Clothes sensitivity?

[Sing]

There has to be a pill for this hypersensitivity and a neurologist ought to be figuring it out. I understand that a lot of molds and toxins aren't good in general, not for anyone, and we ought to be dialing this down greatly, with increased restrictions, protections and clean-up efforts on the national level. However, we people here still have an over-reactive system, which is creating major distraction, discomfort and pain. There ought to be a pill for this!

Sing

 

[camas]

There has to be a pill for this hypersensitivity and a neurologist ought to be figuring it out.

I've had some luck with Klonopin. Because of my hypersensitivities to everything I was surprised that I could tolerate this drug, but it's helped to lessen my overreaction to chemicals, odors, and sound. Even my food sensitivities have improved. (I still can't tolerate wearing a bra though.)

 

[muffin]

Sensory processing disorder because kids can't stand the feel of clothing, clothing tags/seams etc.? If those tags didn't bother many, many people than the Tee shirt people wouldn't be pushing the tagless tee shirts. The same goes for clothes that are advertised as having flat seams. I know that my father, siblings, me, and my 9 year old niece and 16 month old nephew can not tolerate the tags and seams of clothing. I turn my niece's clothes inside out when she's at home so that she is more comfortable. I wear my clothes inside out too when at home and have always cut out the tags in shirts. My niece actually panics when she feels those tags and we have to quickly cut them out for her. I really thought this was pretty common.

I also can not tolerate wool, nylon, synthetic materials, and can really only wear cotton or silk. If something isn't 100% cotton, then I won't buy it. Isn't that common as well? Maria sounds perfectly normal to me. I don't think CFIDS people are the only ones to be irritated by these things.

 

[Athene]

A could of days ago my husband dressed my son in a pair of underpants that I had washed, but hadn't got round to cutting out the label yet.
When we undressed him in the afternoon, his back where the label had been touching him was bright read and a mass of red spots, which then turned into blisters full of blood, He now has a rectangular scab on his back the same size and shape as the label.

This certainly proves it is far more than just a question of our perception, these fabrics/seams/labels are causing some kind of physical reaction in the skin.
I also think it questions the washing powder/products issue, because the pants and label were obviously washed together. I think it must be something inherent in the fabric.

Has anyone else ever had a physical reaction like this?

 

[*GG*]

Wow! Poor little guy, sounds convincing to me. You should take a picture to help document this!

 

[leela]

Athene,

I don't get full-on blisters, but I get red and angry raised tag-shapes from most clothing tags (though not all. so I'm with you on the theory that there is a fabric issue there.} At the chiro recently she aksed me if I had been wearing a patch. It took me a beat or two to even understand what she was talking about, but she touched my low back and I told her it was the tag in my (old and beloved) pants. She was aghast."It's the exact shape!" she said in amazement. Even wierder, that one I didn;t even feel! Some I have to cut out *right away*, like tear-off-the-garment right away.

I had a new one recently, with an older pair of pants that have a metal sipper. I got the angry red blotchies where the xipper touched my skin, and it drove me nuts the whole time I was out. I think this is because. much like being unable to wear jewelry unless it's gold, I have developed a nickel allergy, which is especially exascerbated right now while I am actively chelating truly insane amounts of lead.

Speaking of zippers, anyone else have to peel off the plastic squares they meld to the fabric at the bottom of a jacket zipper? They drive me nuts!

 

[madanthony]

Marco, I don't have CFS so I am going to provide suggestions unthought of in the CFS rhealm:

Try niacinamide (or niacin but you know niacin causes a whole lotta pain). First time I took 500mg niacinamide it made my skin feel like it extremely loved to be touched. However, be aware that niacin (and probably niacinamide?) are methyl consumers and CFS has methylation issues at core so I don't know if you can do this. It does not bother me and I have methylation issues (high homocysteine, now recovered). They say high dose niacin supplementation requires blood work to be sure the liver is not damaged due to insufficient methylation. Some say 1 g. is high, some say high can be anything higher than you can produce methyls for (so even 500 mg can be high). Niacin heals things, for instance pyorhea and the abrations in the blood vessels that cholesterol gets stuck in leading to high cholesterol. Heal your skin and it will feel good (if you can).

Problems with waistbands that others mention here sound like circulation problems more than a 'don't want to be touched' thing. The only thing I happen to know of that increases circulation is cayenne (not that I think it will help if you have constricted anything). I actually think you would benefit more from antiinflammatory supplements (antioxidants)...well that's what I would do. I used to get both of these symptoms 1 day/month during PMS but I stopped getting them. I take a lot of antioxidants (notably 1 g E, 100mg CoQ10, 100mg alpha-lipoic acid, 2 g. C) but also used to take B100, any of which could have been what did the trick. I always took these supplements but am forever palying with doses and barnds and tweaking startegies so it is hard to say.

 

[Marco]

Thanks for the info Madanthony.

I don't have access to blood tests, and I feel so toxic most of the time with food and chemical sensitivities, I'm pretty sure my liver is already overloaded - so I'll pass on the niacinamide for the time being.

My own personal working theory, for the moment, is that we have a dysregulated immune system biased to the TH2 side causing a continual release of cytokines leading to the allergies/sensitivities many of us experience. As the immune system is part of (perhaps the orginal part) the nervous system, it is likely that cytokines are also constantly communicating with the amygdala leading to a constant 'white noise' of signals and a hypersensitivity of innocuous stimuli. Its interesting that many of us also have tinnitus and I think this is where the clothes issue arises.

There are a number of supplements that are both antioxidants and immune modulators.

At the moment I'm supplementing with zinc, tumeric, grape seed extract and ALA (cycling through the last three or in combination - trying to determine which works best).

Its early days and could be coincidental but in the last few weeks I've found a significant improvement in stamina and a lessening of brain fog, plus a reduction in IBS symptoms.

No change in the clothes issue though.