What is the likely culprit for itchy red bumps on my arms?

[kumudini]

I will say it is unlikely to be an allergy. I am not familiar with lemongrass oil but any EO is very unlikely to cause allergy as they are not amino acid/ peptide compounds. It could definitely be irritant as others have mentioned. And it could have become harsher with the heat involved in HP. You didn't react after the umpteen number of hand washes. Even after the shower you had the rash only on forearms, no where else. It is quite common for it to start in one place but generally ends up spreading all over the body if it is an allergic reaction. Which it doesn't seem like the scenario in your case. It didn't even happen after the patch test with neat EO, you just had a local reaction. It is very likely that it was just irritation, in which case a calamine lotion or some soothing oils like coconut are going to help more than say Benadryl. May be use less or no soap until it starts to heal. Why only your forearms were affected? They became easily irritable for some reason. It could be your cat as you say. Give it time. Try the soap after 4 weeks. Only on a small area first. If it still bothers you then you should give away the soap to someone who used a lemongrass soap before without issue. I doubt that would be the case. Good luck.

 

[DeeAnna]

General info:

http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/aromatherapy/are-essential-oils-safe
https://www.naha.org/explore-aromatherapy/safety/
http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/essential-oil-skin-patch-test.asp
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14744508
http://www.sepscience.com/Sectors/P...ial-of-Allergens-in-Aromatherapy-Oils-by-GCMS
Also Tisserand, Robert, and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety, 2nd ed., pages 27-28

Specific to lemongrass and to citral, the troublesome ingredient in lemongrass:

"...Four cases of allergic contact dermatitis to essential oils occurring in three aromatherapists and one chemist with a particular interest in aromatherapy are described. All presented with predominantly hand dermatitis and demonstrated sensitization to multiple essential oils. One patient developed a recurrence of cutaneous symptoms following ingestion of lemongrass tea. Workers within this industry should be aware of the sensitization potential of these products and the risk of limiting their ability to continue employment...."
http://www.researchgate.net/publica...rmatitis_following_exposure_to_essential_oils

Also Tisserand, Robert, and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety, 2nd ed., pages 334-335

 

[Susie]

Nice to know. Really. It explains so much!

ETA- Just tossed all the lip balm and hand balm I had made up. I am going to make some lip balm without any flavor/scent to see if I can get my lips to stop peeling. Every batch I had on hand had one of the EOs mentioned in the NAHA article. I bookmarked that for future reference.

I truly can't thank you enough, DeeAnna! I have had months of itchy peeling lips.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Right - my entire skin was exposed. I bathed from head to toes, but only my arms got the itchy red bumps.

I developed an allergy to penicillin. It presented itself as red bumps on my legs, and only my legs, even though I was taking tablets and know that it was throughout my body. So it is possible that only your arms developed the bumps but your entire body is affected. As to why your hands did not when you used it, maybe the skin on your hands is less sensitive or "tougher". You might be able to use an FO in lemongrass scent, but I don't know that I would even risk that.

 

[KristaY]

It's also quite possible you had a reaction to a mixture of things. My sister used my lemongrass soap for several months with no problems. One day she was weeding her yard and started to itch from pollens and such that came in contact with her exposed skin - arms, face, legs below the knees. She ran inside to quickly shower it off and the lemongrass soap made it much worse. I suspect there was something in the weeds that reacted with the lemongrass which in turn made the problem worse. She now avoids lemongrass in any body product just in case that was the main culprit. She also wears long sleeves, long pants, shoes and socks when she weeds which helps a bit.

So your problem could be a combination of lemongrass, cuddling your kitty, poison ivy pollens, air contaminants, etc. in a crazy stew that created your particular itchy bumps. That's the interesting thing about allergies, they can pop up at any time in any way. Your manifestation can be completely different from anyone else's but it's still not something to be taken lightly. Good luck getting it sorted out!

 

[coffeetime]

I had a customer mention that she was breaking out in a rash after using my soap. I asked which one, and she mentioned two different ones she had tried. The common denominator was lemongrass EO. So I gave her a bar with no lemongrass to try and no problem. She was sensitive to lemongrass, but had picked out all lemongrass soaps as it was her favourite scent. I'm glad we figured it out, but it sounds just like what you've experienced. I second the suggestion to make another batch, the same but no scent it colour and see how your skin likes it. Then you'll know it wasn't the soap for sure.

 

[cmzaha]

I will say it is unlikely to be an allergy. I am not familiar with lemongrass oil but any EO is very unlikely to cause allergy as they are not amino acid/ peptide compounds. It could definitely be irritant as others have mentioned. And it could have become harsher with the heat involved in HP. You didn't react after the umpteen number of hand washes. Even after the shower you had the rash only on forearms, no where else. It is quite common for it to start in one place but generally ends up spreading all over the body if it is an allergic reaction. Which it doesn't seem like the scenario in your case. It didn't even happen after the patch test with neat EO, you just had a local reaction. It is very likely that it was just irritation, in which case a calamine lotion or some soothing oils like coconut are going to help more than say Benadryl. May be use less or no soap until it starts to heal. Why only your forearms were affected? They became easily irritable for some reason. It could be your cat as you say. Give it time. Try the soap after 4 weeks. Only on a small area first. If it still bothers you then you should give away the soap to someone who used a lemongrass soap before without issue. I doubt that would be the case. Good luck.

I would strongly disagree, there are some EO's that I am moderately severly allergic to.

 

[valerieinthegallery]

I may have figured it out, guys. I can't believe I didn't think of this the other night.

