This article may be of interest if you or your loved ones suffer from an irritating allergic skin rash – particularly if you think this could be caused by a recent change in your washing detergent or another fabric modifying additive like whitener/brightener or a fabric conditioner/softener. 

In this weeks blog I would like to share with you something which is close to my heart. In fact as I type this article the skin around my heart (and most of my body) is covered in a very irritating red rash, bumps and various other inflamed lesions which are typical of allergic contact dermatitis.

Many years ago a quarter of my first degree which I studied at the Manchester Medical School involved immunology or the study of allergic reactions and what can cause them. As a result I hope that as an informed layman I can transfer my understanding to you of some of the things that can cause these painful and irritating skin reactions and help you to consider what to do about them. Let me stress I am not a medical doctor – just another sufferer.

My first thought as my own symptoms occurred was that I had simply developed a heat rash. This was due to the arrival of summer in Europe and a recent increase in my aerobic exercises both of which might encourage a heat rash if the skin is unable to sweat properly.

I was able to eliminate the idea of heat rash as the cause by stopping my exercise routine and avoiding exposure to heat and sun (quite easy with the rather cool and wet ‘summer’ we are having here at the moment!). The symptoms continued to get worse and quickly spread across most of my body. Heat rash normally goes away after a short while (a few hours to a couple of days) once the causes are addressed. However my symptoms were getting worse. These symptoms included a red skin rash over a large area with spots/bumps, itching, and a burning pain.

Most readers will be aware of the skin irritation you get following a mosquito or tick bite. Although we know it is better not to scratch the affected area it is almost impossible not to do this as it appears, at first, to ease the irritation. However any relief is short lived and soon after you stop scratching the itchiness returns but now it is even worse. Clearly you can not keep scratching because you risk damaging your skin and perhaps causing a more serious infection of the area concerned. Well now try and imagine what it is like having 1000 mosquito bites all over your body – that is roughly how I am feeling at the moment. Much as I would like to scratch, I would have to scratch my whole body and the problem could be made far more serious. So don’t scratch Chris!

Another reason I was certain this was not simply a heat rash was that the symptoms were spreading to several parts of my body, like my arms and legs. Heat rash is generally localised and often occurs where two skin regions touch like under the arms, breasts or in the groin area. This contact inflammation can be exacerbated if you are overweight. The photo above is my left arm which is the part of my body that does not have to do much work (I am right handed). Therefore I decided this was not simply a heat rash.

The rash spread to my groin area with its somewhat sensitive appendages and to my legs (don’t worry I will not inflict ‘medical’ photos of these areas on you). By this stage I had started to avoid wearing clothes wherever possible and stay in the coolest locations I could find. As I felt I had eliminated heat rash I started to examine other possible causes. The symptoms and circumstances I describe below indicated to me that this was an allergic contact dermatitis.

Over the last month I had made 3 changes to the way I wash clothes:

1. I used a whitener (Dylon’s White’n’Bright) in 3 washing machines full of white clothes

2. I started adding Lenor Softener (Proctor & Gamble) which I had bought recently

3. I used a new box of Persil colour capsules (Unilever) to wash my coloured clothes

All of these types of products: soap powder, detergents, softeners and other washing additives, have been suspected of eliciting allergic reactions in sensitive people.

At this time of year I have very light bed coverings – often usually only a sheet. To avoid getting too cool at night I often wear long armed T-shirts in bed with long pyjama trousers. Both items had recently been washed using one or more of the three products above. I was surprised that my back and shoulders were relatively free of the allergy symptoms. However as I tend to sleep on my chest or sides I assume that my sleeping position forced the allergen (the stuff that causes the allergic reaction) from my clothes into the skin area around my chest and sides. This in effect sensitized these areas which led to a slightly delayed (about two days later) full blown response.

If you are trying to identify causes for similar symptoms you are experiencing there are a number of possible causes of allergic contact dermatitis.

The most common items containing allergic stimulants (allergens) tend to be clothes washing detergents, fabric conditioners/softeners, perfumes and perfumed soaps, colognes, make-up/cosmetic products, rubber clothing items like gloves, smoke and certain kinds of plants (like poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak), dyes and items containing precious metals like nickel and gold. Sometimes an everyday item may contain an unexpected allergen, for example nickel may be in bra stays, hairpins, eyelash curlers, frames of glasses, necklace clasps, zips, thimbles, watch straps, jewellery and insecticides. These are just some common causes – for a more comprehensive list you should consult your allergy specialist.

