Can Detergent I Use Cause My Eczema?

Can Detergent I Use Cause My Eczema? Most studies have linked skin eczema conditions to particular detergents that individuals use in their daily activities. Many people use different detergents to remove dirt and stains on their clothes and beddings.

Despite the wonderfulness and effectiveness of clothes washing, laundry detergent has some dangerous and highly toxic chemicals that are harmful to the skin.

The chemicals become more harmful as they contain carcinogens such as formaldehyde, chloroform, and benzyl acetate. Even after washing your clothing, the activities may not easily break down these carcinogens. According to multiple studies, these chemicals later lead to skin irritation, inflamed lesions, and dry skin, causing skin eczema.

This article provides a complete guide on the relationship between eczema and laundry detergent.

Can Detergent I Use Cause My Eczema?

The laundry detergent affects the skin negatively in different ways, causing eczema- symptoms. The following are the different ways the detergents negatively affect your skin:

1. The detergent contains a lot of toxic chemicals

When manufacturing most laundry detergents, most companies mix the detergents with multiple preservatives, dyes, and artificial fragments. The primary use of these chemicals is to ensure that the products provide the optimal results when an individual is using them.

According to most skin dermatologists, these chemicals usually aggravate the skin. Using the detergent for a longer duration may lead to adverse skin reactions.

2. Detergent’s components attaching between fibers

If you use many detergents for your washing, some detergent particles can attach to the fibers or clothing. When you wear the clothes, your skin may come into direct contact with the clothing you are wearing or the bedding you’re using. After the particles encounter the skin, the resulting reaction is an eczema-like rash reaction. This reaction makes the skin itchy, scaly red, and dry.

3. Overusing of the laundry detergent

Some detergents might not be very harmful to the human skin. However, overusing the detergent can be harmful to the skin and the overall body. If you use a high quantity of detergents while you’re washing your clothing or bedding, there are high chances you’ll expose more of the detergent to your hands or skin.

Due to higher toxic chemicals, the detergents might cause itchiness, dry or even red skin.

Signs and Symptoms of Eczema Resulting From Laundry Detergents

There are many causes of eczema, such as damp hands, hairdressing, insect bites, and certain detergents. For you to establish if the leading cause of skin eczema is the use of your laundry detergent, it’ll be good after having the signs and symptoms rule out the other causes. You can rule out the other causes by checking the history of your activities or checking for similar symptoms from your colleagues in the house.

Below are some of the symptoms of eczema resulting from the laundry detergents:

1. Irritations in areas with exposure

For contact, dermatitis mainly occurs in the areas where an individual had exposed them to a strong irritant. These areas include the skin under the body part with jewelry, especially on the hands.

However, laundry detergent may be the primary cause if the particular symptoms occur on the whole body. The detergent may cause the whole body to develop eczema symptoms. The reason being the entire body will come into contact with the detergent on the clothing or linen.

2. Blanching

It occurs after the allergic reaction of the skin with the detergent particles. Blanching includes bumps that are either skin-colored, red, or have a clean edge. These bumps will usually appear suddenly on the body, and after a short duration, they go away. If you experience such symptoms, it’ll be good to stop using or change the type of laundry detergent you’re using.

3. General symptoms of eczema

If you are allergic to the laundry detergent you’re using, you may experience these symptoms immediately or after some time. These symptoms may range from mild to severe. The eczema symptoms you’ll experience may include:

• Swelling
• Dry, scaly, or cracking skin
• Bliss with crust over or may ooze
• Mild or severe itching
• Red rash
• Burning skin

How to Prevent Eczema While Using Laundry Detergents

Most dermatologists reveal that the use of laundry detergent is the main trigger of eczema. However, not all the detergents will trigger the conditions. The following are tips on preventing eczema while using laundry detergents:

Choose a detergent containing bleach

When choosing a detergent, select a detergent with bleach or add some bleach to the water you’re using for washing. Besides making the clothes cleaner and killing off the bacteria and germs, bleach also helps to get rid of infected eczema in the clothes. More so, when using bleach substances to wash your clothes, they may not leave irritating residues on your clothing.

Avoid detergents with optical brighteners.

When residing in an area with hard water, avoid the optical brighteners to soften the water; instead, use the builders. Apart from softening the water, builders also will help to remove grease and oil on the clothing. The builders will generally help to prevent irritating eczema, especially in children.

Rinse your clothes well after using the detergents

When using the detergent, the toxic chemicals may remain in the clothes or bedding after washing. Therefore, after wearing the clothes or on your bedding, your body gets in contact with the chemicals resulting in adverse skin reactions.

The skin may present eczema symptoms like itching, reddish skin, scaly and dry skin. It’s always good to rinse your clothes well using enough water to ensure that you get rid of all the detergent particles remaining in the clothes and bedding.

Can Detergent I Use Cause My Eczema? – Conclusion

It’s not safe to keep washing your clothes with the detergent for a long time, regardless of its type. Dermatologists have approved that most laundry detergent usually triggers eczema symptoms. The reason being the residues may remain on the clothes or the detergent particle accumulating on your hands.

They later get into direct contact with your skin, causing the skin from various parts of the body to have eczema symptoms. Therefore, when using laundry detergents to clean your clothes, it’s good to ensure you choose eczema-friendly detergents. After washing, it’s also good to rinse off your clothes or beddings well with a lot of water to remove the detergent fabric on the clothes.