Talking Allergies

Following up on what lin101 said about Aveeno products - I have discovered that Cetaphil moisturizing lotion contains macadamia nut oil and the moisturizing cream contains almond oil.

Ironically enough, my dermatologist recommended last month that I use Cetaphil body lotion. She gave me some samples, and when I read the ingreds at home, I discovered that there was almond oil in them. When I went to the store to see what the normal sized bottle contained, I found that there is macadamia nut oil in the product. (I guess I was looking at both the lotion and the cream without realizing it.)

I don't have nut allergies myself, but I'm not comfortable having the stuff on my skin around my kids, so I won't be buying it.

I'm sure I've said it before, but I don't understand why a company that makes products for people with sensitive skin wouldn't consider that their "sensitive" clientele might also have allergies.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Wow Karen, thanks for this. i know exactly what you mean about the disconnect in logic re. sensitive products for sensitive people. Do you know if this applies to the face wash as well? I just bought a big thing to use as body wash now that I can't use Aveeno! I'm going to go broke here (and dirty!!)

I contacted Galderma and this is the response I received,

We cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that there is no cross-contamination, however, the processing lines are cleaned between runs of Cetaphil products.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Drug Safety Officer
Galderma Laboratories, L.P.
1-866-735-4137

Does anyone have any recommendations for facial cleansing products they know to be safe?

In my research to find a safe skin care line, I have encountered a new ingredient which is Aleurites Moluccana Seed Oil which is also known as Kukui Nut. Has anyone seen this before?

Again if anyone has a recommendation for a safe skin care line, I welcome the info.

My dermatologist suggested La Roche-Posay - http://www.laroche-posay.ca/_en/_ca/index.aspx - and in particular Lipikar Baume (Anti-irritant Lipid-replenishing Body Balm) for the body and Anthelios Lait (Sunblock Lotion Face and Body) for the face. She gave me a few samples... I'm not sure I'll buy it.

She also gave me the Cetaphil products with the nut items in it, so I don't think this is a concern of hers... (even though it's a concern of mine). She wasn't really interested in getting any personal history from me during our one appointment - at one point she basically told me to stop talking (!).

Anyway, the body balm contains shea butter if that's a concern. The face lotion doesn't appear to have any nut or seed product, although it does have a lot of chemical sounding names!

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Thanks for the lead, I will look into it .....why are you unsure you would buy it?

Cross contamination would seem to be a huge issue in the cosmetics industry and given recent food industry changes toward peanut and nut free manufacturing, do you suppose the/any cosmetic companies will follow suit?

This may be a topic for future articles in AL?

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16yr old son anaphylactic to peanuts, nuts

Even if she did know about the allergies, I'm betting that she wouldn't understand why the nut oils would be a problem or think of checking the ingredients.

Andrea - I'm not sure about the cost (I get the impression it's much pricier than what I'm using), or whether it's that much better than what I'm using. But I should give it a try and see.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Thought I would follow up on my findings regarding this topic.

First I want to clarify the response I received from Galderma about Cetaphil. The cross contamination issue that was mentioned pertains to their cleansers as they indicated to me that their cleansers and moisturizers are run through the same production lines.

I checked out La Roche-Posay's website(all product ingredients are listed) and then contacted them directly and found them to be well informed about peanut/nut allergies. They stated that they do not use either peanuts or nuts or their derivatives in their products.They do use shea butter however that is not an issue for our family. Their product lines address a variety of skin issues and can be found in selected Shopper's Drug Marts in Ontario(store locator is also on their website).

Their line is more expensive than what I was using previously however peace of mind is priceless. I also like that they have a sunscreen line.

The staff I dealt with at Shopper's were very helpful and knowledgable.

Now to find a cosmetic line that is safe!

La Roche-Posay is also available in Quebec (at least in Gatineau). I've seen it at our Wal-mart pharmacy.

Thanks for doing the research Andrea!

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

I don't know of anything that is safe, but I have run into Aleurites moluccana Seed Oil in suntan lotion. On inquiry about tree nuts, I was told that it contained Kukoi Nut and to stop using it.

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Grandmother of a 9 yr old who is anaphalactic to peanuts, tree nuts, and amoxycillin

Itis definately a tree nut. It is is a part of the Euphorbiaceae-Spurge Family. I'm not sure which other tree nuts it's related to.
If you have nut allergies I would advise avoiding it. Maybe this is one for "ask the experts"?

Kukui tree is Hawaii's oficial State tree.
http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_detail ... lantid=351

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I ran into the same problem when my daughter's allergy specialist recommended Cetaphil as well. Duh ! Set him straight.

Anyway, just for very dry sensitive skin we use Eucerin (also recommended) lotion (pricy, but a nice lotion). They also have an emolient for really dry skin (it is thick but rubs in very well on red, itchy dry places). Our specialist actually wrote up a prescription so that we would only have to pay the $5 dispensing fee (for the emolient). It was the same thing on the shelf.

They also have a stronger hand cream now.

But for my sensitive skin on my face, I use Vichy. I know this stuff costs money, but for face cream and cleanser it is good to invest in quality products (the labeling seems safe as I too do not wear unsafe ingredients around my allergic daughter). The quality has you using less and with better results (I also only buy my cosmetics when Shoppers has their 20X points day, then I can really add up my points for free stuff down the road).

Hope this helps.
M.

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Michelle
Daughter (5 yrs) - ana to milk, nuts, peanut, egg, sesame; intolerant of beef; seasonal allergies; asthma
Husband - IBS - several food intolerances
Me - Asthma, some seasonal allergies

for anyone interested in using a more natural lotion that contains tea tree oil, I use Renew....fantastic stuff - know how the bottom of your heels get dry and sometimes cracked? ....that definately was me 'cause I don't wear socks inside at any point of the year. Nothing ever got rid of that....except the Renew. A lot of other creams and lotions contain pthalates which are actually vinyl softeners....meant to slide over the skin....don't really soak in. - I don't want that on my skin!!! Renew soaks in and doesn't feel greasy. Has been clinically, independantly tested against Eucerin....came out on top. Small amounts go a long way. Great stuff for ezcema. Friend of ours had horrible skin problems on the bottom of his feet - was limiting how much he could walk. I gave him a bottle of Renew - he was thrilled at the results! Reasonable cost for small bottle or for big one....worth every penny!!!

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4 out of 6 of us nut allergic (mom & 3 kids) - hey, who needs 'em! we're nutty enough!

What was said about Aveeno products?!