To identify the cause of an allergic contact dermatitis consider the exact location of the skin response. For example a reaction around the ear-lobes may indicate nickel in an ear ring as the cause. Reactions near the eyes may be due to cosmetics, finger nail products or something that is airborne (pollen, sprays, plant products). Allergens in toothpaste, lip-balm or mouthwash may cause reactions in or around the mouth. If your feet are involved perhaps something in or associated with your shoes is the cause (leather tanning agents, socks, glues, inserts or buckles) or a foot powder. The neck region could indicate an allergen contained in cosmetics, aftershave, cologne or perfume. These can often be made worse by sunlight. Antiperspirants and deodorants usually affect the underarm area as do certain textiles in particular wool. Detergents may be the cause of problems around the hands.

Also consider whether the area affected has been in contact with tars, fibreglass, rubbers (e.g. latex gloves), clothing dyes, chemicals or items treated with chemicals, adhesives (like tapes), soaps, detergents, bleaches, cleaning agents, vinegar, antiseptic or salts of metals.

As I am doing with the three additives above try to eliminate the cause of the irritation or the potential causes. If the dermatitis goes away and you have eliminated more than one substance you can gradually reintroduce the items one at a time to narrow down the culprit. If this doesn’t work your doctor or medical specialist may recommend doing a skin allergy patch test in which very small doses of potential allergens are brought in contact with the skin (under a patch) to see if they cause an allergic response.

Sadly the constant irritation means I have been unable to complete my last piece of baroque music to share with you this week. However you are welcome to share the tracks already produced by clicking on my play-list below. I will certainly be listening to this as I try and relax with a nice piece of non-allergenic chocolate.

Well that is all for this week – I need to save some time for the mountain of re-washing I have to do to try and clean out any remaining traces of suspect additives in my clothes. As soon as I have determined exactly which additive caused my problems I will add a more detailed report to the risk articles section of this website (including more photos). Have a great (and if possible soothing) week.

Chris Duggleby

If you found this article interesting please consider taking a look at some of my other recent reports on similar subjects.

Just click on the titles below:

Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap

Poison in your Washing Machine: Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Laundry Detergents, Softeners, Conditioners and Whiteners

Is Alzheimer’s caused by the Gum Disease Bacterium P. Gingivalis – A Dementia Prevention/Treatment Breakthrough?

Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear

My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear

This weeks blog features a new line in environmentally friendly underwear for Ladies, Men and Children and introduces Rent-a-Duck an effective biological approach to snail warfare in the garden.

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Germany likes to lead the way when it comes to promoting innovations with a strong ‘green‘ flavour. With this in mind I was particularly impressed this weekend to read in the Alpine Press about a couple of developments which I am certain will be of interest to the rest of the non-German speaking international community.

Rent-a-Duck

The first subject concerns an approach to dealing with garden snails which does not require the use of unpleasant and unnatural chemicals. Andrea Halbwirth from the Bavarian village of Untereichhofen has for many years been breeding a collection of Indian Runner Ducks like the ones below:

I do not need to tell any hobby gardener about the frustrations caused to their precious plants by snails. This year seems to be particularly bad here in the Alps where we have been blessed with an unusually high amount of early summer rainfall (including this weekend which is a total write-off for those wanting to work in the garden).

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the collateral damage caused by ‘slime warfare’ it is hard to imagine how much destruction a snail can cause to an unsuspecting lettuce patch or an innocent collection of seedlings carefully cultivated to hopefully fill the summer garden with a patchwork of beautiful colours. Sadly no amount of good words can dissuade a determined snail from pursuing his slimy life of vegetative carnage.

Over 30 years ago Frau Halbwirth simply didn’t know where to turn – the local snail population was making her life on the farm an absolute nightmare. Everywhere she looked there was vegetative devastation surrounded by little trails of slime. That’s when she decided to invest in the Indian Runner Ducks. Since then she has not had to worry about snails. Every morning the ducks are turned out of their barracks and march through the farmyard searching out unwanted intruders. When they find them they gobble them into their beaks and throat and when they have collected enough specimens they head for water to wash their tasty escargot breakfast down. This continues throughout the day as long as they can find free roaming snails.

The Halbwirths’ ducks are so hard working that they keep the whole village free of snails. They are also quite industrious when it comes to breeding and now the farm has started to rent them out to others faced with snail warfare. Currently they require a €15 deposit for each duck and charge €10 per week rent (€30 per month). The business has proved to be very successful and some renters become so attached to their ducks that they adopt them permanently (following a suitable financial arrangement with the owners). For German readers the link to the original article is here.

