Allergic to something on the boat ?

[bassplayer]

Hi,

 

Wondering if I share our experience and thinking we may get some observations or experiences from the readership?

 

We are LAT's (Live-apart-together) a modern term for people who are married but live apart for some of the time. Our case it is jobs, but the result is I spend a good proportion of time on Percy and one weekend my good lady visits me and the other I visit her.

 

Now the question.... my wife does suffer from allergies. After a few days aboard her face starts to get itchy and on previous occasions she develops what we consider to be an allergic rash. There are a couple of things it might be... dust from the stove, what we burn on the stove, spores from living so close to the country (we have a linear mooring) or maybe the stored water, we have a stainless steel tank and water filter for drinking.

 

I guess time might help as now we are heading for the warner weather the stove might be put out sometime in the near future....but also the countryside dries up and gets 'green' I have stopped burning wood as we thought the stored wood onboard and as we burn it it may have been releasing spores or the wood smoke may have been aggravating the allergy. We have tried washing the face with boiled water, but difficult when showering. We also only use filtered water in the kettle so we do not mix it with the non filtered.

 

It must be something on the boat as when she is in the cottage (in the country as well) the reaction subsides.

 

On option is to replace the wood burner for a Reflecks, happy to do this but wanted to be sure or as sure as we could be that it is the dust/toxins being released from burning wood and less so coal (Excel).

 

Just wondered if anyone else had had this issue ?

 

Kind regards

 

Nev NB Percy

 

I suspect there are a lot of women allergic to being on a boat. Seriously though, I have a problem with biological soap powder, I use non-biological with no problems. Stress also causes rashes so maybe she should spend more time on the boat.

[Tom Richmond]

As suggested above I think far more likely to be chemical (paint, washing powder, fabric treatment, cleaning product etc) than the fire or water. Going to a doctor is a good plan, as they do have test that can be carried out. They will ask you for a record of where you have been when symptoms develop, so it's a good idea to start filling that in now, and retrospectively as best you can...

 

You might also start to isolate what on the boat might cause these symptoms. For example, could you quarantine all of the loose soft furnishings (bedding, cushions, even curtains) and have the OH bring from home? As you know that her bedding (and detergent, softener etc) at home does not induce symptoms, it would be a good way to establish where the source might be on board. If No symptoms present themselves you can then start to reintroduce things one by one until they return (not nice for her, but I imagine that knowing what causes the reaction will feel worth it.) Could you also move the boat to a significantly different location for a weekend, as you suspect something airborne nearby may be the cause? Moving into town might give you a nice excuse to do something different together for a weekend, and establish whether or not the location of your mooring is the source of her discomfort.

 

I wish you the best of luck.

[bizzard]

And there's diesel fumes and exhaust to consider, not to mention formaldehyde toilet chemical, so if your complexion is beginning to take on a sort of bluey hue, hardly noticeable in its infancy but this can only worsen and goes through all the shades of blue until the colour of your face eventually matches the shade of blue of a Thetford toilet blue container or its contents, with rosey cheeks showing through ''the embalming effect'' If this occurs, you'll know you've got it bad. Known by Harley St skin specialists as ''The rampant Thetford blues syndrome''.Or Raging Elsanitis.

Edited February 17, 2015 by bizzard

[mango]

You can put items that you can't wash (e.g. pillows) in the freezer for 48 hours to kill mites.

I am familiar with the recommendation for freezing pillows etc to kill dust mites, but that won't get rid of existing faeces, which are believed to be the main allergen.

 

I use synthetic pillows and do wash them. When they get a bit lumpy I replace them.

[Arthur Brown]

An intense "hot water wash" program might help, clean everything and kill bio things. Try non bio detergents. get some pool chlorinating tablets for the water tank (or put some thin bleach in there.

 

Speak to her GP.

Edited February 17, 2015 by Arthur Brown

[mango]

And there's diesel fumes and exhaust to consider, not to mention formaldehyde toilet chemical, so if your complexion is beginning to take on a sort of bluey hue, hardly noticeable in its infancy but this can only worsen and goes through all the shades of blue until the colour of your face eventually matches the shade of blue of a Thetford toilet blue container or its contents, with rosey cheeks showing through ''the embalming effect'' If this occurs, you'll know you've got it bad. Known by Harley St skin specialists as ''The rampant Thetford blues syndrome''.Or Raging Elsanitis.

I thought the Thetford Blues was a style of music originating from somewhere in Norfolk.

