FIBERS ALLERGY: WHERE FIBRES ARE FOUND
COIR
Coir is a fibre made from the outer husk of the coconut. It is used to make doormats (the bristly type), floor matting and ropes. It is also used as a filling in mattresses and can be used in upholstery. It gives off few particles and rarely causes reactions. Unless you have significant exposure* to handling it, say at work, it is an uncommon cause of allergy.
Horsehair
This is hair taken from the mane and tail of horses. It used to be a common material in upholstery and furniture-making but is now much less used. If you are allergic to horses , you may be sensitive to horsehair used in furniture. Generally, older furniture is more likely to contain it than modern furniture. For most people, however, exposure to horsehair is low and allergy uncommon.
Jute, Sisal and Hemp
These fibres come from three plants and are commonly used in rope-making. Hemp has been recorded to cause allergy among workers handling it in production. Otherwise, sensitivity is not common.
Kapok
Kapok is a fibre that surrounds the seeds of a tropical tree. It looks and feels rather like a pink-coloured cotton wool. It is used for filling cushions and soft toys. Children are sometimes allergic to kapok in soft toys that they cuddle closely, although sensitivity to house dust mites and other types of filling material is more common.
Also known as flax, linen is a cellulose fibre in common domestic use for tea-towels. It can also be used for clothing (often in a blend with cotton), tablecloths and napkins, and for sheets. It is an expensive fabric, which creases easily and so exposure to it, apart from tea-towels, is low. Allergy to linen is rare.
Starches and resins are sometimes applied to linen, and these can cause sensitivity reactions. However, linen without finishes, as in tea-towels, rarely causes allergic reactions. Despite its creasing, it is hard-wearing and can be a useful fabric for people with multiple allergies.
Ramie
Ramie is a yarn made from a plant with fibrous leaves. It is used in clothing, especially knitted garments, often in blends with cotton or linen. It is uncommon and most people never wear it, so allergy is not reported.
Silk
Like linen, silk is an expensive and often impractical fabric in daily life. Silk has few everyday uses, apart from clothing, ties and accessories. It is a protein fibre, like wool, and is known to cause allergy, but because so few people have any significant exposure to it in everyday life, allergy to silk is uncommon.
Resins are not used on silk at all, since they accentuate the fibre’s natural tendency to break and abrade. Silk is therefore a very useful fibre for the chemically sensitive. Starches and sizes are sometimes applied, but these usually wash out.
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WHICH SUBSTANCES CROSS-REACT? ASPIRIN
Acetylsalicylic acid is the active chemical in aspirin. It was originally extracted from the bark of willow trees and occurs naturally as methyl salicylate, oil of wintergreen. Synonyms for acetylsalicylic acid are salicylate and salicylic acid. If you react to aspirin, you may cross-react to other drugs and painkillers containing salicylates. Your doctor or pharmacist will be able to advise you on what to avoid.
Oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) is used in many over-the-counter liniments, antiseptics and medicines (including sinus decongestants, sinus inhalers and rectal suppositories). Your pharmacist will be able to tell you whether a product you are using contains oil of wintergreen. It is also used as a flavouring in some toothpastes. Contact the manufacturer if you want to check any toothpaste you use.
Many foods naturally contain salicylates, especially certain fruits, spices, herbs and nuts. If you react strongly to aspirin, and still have reactions after avoiding it, it may be worth trying a diet that avoids foods rich in salicylates. However, such a diet would need to be very restrictive so it is only worth doing if you have strong motivation. It should only be undertaken with medical supervision. The foods shown in Table 2 (overleaf) are low in salicylates and should form the core of a low-salicylate diet. Those listed in Table 3 are high in salicylates and should be avoided if possible.
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ALLERGY IN CHILDREN: SCHOOL-LIFE
You may need special help and collaboration from staff at school if your child is made ill by things he or she encounters there. The best way to achieve this is, again, to be matter-of-fact, combined with offering staff as much practical help as you can in sorting things out. If you want them not to use certain polishes or cleaners in your child’s vicinity, for instance, it helps to be able to propose or even give them an alternative. If you want your child not to wear certain parts of the uniform, for example, it helps to offer them an alternative which is likely to be acceptable. Be assertive, but not aggressive or over-emotional. The staff may privately consider you over-fussy, but if your child genuinely will be better for something being done or avoided, you are right to insist. Do not ask for things which are not strictly important, and try to get the staff not to differentiate your child – to treat him or her as normally as possible.