Such industrious duck heroes deserve to have a piece of music dedicated to them. With this in mind you might like to hear my rendition of the TRANSFORMATES 變Anthem featuring Doris the Digital Duck on Vocals:

Bavarian Bio-Undies

Another interesting Bavarian business venture was mentioned in the Alpine Press this weekend. It featured a start-up venture created by Thomas Vatter und Marcus Faulwasser. These gentlemen prefer to wear bio-textiles but found it quite a challenge to find bio-undies which were not passion killers. Therefore they decided to design and market their own range of Passion promoting Bio-underwear for ladies, men and children.

I was particularly taken by the names they have given to their products. What lady could not resist putting on a pair of ‘Easy Emma‘ boy shorts or a ‘Steady Suzie‘ bikini slip. Likewise what fashion conscious bloke could say no to a pair of ‘Tight Tim‘ trunk shorts or in the boxer range he would have a choice between the free fitting ‘Loose Larry‘ shorts or the ‘Classy Claus‘ boxer briefs. The range is completed with the children’s ‘Naughty Nic‘ baby body. For environmentally conscious fashionable families the Naughty Nic range also coordinates with the parents undies.

Rather than steal their eco-undie pics you can take a look yourself at their website. The link is here and there is an English language option (no I am not on commission!). Interestingly they have named the company after one of the founders “Vatter” which when pronounced in English comes out as “Fatter” – no doubt they intend to be fully inclusive when it comes to larger eco-customers. Actually if they had named the company after the other founder (Marcus Faulwasser) I suspect this could have proved challenging in the German market. ‘Faulwasser‘ translates roughly as ‘Putrid Water‘ and somehow I couldn’t imagine the discerning German customer wanting to buy their eco panties with the words ‘Putrid Water’ on the waste band! The link to the original German article is here.

As pictured above I certainly know of one one sports celebrity who will be keen to pose in a pair of ‘Tight Tim’ trunk shorts. If you have missed his musical debut here is the song dedicated to Lycra Larry‘s unfortunate ‘exposure‘ incident:

Well I think that is enough environmentally friendly news for this week. As it’s still raining I think I had better get back to composing some more hits for the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project. I just need to finish one more Baroque Interpretation to complete the next album. Hopefully I will be able to share this track with you in the next blog.

Remember now – Bio does not need to be at the expense of passion!

Chris Duggleby

Time for the ducks to take a bow……

If you would like to get a sneak preview of the other tracks on my forthcoming ‘Baroque Interpretations’ album why not take a look at the play list below….

• The German supermarket chain Aldi is giving the likes of Tesco and Morrison’s a tough time in the UK but they have recently had some serious problems of their own in their home country following the discovery by authorities of highly contagious norovirus in Aldi frozen strawberries.
• In Bavaria a moose has been spotted for the first time posing for a selfie in the state’s national forest (see picture…).
• English troops overseas forced to eat dead horses and drink water from puddles (sanctioned by the House of Lords). Details below…

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

 

Lord Willoughby’s Battlefield Leadership Skills

Let’s start with the troops eating horse meat and drinking puddle water. For those who are unfamilliar with Peregrine Bertie the 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1555-1601) here is a picture of this handsome chap:

He was so popular during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) that a ballad praising his exploits in the battlefield circulated throughout England. I think we can consider this to be one of the first national UK pop songs. The ballad “My Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home” is rather long but here are a couple of extracts:

The fifteenth day of July, with glist’ning speare & shield,

A famous fight in Flanders was foughten in the field:

The most couragious officers were the English captains three,

But the bravest in the Battel was brave Lord Willoughby.

His ability to motivate his troops to eat their horses and drink water from puddles was particularly impressive:

For seven hours in all mens view the fight endured sore,

Until our men so feeble grew that they could fight no more,

And them upon dead horses full savourly they eat

And drank the puddle water, they could no better get.

At about the same time Elizabethan England had another celebrity named John Dowland (1563-1626). He was a very accomplished Lute player and singer and therefore the renaissance equivalent of today’s most famous rock guitarists/vocalists.

Although Dowland was a gifted player and composer of the Lute he was also very active oversees working as a court musician in Denmark and later back in England (under James I). Whilst working in Paris for England’s Ambassador to the French Court he converted to Catholicism and his income was, for that period, so astronomical that it is almost certain that he was engaged in international espionage. Try to imagine a cross between Eric Clapton and James Bond! Even Queen Elizabeth I remarked of Dowland that he “was a man to serve any prince in the world, but was an obstinate Papist.”

