Going through skin patch tests takes a lot more commitment than a skin prick test. With the skin prick test, start to finish, you are only required to sit in your doctor's office for less than an hour, and you are handed your results right away. With a skin patch test, you basically lose a week in your life.
I did my first of two skin patch tests back in early June. Each patch is about 3 x 6 inches, each containing about 10 different substances commonly found in household cleaners, soaps, lotions, detergents, chemicals used in dry cleaning and furniture polish. The patches were taped to my back and a total of 80 substances were tested. The patches needed to remain on my back for 48 hours and I was not allowed to shower or do anything that might cause me to sweat. After 48 hours, the patches were removed and the first results are given. In addition, the skin on my back was monitored for an additional 72 hours for any further reactions that may develop after the exposure. During this additional 72 hours, I still could not shower but was allowed to get my back wet. In many cases, reactions do not occur immediately after exposure and it can take up to 5 days before you get a reaction.
During this week, I couldn't live life as I normally did. Because I wasn't allowed to sweat or get my patches wet, I couldn't go to the gym or even shower. When I can't shower, I simply don't leave my home, ever. That meant not going to the office or out with friends. But being confined at home wasn't such a big deal. It was more that I developed reactions to many of the substances and started to itch pretty badly. Of the 65 substances tested, I was allergic to 11 of them, to the surprise of my allergist who claims that she has never seen anyone have as many severe reactions as I did. Leave it to me to be extraordinary! I spent the week unable to sleep on my back because the pressure of the patches made my skin more irritated. In the areas where I developed reactions, it was so itchy and worse because I couldn't scratch. I resorted to finding creative ways to smack myself in the back as my way of relieving the itchiness, only I probably succeeded in making it more irritated. So I spent the week rolling up magazines to slap myself with, while unable to sit back on a chair or sleep through the night. Fun.
I won't bother to list all the substances I was tested for or am allergic to, because they all look something like "dimethylol dihydroxyethleneurea". Of the 11 substances I am allergic to, I found many of them in the ingredients labels of my shower gel, shampoos, body lotions and sunscreen. I have been using some of these products since childhood and never experienced any allergic reactions until now. My allergist explained that new allergies can develop at any time and old ones can simply disappear. She also said there is no way to explain or predict this. In the past, whenever I experienced an allergic reaction, I would make a list of everything I did differently. It never occurred to me that the same products I have been using for years without incident, could have caused a reaction.
How does this affect my life now? Well, I cut myself the other day and I didn't know what to do with myself because I am allergic to anti-biotic ointments (neomycin and bacitracin) as well the adhesive in band-aids (colophony). So I just ended up putting pressure on my cut with a clean towel and made a mental note to find a solution for my cuts in the future. I now carry a list around with me (which I laminated for durability) and cross reference whenever I'm at the drugstore to pick up toiletries. I have been able to find many alternative products and have been happily rash free since my testing.
The second skin patch test and the last of the 3 in the allergy testing series, tests for common substances found in cosmetics. I'm still contemplating whether or not I want to go through more testing, especially since I don't use much cosmetics. If I continue to get more skin rashes even after avoiding the substances I have already been tested for, then I will go through with the last skin patch test. Otherwise, I hope (and think) I already found the culprits. My husband jokes and says I should live in a bubble. I bet I'd be allergic to that bubble.
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