[Phil Ambrose]

Should'nt worry about the water, I have been drinking mine straight from the tank for over 14 years with no ill effects

 

Phil

[Bee]

Yes, many chaps do if their other half is away. Not many admit it, though.

Oh very good!

[Nev]

Thank you all so much for the considered advice( and the jokes). Those that have suggested pillows might well be onto something as it makes sense the contact and the rash on my wife's face. It is not detergent as the covers are washed at her place. However her pillows are not used between visits and are discarded during my slumbers to the end of the bed. It could well be they do get slightly damp or get mould spores on them inbetween visits being unused.

 

I think we will try a regime of her bringing her pillow cases each visit and storing the pillows in a vacuum bag inbetween.

 

Let's hope the combined wisdom and general helpfulness of you all have indeed helped ( again)

 

Many thanks

 

Nev

[mango]

Thank you all so much for the considered advice( and the jokes). Those that have suggested pillows might well be onto something as it makes sense the contact and the rash on my wife's face. It is not detergent as the covers are washed at her place. However her pillows are not used between visits and are discarded during my slumbers to the end of the bed. It could well be they do get slightly damp or get mould spores on them inbetween visits being unused.

 

I think we will try a regime of her bringing her pillow cases each visit and storing the pillows in a vacuum bag inbetween.

 

Let's hope the combined wisdom and general helpfulness of you all have indeed helped ( again)

 

Many thanks

 

Nev

I am allergic to feather pillows, some more than others. I'm convinced that the problem is not the feathers but the moulds that grow on them. I have never had a problem with a synthetic pillow, and they are much cheaper.

 

Best of luck.

[Richard T]

Hi- I recently had allergy patch tests completed after a very nasty allergic reaction and found out I'm allergic to a preservative- isothiazolinone compounds and also some fragrances, limonene and linalool. I had never heard of it, but it is responsible for an epidemic of allergies and dermatitis.

 

Its a preservative and used in anything from toothpaste to washing liquids, toiletries, shampoos, printing inks and also paints. Some sufferers can experience a reaction from being in a room that has been painted with a paint containing it. It's suspected that many people suffer mild issues and dont know they have it.

 

Heres a link to a page I follow- It may be completely unconnected but it might give you an idea of things to try- or consider what is different between home and boat- do you have different laundry liquids etc. Good luck

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allergy-to-Isothiazolinone-Methylisothiazolinone-and-Chloroisothiazolinone/307128722674171

This is a serious allergy and these chemicals are in many products.I understand that the manufacturers are voluntarily stopping putting them in products which remain on the skin e.g. sun cream. Where products are washed off they are still included. I have to be careful when staying in hotels with shoiwer gels etc and usually take my own.

[pquinn]

The only way that you can be sure of removing this problem is to get a new wife immediately before the problem gets any worse.

[mango]

Hi- I recently had allergy patch tests completed after a very nasty allergic reaction and found out I'm allergic to a preservative- isothiazolinone compounds and also some fragrances, limonene and linalool. I had never heard of it, but it is responsible for an epidemic of allergies and dermatitis.

 

Its a preservative and used in anything from toothpaste to washing liquids, toiletries, shampoos, printing inks and also paints. Some sufferers can experience a reaction from being in a room that has been painted with a paint containing it. It's suspected that many people suffer mild issues and dont know they have it.

 

Heres a link to a page I follow- It may be completely unconnected but it might give you an idea of things to try- or consider what is different between home and boat- do you have different laundry liquids etc. Good luck

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allergy-to-Isothiazolinone-Methylisothiazolinone-and-Chloroisothiazolinone/307128722674171

Here is comment from a dermatologist. http://www.ruh.nhs.uk/media/documents/2013_08_09_Allergy.pdf

 

Thanks for the post Woodstock. I was not aware of this problem.

 

Everyday household products are a cocktail of chemicals and the manufacturers often change the composition, making it a nightmare for those with skin sensitivity and allergy.

 

One of the most unnecessary products is antibacterial handwash. Almost everything that is harmful to bacteria could also be harmful to humans. I hope that triclosan has been removed from handwash but it's still in some toothpastes such as Colgate Total.

[bizzard]

It's far safer to clean your toofies with soot, soot from your chimney, like in the old days. Its Fluoride.

Edited February 18, 2015 by bizzard

[bizzard]

Infested: Living with Parasites. BBC4 tonight at 9pm. Not sure if it's the human kind though.

[mango]

It's far safer to clean your toofies with soot, soot from your chimney, like in the old days. Its Fluoride.

Soot may clean your teeth but it contains so many carcinogens that your gums may fall out.