How I Address Health Issues in the Family?

My spouse is always the first to notice any issues with our kids’ health, and it’s often up to me to find the reason behind those conditions.

While he seeks immediate medical solution, I focus on finding the cause for prevention of the issue, in future.

One day, he pointed out little bumps and skin peeling, on our little daughter’s palms.

I wasn’t too concerned about the skin peeling, because it’s something I’ve experienced myself since childhood. While it has reduced over the years, during winter and spring, my palms and soles, still peel slightly. It’s harmless — just an aesthetic issue. I consider it let go and new growth just like new leafing of spring season! Actually, this condition has a name. Keratolysis exfoliativa. Due to weather signals, some skin cells dying and exfoliating.

The bumps on her palms, however, seemed more concerning. It could be an allergy, I thought.

I tried to find the potential allergens.

Yesterday, she had quite a bit of cheese from pizza, and mac & cheese. While delicious, cheese is not entirely safe for everyone. It’s an animal protein, and the body often treats animal proteins with suspicion. Yes, plant proteins and animal proteins are not treated by the immune system the same way. When I had a cockroach allergy in the past, my skin also reacted badly to cheese, leading to hives and skin itching. As a bioinformatics researcher, I have seen similar amino acid motifs in animal proteins, which make our immune system confused and hyper-alert.

My son too developed small bumps on his elbows after eating pizza yesterday. He has eczema, so his allergy is under stable.

Cheese seemed like the culprit. It could have been the trigger for daughter's palm rashes.

However, another suspect suddenly emerged, as I kept thinking about the offenders. I found the irritant to be PPD (para-phenylenediamine), a chemical in certain consumer products. My daughter’s palms often sweat a lot. She has hyperhidrosis like me. A condition of excess sweating. It endangers the person in several ways.

Yesterday, when her iPad ran had out of charge, she used my spouse’s phone, which had a black case.

I remembered writing about how my spouse gave me an iPhone with black case in autumn. The PPD in it caused me discomfort and allergy-like symptoms, so I immediately changed the case into a clear one, without PPD.

Could this have triggered the bumps on her palms? Yes!

It’s an amine, a class to which many neurotransmitters and signaling molecules of the body belong to. Example: dopamine, and histamine, among others.

While her itching continued, finding the likely causes of the issue brought great relief.

I explained the situation to my daughter, and she was so happy. She ran to her father, exclaiming, “Eureka! We found the causes of the palms problem!”

Her IT-professional father may or may not have understood it, but the discovery delighted us.

This is why awareness matters. It prevents unnecessary panic and the overuse of chemical drugs (in this case antihistamines.)

So, dear readers, learn, be aware, stay vigilant. Maintain health diary. It helps wonderfully. I have been writing my health signals and patterns since 2017.

Write and share your stories so we can discuss and learn together. We don’t need to expose our bodies to unnecessary irritants and then toxic drugs. Especially our little kids don't have to be dumping ground of chemicals. Awareness and proactive measures can save us.

After this discovery, my spouse, used clear case for his phone too. That's how, we inspire others.

Did you know about the dangers of PPD? I hope, you found this story informative. Share your experience.

#skinhealth #allergens #ppd #chemicalsensitivity #contactallergy