Inspired by the ballad “My Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home” Dowland composed a beautiful lute duet. I have taken the original music and rearranged it to be performed by the TRANSFORMATES 變 Synthesizer Ensemble (part of the TRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project). Why not click on the video below to listen to this and watch the accompanying video (hot off the press from the V&LIUMM Alpine Studios)? As the synthesizer ensemble joins in don’t forget – this piece was written over 400 years ago!

With this soothing renaissance music playing in the background let me now explain about those noroviruses found in Aldi strawberries and the sighting of Bavaria’s first posing moose. In the next couple of weeks I will add an article to the Transformates 變 own website (link here) which will provide you with much more information about the fascinating lives and adventures of both John Dowland and Lord Willoughby (including the full text of the ballad about Lord Willoughby’s battle prowess).

Moose Caught Posing in Bavaria

Regular visitors to my website will know I like to keep non-German readers updated on the latest developments coming out of the German language press. In particular I try to give prominence to news items that we do not get to see in the international press. Well the posing moose is just such an item. Here is the selfie!

There have been earlier reports of sightings of moose in Bavaria but this is the first time that one has actually been captured on camera. It is believed that the young male animal came over from the border from the neighbouring Czech Republic and unless some lady moose also crosses the border into Bavaria it will have to return home in order to mate. The animal was captured with a forestry monitoring camera set to automatically take photos of (suitably posing) wildlife. So for readers who have not yet visited the beautiful Bavarian countryside here is another reason to come – and bring your camera. Next time he comes he may be fully grown:

..and perhaps even bring his wife with him?

German Aldi Strawberry Investigation

If you have never had a Norovirus infection consider yourself lucky – I picked it up during a business trip to Spain a few years ago. The combination of stomach cramps, general pains, fever, weakness and the tendency to throw up at very little notice made it one of the worst illnesses I have had to endure. The virus is extremely infectious and there are many strains so even if you develop immunity to one you could quite possibly find yourself on your back again when the next wave of suffering comes to your neighbourhood. Since it is a virus infection antibiotics are useless – you can merely try to mitigate the symptoms, take care of yourself and hope it passes quickly (with me it took over a week to get over the worst). The illness left a lasting impression on me because I was just about to hand in my boarding pass to board a plane to the UK from Spain when I had to immediately run to the nearest rest room and empty the contents of my stomach into a convenient lavatory bowl.

Early in my career I had the good fortune to study virology when I was working towards by first degree in the Manchester medical school. As a result I have always had an interest in news about viruses and this probably explains why an article in the German press about the discovery of Noroviruses in Aldi strawberries caught my eye.

Unlike the home grow strawberries in the picture above those investigated in Aldi stores by the German Health Officials were deep frozen. They were part of a 25 tonne lot imported from Egypt. Specifically stores in the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt where involved and Aldi has immediately withdrawn the products and offered a refund to customers having already purchased the products. Packs of strawberries and of mixed berries were involved. They were sold under the trade mark “Golden Fruit” and imported by the company Frost Import GmbH – the batches involved had sell-by dates of 28.4.2017 and 5.5.2017.

Fortunately the German Authorities are quite vigilant in their random spot checks on the quality of food sold in German supermarkets. You can actually get the official information from a Government website – Lebelsmittelwarnung.de (Translation: ‘food products warning‘). If you would like to take a look at the official warning for this incident the link is here. It might be worth checking whether the safety checks practised in your own country are sufficient to pick up such contamination. Fortunately the management of Aldi Nord in Germany responded very quickly once the authorities advised them of their discovery.

So that’s all for this week – a rather varied bag ranging from an Elizabethan James Bond, a posing moose and strawberries that make you vomit. If you want to be kept informed why not add your name to the subscriber list?

Enjoy the rest of the week!

Chris Duggleby

Chris Duggleby started his scientific career in the Bacteriology and Virology department based in the Manchester Medical School. From there he went on to spend over 35 years in the chemicals and oil industry which included setting up a polymers research and development group in Geneva, Switzerland. Following an MBA at Warwick University he went on to lead a number of international manufacturing and marketing operations in the Chemicals, Plastics and Oil industries. He has lived and worked in the several countries including UK, USA, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Russia and China. More recently he was invited to take on a senior leadership position in the Audit Department of one of the Worlds largest oil groups. Here he used his global change and risk management experience to help the group through a major environmental disaster. He has now retired to focus on writing about risk management and producing music in his studios near London, in the Alps and Cape Town.

