[markopolo111]

Thanks for your help.

I'm a 47 y/o white male having skin irritations/rashes on my face that are greatly affecting my life. I'm trying everything to eliminate them - (have been seen and continue to be seen by several Drs, so the medical avenue is being used)

I live in San Diego and learned that the water system here has Chloramine (chlorine/ammonia) in it for disinfectant (as do many cities across the U.S.). My problems started shortly after I moved here, so it has always nagged me that it was something environmental with my move. (Althought I spent 2 months in a city that only uses Chlorine this fall, and did not have a noticable change and am a pilot so travel alot)

I am going to try and remove Chloramine from my environment to see if that helps. I understand that Chloramine is officially safe and I'm not a fringe player upset at government or use of all chemicals...i'm just trying desperately to find anything that I may have become sensitive to as these skin problems are greatly affecting me. I've ordered a catalytic carbon filter for my shower (condo- no access to building water), but am getting mixed signals from sellers..(everyone's filter is the only one that 'really' works for chloramine removal. For now I'm bathing/drinking spring water only to see if that helps. here are my questions: (sorry if I use incorrect scientific terms)

1. If i launder my clothes normally and they get chloramine on them from the washer, can I expect them to 'off-gas" after a period of sitting? If so, how long..

2. same for dishes in the dishwasher.. can I expect the chlorine/chloramine to dissipate in a meaningful way from my dishes? I can use paper for awhile to test.

3. If these things do not evaporate, dissapate, off gas, or whatever it's called, can I expect that any contamination from them would be so miniscule that it's extremely unlikely to cause anyone a problem? I.E, you'd get more exposure from walking around a swimming pool than you would from chlorine/chloramine in your clothes/dishes. I notice an occasional dry, prickly feeling on my body, but the only place i'm having real issues is on my face.

4. I'm sure that the largest exposure would be from bath/shower/drinking but want to eliminate all possibilities for a couple weeks to see if that helps.


I could really use a smart chemist professional to give me a little guidance here and cannot thank you enough in advance if that's you. If possible, could you please include your background/position in chemistry. I can be reached at viajero787@yahoo.com or here.

thank u

[Arkcon]

Here are some ideas for home removal of chloramine, maybe if you use them, you'll see some improvement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloramine#Removing_chloramine_from_water

[markopolo111]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I've read that page several times already. I'm at the point where I'm stuck with washing my clothes in the city water and am hoping to find out if perhaps not using them for a few days would reduce any chlorine/ammonium/chloramine residue.

thanks for responding!

[billnotgatez]

as a point of curiosity

is only your face that has the rash and no where else on the body

[markopolo111]

yes, started out as a little spot on my forehead with no feeling to 18 months later i have swollen, burning eyelids - several red itchy spots on my forehead and itchy red irritated areas on my jawline. I'm seeing several dermatologists but their answer is typically to keep applying cremes (which work more or less ) but it doesn't solve the why. Most are leaning towards contact dermatitis but i've tried every earth-friendly, baby, super sensitive, hypo-allergenic, free and clear, nature loving shampoo i can find and the only common denominator to all this is the water...that's why I'm leaning towards that now, 18 months into it.

thanks for your reply.

[fledarmus]

You might just have a histamine reaction that has gotten hung up. Whatever triggered it may have long since been removed, but the body's reaction isn't shutting itself back down.

I had that for a while. A prescription antihistamine (fexofenadine) took care of the rash almost immediately, but I had to keep taking low doses daily for close to a year before I could quit without the rash popping back up.

Mine was just the opposite of yours - it was a rash that quickly spread all over the body, but stopped at the neck and for some reason never went any higher.

[markopolo111]

thanks...i'll ask my derm about that next week!

[AndersHoveland]

It might be your laundry detergenet. Switch to a hypoallergenic one, see if that helps.

Interestingly, I too remember have skin rashed when I visited southern California on vacation. The rash in the form of little red bumps all over my body, but especially on my forearms. You should be concerned about what is going into the water supply.

Do an experiment, buy several gallons of bottled (distilled or filtered) water and only give yourself a sponge bath for two weeks. Similarly, only wash your clothes by hand with the bottled water in a little tub. See if your problems go away. If so, you might report this to your water district. A small minority of people may be especially sensitive to the chemicals put in the water supply.