Eczema -- Anyone had a skin patch reaction test done?

Hi all -- This is a follow-up of sorts after trying to clear up a few misdiagnosed conditions that my son has had... One was a facial rash (called perioral dermatitis) -- turned out to be an allergic reaction to an inhaled corticosteriod asthma medication. The second was a rash on his behind that's been there for at least 2 years (docs called it eczema). We initially suspected that he might be having a reaction to flushable wipes, but when we discontinued them he still had the rash (which became infected with staph a few times as well). Looked like really bad diaper rash.

Anyway, wipes turned out to be part of the problem. (I found out that my son was still using wipes during the time we'd asked him to stop, so that "test" didn't work...) His allergy doc and dermatologist FINALLY teamed up and decided to run a series of skin patch tests. (These are different from the kind of allergy test where they prick your skin and wait for a reaction -- these are panels with substances (cosmetic ingredients, fragrances, jewelry metals, etc) that are taped to your skin for a few days). As it turns out, he is allergic (and many people are) to a chemicals called "isothiazolinones" (if you look it up you'll see that they have other equally hard-to-pronounce names, and there is a "brand" name called "Kathon." As I understand it, these chemicals are added to all sorts of shampoos, detergents, lotions, soaps -- almost anything you can think of -- to keep them from growing molds and bacteria. Reactions are very common (this chemical is in wipes), and many people have reactions on their hands and other areas from being constantly exposed to soaps & lotions... It has been a real struggle to learn how to function without these -- so far we've changed our handsoaps & laundry soaps to something called "Castile soap" and had a lot of success. His skin looks so much better. It's healing beautifully. We even make our own wipes now with unscented paper towels and a solution of diluted liquid castile soap & witch hazel...

Anyway, we've been going to allergists & dermatologists for most of my son's life and it was only now that this skin test was suggested. (it also showed that he's allergic to many fragrances that are added to cosmetics). So, I just wanted to post this -- I'd initially only suspected that a food allergy or something else might have been causing my son's rashes, but it turned out to be something that is probably an ingredient in many of the creams/lotions/medicines that you're using in hopes of "fixing" your eczema. Something to consider. Good luck to all of you. Monica

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