Allergy to Alstro

A

Adrienne

Closed
Nov 1, 2010
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Union
State / Prov
New Jersey
I own a flower shop and have developed a contact allergy to alstroemeria. Just wondering is anyone else has had this and how you dealt with it. Below is the "E-How" explanation of this allergy. It is very difficult to function even wearing the rubber gloves. I have removed all the Alstro from my shop and am wearing the Nitrile gloves daily. Any suggestions for a replacement for Alstro? I love my shop and really would like to keep it. Any insight would help. Thanks!

Allergic response to alstroemeria includes redness, thickening and splitting of the fingertips, which are very sore and tender. Small blisters may also be present, and sometimes the nails gradually fall off. In rare cases, as the dermatitis resolves, the skin may show depigmentation (loss of color).

People affected by this allergy must avoid contact with the causative plants, and florists who develop the condition often change their profession.

Read more: Alstroemeria Dermatology Reaction | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6636003_alstroemeria-dermatology-reaction.html#ixzz1Nhm9PhGk
 
I've worked with 2 different people that had it. Both have left the field, sorry. Their fingers would split open, it looked so painful. One wore the gloves and avoided alstro. The other would actually tape her fingers up with surgical tape.
 
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I have it and have learned to wear gloves when using alstro. I refuse to NOT have it in my shop as it is one of my favorite lasting flowers...
We strip all foliage off upon arrival and hydration eliminating a step for me to insert. Also wear gloves with tulips now. Right now my thumb is healing and index finger is split but healing. Yes the skin does thicken but doing dishes helps? and after a "break out" (usually my own fault) I apply Nu-Skin (hurts like heck but helps contain splits) and then condition while healing with a goats milk cream.. helps me..
Not everyone heals the same way nor does specific cream help (cortisone cream doesn't do me any good)... At least the above steps keeps it from spreading and the keeps the little blisters away cause they itch like mad!
 
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We carry them but I don't touch them or any tools or buckets that touch them. Contact dermatitis to asltroes and tulips since 1985.

It's not worth it to endure the pain. My wake-up call was meeting a florist in her 70's who could no longer close her hands into fists due to the repeated breakouts. The elasticity of her skin was completely gone due to alstroe exposure.

I tried gloves, creams, you name it. Consulted with a well-know hort dermatologist and he told me there was no proven way to avoid breakouts for designers other than to completely stop using them. So I did.

Hope you will too if you care about using your hands for life.
 
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I use to have issues with it but it has passed.I do have issues with regular eucalyptus.Eyes itch and runny noses and watery eyes. I try to avoid euc but when I do I have to wear gloves and someone else has to process it. I also have an issue with delphinium if it sets out by me for too long. I use to put benadryl cream right under my eyes when it flared up and allergy pills. It's tough but you just deal with it
 
Thanks so much for your helpful hints. I will try the goats milk cream and the Nu-Skin, and even doing dishes (*&!@#)
 
Thanks for your advice. So far, I have had not had alstro in my shop for 1 1/2 weeks, I'm on steroids and it seems to be going away. It is prom season and I can't even make a bow. Tough decision, I value my hands too much but I love what I do... Murphy's Law strikes again. Thanks for your comment. It helps.
 
Good luck to you, and all the sufferers of alstroe and other floral allergies, in curing yourself or at least minimizing the pain.
 
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I'm allergic to it too. I use gloves and try to avoid getting any of the juice out of the flower on me! Mostly, other than the gloves, I just deal with it!. :(
 
I am allergic to quite a few different flowers, orchids, daffis, hyacinth, eucalyptus, euphorbia - these are my worst. I was told by my doctor to change my profession that was 19 years ago. The skin can peel off my fingers if I have a bad reaction and last week I had a lovely rash all over my face from some euphorbia I had cut from a customers garden to put in her husbands funeral spray - it was bad for about 4 days. I looked lovely - kind of like elephant man as I was all lumpy. I am so used to being like this that is just a fact of my life as a florist. I only occassionally wear gloves if I have to use alot of one of my worst flowers. One of the girls that worked for me was allergic to alstro but she found it worst when she conditioned it - so we did it instead of her. I am infact very allergic to anything scented (perfumed) that is manmade so I do have quite a extreme case - I have a Balsom of Peru allergy. You will learn to control it. And you may find a barrier cream that will help.
I also suffer from Hayfever and many flowers have me sneezing in fits, tight chest the lot.

Have you had a patch test to check if there are any other things you are allergic too other than alstro. If you can control the other thing it will help. I no long use any scented things deodrant, perfume, shampoo, washing up liquid the lot. My outbreaks are much less sever than they used to be. I have been known not to be able to even hold a knife and fork let alone use a knife - this part of the reason why I use scissors more because I couldn't hold them. And as for guttering!!!
 
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The euphorbia family gives me rashes so I rarely carry it. On those exceptional occasions when I do buy it, I have my vendors get it for me, wrap it separately from top to bottom and label it "poison" LOL! My staff knows that only they can sell and use it.

As an aside, I have very sensitive skin and sometimes my usual grooming products will go "new and improved" and I will break out and have to search new ones. I bring my own products to the hair salon. When ever I see someone new and tell them about my sensitivities, they will recommend Brand X - "because it's all natural plant based". HA! Because no one is ever allergic to plants, right?!
 
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We call Alstro "the demon flower" here in the shop. It seems to bother some and not others.
For instance, I only developed the Altro allergy in the last 6 years after many years with no problems at all.
My son who came into the business three years ago, developed it within a few months. His thumbs tend to split, while it ate the bed from under my finger nails. (almost like loosing a nail, but not quite). Yes, it itches like crazy, much like poison ivy (that I'm deathly allergic to)!

We've tried everything, cortisone creams, antibiotic sauves, can't wear gloves due to latex allergy, and it's difficult for an 'old dog' to wear gloves after so many years of not using them.

We've found the easiest and best solution is to use Duct Tape (you can get it in pretty bright colors at Walmart), it's cheap and when you wrap your affected finger (s), it tends to create a seal. Or perhaps it's just one of those Duct Tape can do anything things, LOL.

Also, I personally have found that after handling Alstro if I spray something called "Awesome Cleaner" straight under the nails and leave it on for a while (let it dry), it must somehow kill the "monster". You can find it at the dollar stores usually. We also keep a small pail of bleach water to dip our tools in during the day and I've been known to dunk my hands in that bleach water (probably 3 parts bleach to 6 parts water). There is a dispenser bottle of alcohol jel sanitizer that we put on our hands during the day too.

Hope this helps.
 
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After years of suffering, trips to the e-room in the middle of the night, cortisone creams, benadryl sprays, gloves( which made it worse),medical tape, loosing all the skin from under my nails,hands so swollen at times that I could not work, 4 doctors later.....a doctor who is very much into more naturally healing told me this,
give your hands the time needed to clear up and then go back to using it BUT, wash your hands and your knife with soap every 1/2 hour that you are using it. Do not use gloves or tape as it traps it against your skin. Wash all tools that come in contact with it after use. It is no different then getting the oils from poison ivy on your skin, if your allergic to it you are going to react unless you wash off the oils.

I have followed her instructions for several years now and have never had an outbreak except for the time that I forgot to wash my hands.

PS keep a tooth brush at work to get under the nails when you wash, if you don't scrub the oils from under the nail it gets trapped in there and that is why people have so much problem under the nail.

Joan
 
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