Your child’s needs will vary according to his or her allergies or sensitivity. Some of the things over which you may need to take care are food and drink. It may be easier for a child sensitive to foods to take a packed lunch each day, rather than eat school lunches, and to take his or her own water or juice for break-time drinks.
If your child is sensitive to chemicals, he or she may be sensitive to cleaning products, polishes or disinfectants used in the school. If you suspect these, either ask for them not to be used in the places where your child goes, or offer substitutes.
If your child is sensitive to solvents, check that paints and glues used in schools are not solvent-based. Oil paints should be avoided, but water-based paints will be no problem. PVA adhesive rarely causes problems. Ask that felt-tip pens are water-based, rather than solvent-based.
Swimming can cause a child sensitive to chlorine and other disinfectants to react, and may be best avoided if your child appears unwell or worse afterwards. Other sports activities may affect your child – on damp days outside in winter if allergic to moulds, or on summer days if allergic to pollens. Ask for alternatives to outdoor activities if your child is severely ill. If pollens are the problem, exam time in summer can be difficult for your child.
If school pets or animals are kept, or allowed to roam, in schoolrooms, these can affect a child highly allergic to pets. See if this can be changed or controlled.
If your child goes on any school trip or holiday, make sure that staff have details of any medication, special diet or other requirements. Send supplies of unusual foods with the child, if necessary.
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ALLERGY BABYCARE: IF YOU HAVE SEVERE PROBLEMS
If your baby is very severely affected, or if you get no results from selective exclusion dieting by the mother, a doctor may recommend that the mother goes on to a full exclusion diet. This is rarely done during breastfeeding, because it can affect the mother’s wellbeing and strength, and should only ever be done under close medical supervision.
If nothing helps your baby, and you and your doctor are still confident that breastmilk is at the root of the problems, it is probably better nonetheless for the baby to keep breastfeeding, and to delay weaning off the breast for as long as possible. A food-sensitive baby has a higher probability of having problems on infant formula feeds (even non-cow’s milk-based) and on solids than on breastmilk.
If you have to give a supplementary bottle feed, or want to wean from breast on to a milk formula, it may be better to give a soya milk formula feed than a cow’s milk-based formula to help prevent sensitivity. Soya is not totally free of problems, but it is less allergenic than cow’s milk formula. Your doctor will be able to advise you on what best to do.
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ALLERGY: OTHER MEASURES TO ELIMINATE HOUSE DUST MITES
If you are extremely sensitive to house dust mites, there is much more you can do to reduce or eliminate allergens.
If you have very little spare money, but really need to replace dusty objects, start with your pillow first, and then bedding, such as duvets and blankets. If money is not a constraint, one of the best things you can do is to replace bedding, furniture or mattresses with new ones free of house dust mites. If you start from scratch, free of mites, and vacuum with filters, damp dust and keep things dry and aired, you should prevent them recolonising.
Another excellent thing to do is to take out fitted carpets. Many people find this very difficult to do – not only are fitted carpets attractive, warm and comfortable, but they have often been a major expense and chosen with care, with the expectation of long use. However, people who have steeled themselves to do it say it is one of the best things they have done – dust is considerably reduced and housework drastically cut. So think about it seriously. Do just the bedroom if you cannot bear to do it elsewhere.
There are alternatives to fitted carpets that can be attractive, warm and practical (as well as mite-free) – sanded and sealed wooden boards, linoleum or vinyl, cork, tiles: these are much quicker and easier to keep dust free. (Linoleum is very well tolerated by chemically sensitive people. Use scatter rugs, which can be vacuumed on both sides, hung on the line in sunlight to kill mites, or even washed.
Remove things that collect dust as far as you can – scatter cushions, dried flowers, other-decorations or furnishings which can harbour dust or mites. Use curtains of light, washable fabric if you can: avoid velvets or flocky fabrics which trap dust. If you want warmth and insulation, use washable curtain linings – even hang two linings, or use a blind plus lined curtains to conserve energy.
Do not use Venetian or other blinds or festoons which collect dust. If you have them, then vacuum or wipe down regularly.
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