become clogged with waste, and the skin flakes and scales, becoming red and itchy or even very sore.

Prevention and Cure

Antihistamines will alleviate the first sort of allergic reaction, as will special injections to build up tolerance to the allergen. Antihistamines will do nothing for the delayed-reaction-type allergy. And although cortisone and cortisone-like medications are useful in quelling both types of allergic skin reaction, they should be used only in very serious cases and then only for short periods of time. Finally, they should always be used under a doctor’s supervision because of the long-term very detrimental side effects that go with cortisone administration. Apart from nutritional therapy to strengthen the whole organism against allergic reactions, the only effective way to deal with skin sensitivities is to locate the allergen —the substance or product causing trouble—and then remove it from your life.

This is not always the easiest of tasks, for an allergen can be almost anything, from a biological detergent to a beautiful-smelling talc. A clue to its identity lies in the area where the red blotches or scaling first appears. If it is on your hands, for instance, check out the detergent you have been washing dishes in, your hand cream, your nail polish, the soap you wash your hands with. If it is around the eyes, it might be an eye cream, an eye-makeup remover, a mascara, or an eye shadow. Test this out by smearing a little of the substance on the gauze of a Band-Aid and then taping it to a newly washed area of your back or underarm. Use a fresh Band-Aid for each substance. Then leave the patches on for twenty-four hours and remove. Any area that shows up as red or blotched indicates that the substance on that patch is one to which you have a sensitivity. After that, avoid it.

Here are the chemical substances that, according to dermatologists, are most often implicated in reactions and skin sensitivities. But remember: The culprit can be almost anything.

Avoid contact with any substance or cosmetic product containing a substance to which you suspect you may be allergic. When you cleanse your skin, do it thoroughly with two cleansers: a cream or lotion first, to dissolve makeup and grime, then a specially formulated hypoallergenic soap or detergent cleanser that is pH-balanced. Always dry your skin thoroughly every time it comes in contact with water, and always handle your skin gently, never pushing or pulling it. When you apply creams or oils, use the fleshy parts of your middle or ring fingers, never your index finger, and make sure your hands are scrupulously clean. For applying eye shadow, use cotton-tipped sticks, which can then be tossed away after use. Throw away your powder puff and instead always use a fresh piece of sterilized cotton. Always wear a water-in-oil moisturizer during the day.

Get to know the hypoallergenic cosmetics—skin-care and makeup products made without known irritants. Most are inexpensive yet very good and specially formulated with ingredients that have little likelihood of causing problems. The prefix “hypo” means “less.” Hypoallergenic products are designed to be less allergy-producing than other cosmetics. They are fragrance-free and leave out such common troublemakers as aluminum salts, wool fat, and phenol.

One of the most common causes of cosmetic dermatitis is nail polish. It is also one of the least-expected offenders, because it seems to cover such a small area. But your hands tend to touch your face and body often, and if you are allergic to the varnish you are wearing, it can wreak havoc with skin elsewhere, so always use a hypoallergenic nail enamel.

From a nutritional point of view, there is a lot to be said about the underlying conditions that appear to make one prone to allergic reactions. Many people who tend toward these reactions have a mineral imbalance: too much copper, for instance, and too little zinc; the presence of excessive quantities of heavy metals in their bodies; or either a subclinical vitamin deficiency or a particularly high requirement of certain nutrients, most often the B group of vitamins. A deficiency of essential fatty acids is also often linked with allergic reactions. Often skin sensitivities can be alleviated by giving vitamin B0, P ABA, and B2 supplements along with brewer’s yeast or another supplement containing the whole of the B range.

Researchers at the University of Uppsala, in Sweden, have linked skin hypersensitivity to the intake of food dyes and preservatives too. It is a good idea, if you have allergy-prone skin, to avoid all overprocessed convenience foods. Often a skin eruption, like simple prickly-heat rashes, will yield itself to supplementation of the diet with vitamin C. Some researchers have had results by giving a mere 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C in two 500-milligram doses each day. Others claim it is necessary to give between six and ten grams per day in doses spread throughout the day. Stress plays an important part in allergic reactions of any kind, so a conscious relaxation or meditation technique practiced regularly can help too.

For immediate relief, skin inflammations usually respond well to calamine lotion, simple witch hazel, and some poultices made with herbs. One of the best to use is comfrey—whose very name denotes healing in Latin. It contains the natural anti-inflammatory substance allantoin, which is often used in skin ointments. Make a comfrey compress by pouring half a cup of boiling water over half a cup of the dried herb. Let it cool to a bearable temperature, near body heat, then put the wet herb on the face. Cover with gauze and lie down for fifteen minutes while it cools. This kind of compress will also reduce the pain and swelling over a bruise or a pulled muscle, as well as calm inflamed skin.

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