Allergic skin is highly reactive to elements in our environment called allergens. Allergens can be found just about anywhere: Pollen in the air, food allergies, medicines, cleaning products, certain cosmetics… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Cool and soothe skin with Thermal Spring Water. Then reinforce your skin’s barrier with a hypoallergenic moisturizer. This will help protect from contact allergens such as pollen or laundry detergents. If allergic reaction rashes are a recurring problem for you, consider making an appointment with an allergist for skin prick testing or patch testing to pinpoint your allergies.
You may have sensitive skin. Unlike skin allergy, which causes a visible allergic reaction rash, sensitive skin often shows no visible signs. People with sensitive skin experience itching, pulling, prickling, burning, and stinging sensations all the time or in response to internal and external trigger factors, such as UV, temperature changes, harsh cosmetics, hormonal fluctuations, etc.
Rashes can be caused by any number of different medical conditions, including viral infections, allergies and auto-immune diseases. If you have a new rash, it is important that you see a doctor for an informed diagnosis. In some cases, rashes can be caused by reactions to additives in cosmetics. If your rash coincides with product use, consider switching to a hypoallergenic formula.
It is generally impossible to be allergic to your own skin. The only circumstance in which this occurs is sun allergy, where UV light modifies a substance in the skin, causing an allergic reaction.
Allergies can affect different parts of the body, but we’ll be focusing on skin allergies here. The “classic” type of skin allergic reaction is called contact dermatitis. In this case, the allergen comes into direct contact with the skin (e.g. a pair of nickel earrings), crosses through skin’s protective barrier and triggers an immune response resulting in the allergic reaction. Typical symptoms of contact dermatitis? Red rash, itching, burning, scaling and even oozing. An allergic skin reaction may take weeks to fade. But don’t panic, some hypoallergenic skincare from the pharmacy are designed for allergic skins.
Skin allergic reactions are not limited to contact dermatitis. In fact, skin is the #1 site of allergy manifestations, with 80% of allergies having consequences for skin*. This is because - contact dermatitis aside - skin allergies can also be caused by the medicine we take, the food we eat (think nuts) or our environment (think pollen or pet “dander”). Typical on-skin effects on allergies? Skin often breaks out in hives, rashes and irritations, associated with itching, stinging or heating and burning sensations. Plus, if you are constantly blowing your nose, it is likely to become red and irritated. If your skin allergies are acting up, your first port of call is the pharmacy: Over-the-counter antihistamines associated with hypoallergenic skincare can rapidly calm things down.
"In this section, you will learn about the difference between sensitive skin, reactive skin and allergic skin. We’ll also share some expert tips on how to avoid skin allergic reactions, as well as the best allergy skin care solutions."
*Allergic or intolerant skin profiling. France and Germany. A+A. February 2009
Allergies are ranked the 4th most common global disease, right after cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and AIDS*.
* Source: World Health Organisation Estimation 2015
Safety standards beyond international cosmetics regulations.
