My Ridiculous Allergies

This is the most recent allergy I've developed. Last year I noticed a rash on my upper eyelids. I didn't think much of it, rashes tend come & go. This one did not, it stayed for months. I thought this rash was due to the weather. I used olive oil as a moisturizer & began to take Benadryl. A few weeks passed & I didn't notice an improvement. I Googled eyelid rash treatments. I learned that a common cause for eyelid rashes was nail polish. No wonder the Benadryl & olive oil didn't work. My nails were always painted. At first I was skeptical. I've always worn nail polish & this never happened. I decided to stop wearing nail polish & after a few weeks I noticed a huge improvement, but then my curiosity got the best of me. Since my rash went down I decided to wear nail polish again. Bad idea. The next day I woke up with a swollen rash on my eye.

How I cope: I haven't worn any nail polish this year. I purchased raw unrefined shea butter straight from Africa. I'm using this as a moisturizer & to sooth my eyelids. The skin above my eyes is about 85% back to normal & the rash is gone. This weekend I began my search for natural hypoallergenic nail polishes & I came across Go Natural. I am going to buy one soon & test it.

This is more of an intolerance, than it is an allergy. I developed an intolerance for coffee (caffeine) right before I started college. How convenient, huh? Before my intolerance developed I drank a latte maybe once a week. I grew up drinking cafe con leche. I come from a Cuban family & we always served it with our breakfast. Here's where it gets tricky. I know caffeine doesn't treat me nice, but I also know it's the actual coffee. How? Because when I started to drink decaf coffee to avoid caffeine, I noticed the same symptoms. Abnormal sweating, rise in body temperature, irregular heartbeats, migraine & nausea. They were less intense though. Another reason why I know it's the coffee combined with the caffeine is because I drink a lot tea, most of them are caffeine-free, but some of my old favorites don't come in decaf. I drink those & what happens? Not a single thing. The combination of tea & its caffeine doesn't effect me. Of course the amount of caffeine in tea can't begin to compare to the amount in coffee.

How I cope: Luckily, I've never been a coffee person. I've always been an avid tea drinker. Sometimes as a treat I'll drink artificial or decaf coffee from Maxwell House International Cafe. I just add a bit to almond milk & stir. This has become rare though since I haven't had a single cup in months.

I've had allergic reactions to fake jewelry since I was a toddler, even plastic costume jewelry. Rashes will appear within 24 hours. Clearly I have extremely sensitive skin that overreacts.

How I cope: I don't really "cope" with this one. I simply don't wear any jewelry on a daily basis. When I want to wear a cute piece of fake jewelry for photographs, a special occasion or just to dress up my outfit, I wear it for 2-3 hours then take it off. I don't wear it for the whole day. When I take it off I wipe the skin that was in direct contact with the jewelry. Ear lobes, neck, wrist, fingers, etc. Eventually I will buy myself real jewelry when I'm able to afford it.