Try This Simple Skin Test – Search for the Causes

Have you ever had a rash on a part of your skin? Maybe it is all over. Have you wondered what the cause is for the outbreak? Did you try to fix it by smearing on lotion, or did you look for the cause?

The tendency is for us to call the Doc or visit the dermatologist looking for a fix or a prescription, rather than trying to think about that the symptoms are from a reaction to something new in your environment.  If you have searched for the cause, you might have wondered if my rash is something I was exposed to or is it something internal.

The Bandaid Skin Disorder Test

There is a simple trick that might help you that our customer service team uses with customers. They suggest to customers that they can use a Hydro-Seal large area bandage to cover a part of the rash. These are those waterproof sealing bandages often used for areas like elbows. Meaning they are pretty big. They suggest leaving it on for a week and then removing it. It is not 100%, but if the rash has reduced or gone away, it is a pretty good bet that the cause is external.

Spoiler Alert: It is usually about 95% external causes, but if you are skeptical that chemicals in your environment can cause skin disorders, this is pretty good proof.

It Happened to Me

So let me give you an all to simple example of something that happened to me recently meeting a colleague for lunch. I was on a business trip to Las Vegas and met my friend at the Eataly restaurant. Great place! It is a place that is reminiscent of eateries in Rome. You go from kiosk to kiosk the order custom preparations and then find a table. We ordered our own special eats and met at a table. I noticed just before that a person wiped the table to clean it. We sat down to eat and talk about a new product we were developing. About ten minutes into lunch, I noticed a burning sensation on both of my forearms that had come in contact with the table. It got worse, and I quickly realized that the soft underside of my arms was inflamed and red. I saw the attendant and asked what he had used to clean the table. Bleach!

Okay, a quick trip to the bathroom to wash my arms off, and the stinging was reduced but not gone. It took a couple of days of slathering my MetaCare lotion on my arms to get it to go away. No question what caused the rash, but the message is clear that it was the bleach that burned me.

My message is evident that there are many things we come in contact with that can cause skin irritations. Rather than running to the emergency room, I figured out what the cause was and corrected the problem. Still, it took a few days to recover.

My experience is that for most people, chemicals in their environment are the cause of many skin disorders. We have been conditioned by the Doc’s to seek remedies for the symptoms, often using chemical-laden prescriptions that work initially and then mimic the disease. So, Search for the Cause.

Bob