The results

Wednesday evening the Fox carefully removed the taping from my back. Oh the liberation! Finally I could move.

Thursday we set off to the hospital for the results. It seems of all the 69 patches one had reacted positively. It seems I’m allergic to Myroxylon Pereira, Balsam of Peru to thee & me. It sounds all very exotic but it seems it is common in products listing “perfume” or “aroma”. It is also to be found in antiseptics e.g. nappy rash cream, haemorrhoid creams. Fortunately I haven’t got a baby around & I’ve never suffered from haemorrhoids.

 I was given a list of things I may need to avoid – perfumed cosmetics, toiletries, face & hand cream, suppositories, cough mixtures & lozenges, eugenol (found in dental products) & Chinese medicaments, particularly those using Chinese Balm & Tiger Balm. Out of that list only the odd scented toiletries & moisturisers, & toothpaste do I use.

More off-putting was on the other side of the sheet of paper. They reckon if you have this allergy then I am likely to have problems with other things that have similar chemical compounds in them. This list is more perturbing – spices, especially cinnamon, cloves, cardamom & nutmeg, citrus fruit peel, chewing gum, sweets, cola & cola like soft drinks, cough mixtures & lozenges, tobacco, eugenol & Chinese medicaments (as above). I thought of the duck à l’orange we had last Saturday, the orange I ate on Tuesday whilst touching the peel, the curry we had on Wednesday, the glasses of cola I have most days when we go out, the marmalade with peel in that I often have on toast for breakfast.

We retreated to the golf club to recover from the hospital visit. I had a tomato juice instead of my usual diet cola. The more I thought about it the more ridiculous it all seemed. If I was that allergic from these things I would be permanently blistered & itchy, after eating, drinking & enjoying, so many of these things, on an almost daily basis for over 60 years! I’m not.

What is more I’m not convinced I’m any nearer to knowing what caused the severe reaction I did have that day a few years ago. Whatever I came into contact with, I’ve not come into contact with before or since.

With this in mind I’ve gone back to drinking my diet cola. I may even dare to touch the orange peel when I eat the oranges that are sitting in the fruit bowl at the moment. I even had my usual marmalade, peel & all, on my breakfast bit of toast this morning.

I gather I shall have to see the dermatologist again to discuss the results. Until then, I propose to continue to live life as normal. I will, however, keep an eye out on the condition of my skin if I do come into contact with any banned product & avoid anything that causes an adverse reaction. That seems a more reliable way to discover if I’m allergic to anything. That’s how I discovered my allergy to nylon & neoprene. The blisters are undeniable if I ever try wearing them.