Wetsuit Allergy- Anyone else out there?? Please help

[billie_morini]

Be careful with sulfur and sulfa medications. Some people are allergic to them. If you take sulfur or sulfa medications, then drink large quantities of water and avoid heat, Possible negative reactions include overheating (without perspiring), POUNDING headache, flushed complexion and red rash covering portions of body, and, for some, tiredness with aches in major joints.

[saltydog]

Actually allergies do work like that. The mainstay of allergy therapy is desensitization which is slowly increasing the amount of allergens a person is exposed to in an attempt to normalize the reaction to the allergen.

noooo I get where you are coming from, but to build tolerance against allergens, you need injections to introduce it systemically. It also takes FOREVER (like a year or more) which is why it is not commonly done unless it's an allergen not easily avoided. You cannot do that with skin allergies that cause contact dermatitis, only things like food allergies, and definitely under the supervision of a specialist requiring an insane number of visits. In this case it is better to avoid the triggering agent altogether and find an alternative. He could take an antihistamine beforehand and then topical hydrocortisone or antihistamine on the typically affected areas after. This will help in suppressing and treating the histamine response and is relatively safe.

I have many family members including one of my kids going through allergy shots, and yes, it's somewhat of an ordeal. And they are typically for food and environmental allergies only. I also have other family members including myself having contact dermatitis and avoidance seems to be pretty much the only option. However, I've head overexposure to antihistamine can weaken the skin in a long run, so it should be a short term solution to resolve acute cases while adopting a long term management plan. But... I'm not a health professional so I'll leave it to Rachelle

[saltydog]

Be careful with sulfur and sulfa medications. Some people are allergic to them. If you take sulfur or sulfa medications, then drink large quantities of water and avoid heat, Possible negative reactions include overheating (without perspiring), POUNDING headache, flushed complexion and red rash covering portions of body, and, for some, tiredness with aches in major joints.

I've heard suffer allergy can bring out asthma and eczema as well, and that white wine and some dry fruits typically contain suffer to prevent browning. I guess another point to beer and spirits?

[Johno]

Hi all I am suffering reaction again I actually posted the surfers foot years ago. It is only my hands and feet what react! Any way all has been ok by wearing forth element thermo Cline socks and plastic gloves from garage. I recently got excited with the yulex boots and gloves so bought some and at first had no reaction. Then a week ago I got that horrible itchy burning feeling and boom. I had forgot how bad it was. I have washed by new boots and gloves in white vinigar and then baking soda. Tula and all does this work??

[Johno]

Sorry ment Ralu or if any one else can help

[billie_morini]

such a shame, johno. This problem is so real. Fortunate are those that do not know such misery.

[Johno]

This is my feet about 10 days after exposer to my new surfing booties

[billie_morini]

This is my feet about 10 days after exposed to my new surfing booties

I'm really sorry, Johno. I do not believe we have any "meanies" in this forum that do not believe allergies of many sorts are not real. I wish I could think of something that can help you. Big doses of steroids may help, but you'd probably not want to take big doses required to match your surfing frequency. But, maybe it could be done before a week to week surfing safari a couple times per year. Maybe a sports doctor can help evaluate this.

Another idea that may reduce the allergic reactions is to consume anti-histamines. It's easy to reach for a bottle of tablets of them. I take them before doing certain outdoor chores. When I don't want to take tablets or am facing different exposures than the aforementioned chores, I'll eat 2 to 4 oranges or drink Vitamin C powder mixed in water. Vitamin C is a natural anti-histamine. I've been doing this for many years and remain surprised how well Vitamin C works for me with certain exposures.

[giovapassa]

Hallo everybody,
me too I had an alergic reaction to my new Rip Curl Flash Bomb, in particular I had a reaction precisely located in the areas where the skin is in contact with the internal stitchings, which are sealed with a yellow glue and with the rip curl "E5 tape" (I attached a photo). After one weekend the reactions looked almost like a "tatoo" on the skin, reproducing all the path of the stitchings, red and very, very itchy...

I've never had a reaction like that with the wetsuits I had before, but it's also true that I've never had a specific "winter" wetsuit with sealed stitchings.
For the Rip Curl Flashbomb they used a yellow "rough" glue that I've never seen on any other wetsuit before.

Does anyone experienced this problem with glue and tape of the internal part of the wtsuit?
Does anyone know something about this kind of allergic reaction, can I hope it will be different with another wetsuit?

Me too I was thinking about the R5® Yulex® Front-Zip Hooded Full Suit (they write it's made of 85% Yulex® natural rubber and 15% synthetic rubber by polymer content), but I'm still a little bit worried about the glue they use to seal the internal stitchings.

Thank you very much

All the best

Giovanni

[kookRachelle]

This is my feet about 10 days after exposer to my new surfing booties

Johno,

This does not look like an allergy so much as a fungal infection in my opinion. The white peeling skin, itching/burning symptoms and location (hands/feet) are dead giveaways. Have you tried an anti-fungal such as Lotrimin, Lamisil, Tinactin, etc? You might need a systemic approach such as Fluconazole which is a pill your doc can prescribe easily.

My ex used to get this on his hands every winter as they tended to sweat a lot and were always in gloves. He had it on his feet a couple of times a year too. Being a know-it-all nurse I started him on a loading dose of 600mg of Diflucan (fluconazole) and then tapered to 450mg, 300mg, 150mg, etc. I also had him use Clobetasol 0.01% cream every morning - worked within a few days every single time.

Fungus (yeast) loves warm, moist, enclosed areas!!

Just an idea.