As I mentioned, it's still quite chilly in Maine (especially living in a house that gets very little direct sunlight!). The day before I made soap, I was at the store and found fleece (actually polyester/spandex that feels like fleece) tops/leggings on clearance and picked up one of each. I was wearing them the day I made the soap and they weren't bothering me at all..

After I discovered the post-shower rash, I took another shower, changed clothes and put these in the wash. I took them out of the wash last night (my rash was almost gone, a bit bumpy still but not red) and wore them to bed. Woke up this morning with the red back and itchy again. (And also a bit itchy on my legs). I am wondering if, when wearing them, I get a bit too warm (especially at night under covers) and it's a heat rash thing? Maybe I didn't notice it on my arms until the lemongrass hit it?

I am keeping the soap - every day it just looks/feels nicer and nicer. And yes, I can't help myself, I keep picking it up and feeling it because it just feels so nice. And I am not having any reaction from touching it with my fingers. (edited to add: Unless touching them with my fingers is giving me the arm rash/minor leg rash! Man, I'd make a terrible scientist, as I can't maintain control conditions apparently.)

Anyway, just an update.

Thank you for all the replies and sharing your own stories/experiences! I appreciate it very much!

 

[kumudini]

I would strongly disagree, there are some EO's that I am moderately severly allergic to.

Thank you for sharing Carolyn, I agree i made a general statement and since then I looked up several things. It appears that essential oils can cause irritant contact dermatitis as well as allergic contact dermatitis. The differential is best left to a trained eye. ICD appears to be more common of the two. Generalized Anaphylactic( read very serious) reactions have not come up in my search.I stick with my recommendation to Valerie, to try after a full cure on a small area and not use the soap if it bothers her. Meanwhile I will look further into this issue as safety comes first. I reacted to lavender fragranced baby lotion once with hives all over, but not to the actual lavender EO. I remember reacting to jergens body lotion a long time ago, since then it has been fragrance free lotions and creams for me.
Valerie, soap by its action on the skin opens up a weakened skin barrier to irritants and allergens. So you touching it and sniffing it is not going to tell you much. If you really want to troubleshoot, an allergy specialist can help you with that.

 

[Chefmom]

It's also quite possible you had a reaction to a mixture of things. My sister used my lemongrass soap for several months with no problems. One day she was weeding her yard and started to itch from pollens and such that came in contact with her exposed skin - arms, face, legs below the knees. She ran inside to quickly shower it off and the lemongrass soap made it much worse. I suspect there was something in the weeds that reacted with the lemongrass which in turn made the problem worse. She now avoids lemongrass in any body product just in case that was the main culprit. She also wears long sleeves, long pants, shoes and socks when she weeds which helps a bit.

Krista, this issue could have also been just the weeds themselves. There is a couple of common weeds that once on the skin cause contact dermatitis. And some that you don't notice until the sun hits you, then BAM.....you swell, turn red, itch and get huge blisters. This is called phytophotodermatitis.

It is possible that she came into contact with a weed and the hot water then in turn made the contact with the toxin, making it all much worse, regardless of soap used. It is advised when coming into contact with any kind of poison ivy, poison sumac, toxic plants etc to first flush your skin with cold water. I also keep several soaps with infused herbs for such matters, and all of them are fragrance free (EO and FO). But cold water is important to keep it from getting worse.

 

[Cactuslily]

Heat, as in when you were showering, causes vasodilation. Just the water alone can cause itching. If you were using the lemongrass soap on an area that is sensitive or irritated, this can cause a rash like you were explaining. Do you remember if you scratched your arms in the shower while bathing? Or used a scrubbie? It sounds as if a combination of things caused your rash. I'd eliminate all of them...except of course for bathing maybe try your soap again after a longer cure. Start in small patch test style.i can't remember if you said using the EO directly onto your skin caused a reaction. Hope you are feeling better.

 

[KristaY]

Krista, this issue could have also been just the weeds themselves. There is a couple of common weeds that once on the skin cause contact dermatitis. And some that you don't notice until the sun hits you, then BAM.....you swell, turn red, itch and get huge blisters. This is called phytophotodermatitis.

It is possible that she came into contact with a weed and the hot water then in turn made the contact with the toxin, making it all much worse, regardless of soap used. It is advised when coming into contact with any kind of poison ivy, poison sumac, toxic plants etc to first flush your skin with cold water. I also keep several soaps with infused herbs for such matters, and all of them are fragrance free (EO and FO). But cold water is important to keep it from getting worse.

Thanks for reminding me of this, Chefmom.:smile: I remember having a fleeting thought of phytophotodermatitis when she explained the situation to me. She's now very mindful of how she dresses and bathes (luke warm shower as she hates cold water, lol) when she has to work in the yard but still chooses to avoid lemongrass just in case. She loves lavender and has had no problems with it so sticks with that one.:smile:

 

[valerieinthegallery]

Heat, as in when you were showering, causes vasodilation. Just the water alone can cause itching. If you were using the lemongrass soap on an area that is sensitive or irritated, this can cause a rash like you were explaining. Do you remember if you scratched your arms in the shower while bathing? Or used a scrubbie? It sounds as if a combination of things caused your rash.

Funny that you should ask if I remember scratching my arms in the shower, because yes, I did. I always do. I always feel itchy the first few minutes I am in the shower and I do tend to scratch my arms and my belly, my lower back.. I look like a Freddie Krueger victim when I exit the shower with red lines all over me. I can't shower with cooler water comfortably though, because I am always so cold and a shower is my only surefire way to warm up. But I do have dry skin and I think the hot water makes it itch.