Itchy!

 My allergies strike again!  

It's not enough that I can no longer eat peanuts or peanut butter, or that I have to keep up a cocktail of  Zyrtec, Claritin, Flonase, and allergy eye drops during the warmer months of the year.  Now I have a new item that needs to be added to the list of things to avoid.

Ever since I got a whiff of my mom's freshly laundered bathrobe when she was in the hospital last fall, I kept thinking about that clean scent.  I wanted that for my own laundry. So much so that I recently made a switch from the detergent and fabric softener I use to Downy.  

I loved that "April Fresh"  on fragrance towels, sheets, and t-shirts.  For about a week.

Then the rash appeared.  

It started Sunday with itching on my chest.  By Monday it was a full-blown insanely itchy rash. It woke me up several times during the night.  Using a hydrocortisone ointment wasn't helping much

By Tuesday, it was bad enough that I reached for the Benadryl.  Needless to say, I napped most of the afternoon thanks to dosing myself with the antihistamine.  But it did help some.  I also had some "free and clear" laundry detergent delivered and began the process of re-washing any of my clothing that had previously laundered using the Downy. 

The rash is still there, and I'm still a little itchy - but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. 

I'm sad to see the fresh scent leave my life so soon - but not the redness and itching!

Have you ever had an allergic reaction to a laundry detergent?