Hope you feel better!
Rachelle

[Plien]

Hallo everybody,
me too I had an alergic reaction to my new Rip Curl Flash Bomb, in particular I had a reaction precisely located in the areas where the skin is in contact with the internal stitchings, which are sealed with a yellow glue and with the rip curl "E5 tape" (I attached a photo). After one weekend the reactions looked almost like a "tatoo" on the skin, reproducing all the path of the stitchings, red and very, very itchy...

I've never had a reaction like that with the wetsuits I had before, but it's also true that I've never had a specific "winter" wetsuit with sealed stitchings.
For the Rip Curl Flashbomb they used a yellow "rough" glue that I've never seen on any other wetsuit before.

Does anyone experienced this problem with glue and tape of the internal part of the wtsuit?
Does anyone know something about this kind of allergic reaction, can I hope it will be different with another wetsuit?

Me too I was thinking about the R5® Yulex® Front-Zip Hooded Full Suit (they write it's made of 85% Yulex® natural rubber and 15% synthetic rubber by polymer content), but I'm still a little bit worried about the glue they use to seal the internal stitchings.

Thank you very much

All the best

Giovanni

I have exactly the same! Itches like crazy! Have you found a solution yet? I just bought my wetsuit last week, have been surfing ever day and almost everywhere the red patches are glued on the seams I have a rash. What to do??

[Woodywaverider]

Thanks, I stumbled - literally - pun intended on this page, whilst trying to find out why my feet feel like they are on fire.

surfed for 20 years,I have the exact same reaction on my feet, after using new boots - I think they were rip curl. I'd had a smaller similar reaction in the past but not this bad, I thought it was just sunburn or sand flies bites. but I used the cheap boots a few days ago for a late evening surf (not sunburn) and they now feel like they are on fire, they have also peeled in the past just like your pic.

I also used an old billabong suit whilst my go to suit was being repaired as well.

Now I'm going to check the brands.

surfing again this wee so will use old boots and repaired suit and see if that make a difference.

[Woodywaverider]

Update

I took an antihistamine and used moisturising aqueous cream - not much in the way of peeling yet - rash from last Friday is improving.

the boots that gave me the rash last Friday were - O'Neil Epics - not Ripcurl

surfed yesterday with different boots/suit - O'Neil Mutants (they seem to have a better/different lining - didn't get any worse (yet).

[CamiloN]

Got the same problem!!!!! finally, what was the solution? Did you do something in particular? Please let me know. Thanks!

[billie_morini]

Some water men & women are finding a good alternative in the Patagonia wet suits. Their suits are made with natural rubber trademarked as Yulex®. These suits are 100% neoprene-free. One of my buddy has at least two of them and I can report they are truly well made and very functional. They were designed and tested by water men. My buddy absolutely loves these suits. He often buys them directly from the Patagonia store in Ventura, CA, when they have an annual sale. You can buy them on-line, too.

Here's an idea. Request a sample of their wet suit "fabric." Then place this sample under wet suit when you go surfing. This way, it's in contact with your skin in actual wet conditions. Then see if you have any skin reaction. If you can't find the time to go surfing for this test, then tape the sample to your leg or belly and leave in place all day.

It seems to me avoiding the allergenic material is a better answer than taking benedryl tablets or other antihistamine.

[izzy]

Stumbled on this page while searching for allergy issues with the flashbomb and there is absolutely something going on with Rip Curl Flash Bomb E5 wetsuits. I get the worst rashes and allergies with it, and I have been surfing for 30 years, worn all kinds of wetsuits, including rip curls. I want to try Patagonia Yulex, but they have sold out. Will try my springsuit of a different brand and see if it works, but glad to find this thread to validate my fears that I am in fact allergic to wetsuits, at least this wetsuit. I blame the FlashBomb for this issue.

[Johno]

Hi all going into winter I just thought I would update you on my findings with pategonia, Yulex and allergic reactions. If u have seen my feet in early post i had a very bad reaction to the yulex booties when wearing them with a new Xcel winter wety! So basically after more test this is what I conclude and want to share my findings. Bty pategonia have been absolutely brilliant with this massive problem.
1. Contacted pategonia and they sent me a yulex sample free of charge. I Wet it and stuck to my skin in my sock for a full day, no reaction.
2. Purchased booties and gloves as these are cheaper than a full yulex suit, filled them with water and wore them round the house for a few days - no reaction (yeeees)
3. Wore yulex booties while surfing in a summer suit 9 year old Xcel wetty - no reaction
4. Wore yulex booties gloves with a brand new Xcel winter wetty and had a very bad reaction on my hands and feet. (See above photos of my feet)

I then contacted pategonia and we had lots of discussions and we decided it could be down to chemical runoff / contamination from the Xcel suit. However a pat yulex suit is best part of £500 so I was reluctant to purchase if this didn't fix my reaction problem. I then contacted a few other people off the internet who claimed yulex had worked for them and they advised you must keep your yulex separate from neoprene and also while washing after use. This started to make sense so I bit the bullet and purchased a pat Yulex R4 hooded suit with aqua A glue.
So now I was completely yulex covered. First surf I had a very small reaction on my hands and feet but it was just a little skin peeling, no red itchy rash. I think my gloves and booties were still contaminated. I then washed my booties and gloves in white vinegar and baking soda and since then I have not had a reaction to the yulex. My hands and feet skin gets a little dry but nothing like the horrific red rash, burning, itchy mess it did.
Due to lock down I didn't get as many winter surf sessions in 2019 and 2020 as normal but it looks like going completely pat yulex has worked for me.

I am not saying this will defently work for everyone but it did for me and please make sure you keep your neoprene away from your expensive yulex. I have now sold all my neoprene suits.

Hope this helps others and makes sense - good luck and keep the Stoke