ALLERGY TO CLOTHING: CHOOSING FIBRES
If you would like full information on fibres and how to detect allergy or sensitivity to them. For a short guide to detection, read on.
There is a relatively cheap and easy way to test at home whether you are allergic or sensitive to specific fibres – the Pillow Test. Washing the cloth with sodium bicarbonate and drying thoroughly before use will minimise the possibility of sensitivity to laundry agents, chemicals or moulds interfering with the test.
You will get clearer results from the test if you are able to avoid totally the fibre you are planning to test for at least a day, preferably several days, before you do the test. You can then confirm the results of the Pillow Test by avoiding totally (or as far as is practicable) the fibre or fibres you suspect for a period of a week and then reintroducing it – by wearing or using it again. Monitor any symptoms for the period of avoidance and on reintroduction.
If you have multiple allergies or sensitivities and have to avoid many fibres, you may simply have to choose your safest options and stick to them. Some people with sensitive skin find that they can tolerate a fibre to which they usually react, provided they do not wear it next to the skin. So try wearing a vest or shirt of a different fibre next to your skin under other garments. If this works, you may not have to replace large parts of your wardrobe.
You can also try rotating fibres (wearing one specific fibre per day or one per week), to give your system a rest. Don’t shun anything – you may react, say, to nylon or wool, but they could be better than any other choice you have. Stay flexible and keep varying your options until you find the one that suits you best.
Take precautions if you borrow clothes to test them out. Check out what soap powder or conditioner has been used. Sniff for any perfumes that might cling to them.
Take great care if you buy clothes secondhand or from charity shops. Ask about soap powders and conditioners. Look out for dust, cigarette smoke or animal hairs which might cling.
Avoiding your worst culprits may make you able to tolerate them again after a while. You could be able to wear them occasionally or even regularly. Never throw anything away.
Do not have a massive clearout and replace everything at once. You can sometimes tolerate something well for a while, then find it comes to upset you. Take one step at a time.
*317\117\8*