If you found this article interesting why not try the following?

31st May 2015: German Concern about Potentially Carcinogenic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Cosmetics

11th May 2014: Product Development Risk: Poisons in Vehicle Fires – New Air Conditioning Coolant Gas Produces Carbonyl Difluoride (Highly Toxic – Related to WW1 Gas Phosgene) in Vehicle Fires

16th April 2014: Ethical Pricing: Withdrawing cancer drugs to make more money in other applications Same Drug – For Leukaemia 21 Euro (Now Withdrawn) – For Multiple Sclerosis 888 Euro

6th April 2014: Product Quality Risk: Carcinogens in Footwear Shoes Sold On-line By Zalando Recalled Due To Chromium 6 Contamination – Known Allergen And Carcinogen

Pandemic Risk Management Article by Chris Duggleby (February 2012) (or ‘How to Prepare for the Consequences of Microbial Sex!‘)

More RISK ARTICLES can be found by checking out the list on the page here.

If you fancy reading some of my more humorous reports why not check out the list on my Alpine Press page which can be found here.

Have you checked out my other interpretations of baroque musical masterpieces using contemporary instruments? If not try the play list below (it is of course free!):

More information on my music production activities can be found on theTRANSFORMATES 變 Music Project website via the link here.

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

Bavarian Beavers Bite Bathers Bottoms – It’s not every week that I get a chance to practice my alliteration skills but then again it is not every week that a bather gets bitten near his nether regions while swimming in one of Bavaria’s beautiful lakes. Especially when the creature doing the biting is a ‘protected’ beaver.

The area in question is the Bavarian region of Stockdorf. Specifically a very pretty and well loved bathing and relaxation area about 100 meters south of the Grubmühler Wehrs (Grubmühler weir). At 7:15 p.m. on June 3rd a 26 year old youth cycled to this pleasant spot with his girlfriend to do a spot of early evening summer bathing.

After about a minute in the water he felt something on the surface which he thought was probably a tree branch. Just as he tried to move out of the way he felt a very sharp pain and shortly afterwards noticed a 60 cm long beaver diving next to him. The beaver simply swam beside him and looked the bather straight in the eyes for about 5 seconds.

Only when the young man returned to the shore did he notice that there was a blood stain on his shorts. He had acquired a 3 cm deep, 4 cm wide wound near his bottom which needed treating in the local hospital in Starnberg. If you think this amount of damage is slightly exaggerated take a look at what the average beaver can do to 25 cm (10 inch) thick trees.

However this bather was relatively lucky. Those of us who go bathing regularly in Bavaria will be well aware of the large number of local FKK bathers (Frei Körper Kultur or Free Body Culture is the German term for nude bathing). If you are in doubt of this take a walk through the English Garden in the middle of Munich on a warm summers day. Nudity is part of the culture here just like the white sausage (Weißwurst) and pretzel. Now imagine the potential damage a beaver could do if he got his teeth into a tasty morsel on the ‘opposite side’ of a bather’s bottom. Male genital mutilation is not a popular past-time even among Germany’s more adventurous FKK brethren.

The official responsible for beaver management in the South of Bavaria was quoted in the local press as saying that although generally beavers are peace loving animals they will stop at nothing to protect their new offspring when these are still so young that thay are unable to escape potential predators. This is the second ‘biting’ incident in the Grubmühler Feld area in recent weeks and it is recommended that people give the animals a wide berth.

Currently there are about 17000 Beavers in Bavaria and although they have been known to attack dogs this is the first year that people have been bitten. Although the beavers are a protected species the authorities do catch and destroy about 1200 a year. This is usually a last resort when the animals threaten technical facilities or cause serious damage to agricultural areas. Until now aggressive behaviour has not been a ground for ‘dealing with’ beavers although the situation is being carefully considered by the local officials.

If you are going bathing this summer then why not listen to some of my fun songs? If played loudly they are sure to discourage beavers from biting your sensitive parts. The link to my fun songs page is here.

If you do get bitten then try listening to the soothing tones of my baroque interpretations. The playlist is below (and of course it is free to all beaver fans):

There are also some more interesting articles to read in my Alpine Press section.

Enjoy your summer bathing and keep an eye open for cute but aggressive swimmers.

Chris Duggleby