Living with Petroleum Allergies in a Chemical World: Here Comes the Sun

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By Steven Neil

As winter turned into spring, I began to understand just how extensive my allergies were and how much they were going to affect my life. For instance, my lips went numb after a meal. Gradually, I saw a pattern; the more I used a napkin to wipe my face during a meal, the worse my reaction was. Then I realized paper products in general aggravated my condition because they contained formaldehyde .

Formaldehyde is a naturally occurring chemical that reverts to an odorless, colorless poisonous gas at room temperature. Often combined with other chemicals because of its anti-bacterial and preservative nature, formaldehyde lurks in many household items. One of the most common is paper, and I was using paper napkins several times during a meal. So, I replaced them with cloth, and though it helped, it did not eliminate the problem. I also switched to a bamboo toilet paper.

Though my overall condition slightly improved, my flare-ups were becoming more common as the spring turned into summer, which meant more exposure to the sun. I also began to have asthma attacks, especially when I was around fragrances or when there was pollen in the air.

This development is tough to accept because I love to garden, and spring is the time you do your prep work for the coming summer. It would be several months before I learned that I now suffer from solar urticaria, I am allergic to sunlight. It is an uncommon allergy, but photosensitivity is a growing allergy today. Because of my chemical allergies, I have not been able to find a sunscreen that I can use to protect me from the UV rays, so I have to wear wide-brimmed hats, light protective clothing and avoid being outside during the hours of 11 AM until 4 PM when the sun is at its peak. When I do flare-up, I use a Q-Tip to apply avocado oil with a few drops of red raspberry seed oil mixed in it to moisturize my skin.

During these months, my dermatologist prescribed several different lotions and ointments to help with eczema. It did not take many applications to learn that petroleum-based chemicals are not a good cure for petroleum-based allergies; so far, the only one that helped is Betamethasone Valerate. The problem is that steroids can thin the skin and cause other problems. My allergist said to never use it on my face for more than two days in a row and then not apply it again for at least a week.

Because I was on a Labor and Industries claim, the dermatologist and my company representative were under pressure to get me back to work. The problem was that while the severity had decreased, my symptoms were not going away. I was trapped in a cycle in which I would flare-up, then need to take Prednisone to get them under control again.

Prednisone can be a fantastic drug as it substantially reduced my eczema, but it has several dangerous side-effects. While Prednisone did relieve some of my symptoms, they came right back after I finished taking it.

It was the end of May when my dermatologist told me that there was nothing more he could do for me. I asked about further testing for other allergies, and he said to me that I already had “enough to deal with,” and that he was not going to give me any more allergy tests. His recommendation to get me back to work was to take a drug named CellCept mycophenolate mofetil for the rest of my life. This drug is an immunosuppressive agent used to prevent your body from rejecting a kidney, liver, or heart transplant.

Before taking the CellCept, I decided to call a few medical professionals I know about the drug. They told me not to take it; then I discovered CellCept has sixty-six *common* side effects, including:

* bleeding gums
* bloating or swelling of the face, arms, hands, lower legs, or feet
* blood in the urine or stools
* blurred vision
* burning, crawling, itching, numbness, prickling, “pins and needles,” or tingling feelings
* confusion
* convulsions
* difficult or labored breathing
* burning, or painful urination
* dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up from a lying or sitting position
* pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse
* fever or chills
* muscle cramps in the hands, arms, stomach, feet, legs, or face
* nausea or vomiting
* numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips
* seizures
* sores, ulcers, or white spots on the lips or in the mouth
* unusual bleeding or bruising
* unusual tiredness or weakness

CellCept can increase your risk of skin and lymph system cancers, lowers your white blood cell count, which can make you more susceptible to infections, colds, and the flu, any of which could be deadly. It can also stop your body from producing red blood cells causing severe anemia. I could not believe that my doctor offered this as the solution to my allergies just so that he could sign me off as ready to go back to work.

While CellCept can be lifesaving for those people who have an organ transplant and it can help those who, like myself, suffer from severe allergies, it comes at a terrible cost that I am not willing to pay. So, before I began taking it, I contacted an Allergist to find out if they could help me find a better answer to my problems. I will be forever grateful I made this choice because, on the one hand, it would completely alter my life, but it would also begin to provide ways to make my life livable again.

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