Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2014 January 21

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January 21

Wool

Do we have an article (or a section of an article) about sensitivity to wool? I am not talking about allergies, but rather the sensation of prickly heat. When I was about 5 years old, my mother used to knit jumpers for me, and she wouldn't let me take them off, even though I was crying with the horrible sensation I was feeling when wearing wool (I feel guilty saying this, because she put so much time, effort, and loving care into making them for her youngest son - me). These days, at the grand old age of 41, I never wear wool, but still keep getting Christmas and birthday presents of woolly jumpers from family members, and I can't wear them. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 20:48, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

We don't give neither medical advice nor diagnosis. If I suffered from this, I would think about a mild form of Atopic eczema which included wool.--Aspro (talk) 21:45, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks. I am not asking for medical advice or diagnosis, as I just don't wear wool anymore, so the problem is solved. Also, I know about atopic dermatitis because an ex-girlfriend's 6 year old daughter in Japan had the problem (it is very common in Japan, because of lack of ventilation in modern apartments and housing), but only on her face, and that could not possibly have been caused by wool. I never developed a rash from prickly heat, but I did have a bout of heat rash on my legs at about age 8, but that was caused by sitting next to the heater during winter here in the UK. I don't get it now. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 22:00, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

This sounds like it is not sever enough, to take one off the the quack doctor but enough to make wool a no-go. Yet, discus this with your local friendly quackdoctor. His learned diagnose make give you a guilt free way of telling friends and family to – forget the wool. It is therefore aContraindication ( on medial advice ) to keeping warm. Then you can advise them that silk shirts and ties, cotton underpants are suitable gift substitute, as is alcohol and Cuban cigars.--Aspro (talk) 22:10, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, but I only get 20 minutes with him, and I have far more deadly serious issues (literally) to talk to him about - or rather, for him to talk to me about. I'm just interested, that's all. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 22:17, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Humm... lack of ventilation. Is her condition worse at some times of the year than others? Turn the lights off and shine a laser (the cheap pointer things). Are the little speckles in the beam? Increasing the humidity and plugging in an air ionizer should drop the flotsam out of the air. Sorry about the other issues.--Aspro (talk) 22:23, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes, I actually did a study on atopy, and it seems that it can be caused by insect droppings or the remains of dead insects and general house dust flying around the air because of air conditioners. She had the problem all year round. There is no reason to open the windows if you have air conditioning. I would never shine a laser pointer at her face because it could blind her (I did actually have one). KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 22:34, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, I have just understood what you were saying. With a laser pointer, you don't see the beam itself, just the red dot where you are pointing it, unless the room is full of smoke. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 22:41, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

To get back to the point, scratchy wool is scratchy because the fibres comprising the wool are coarse and of varying lengths. Wools such as merino or cashmere have fine fibres that all tend to be one length. I learned this many years ago, having the same problem as the OP. This blog explains more, and also how wool is treated nowadays so that it is less scratchy. I just buy synthetic these days! --TammyMoet (talk) 08:54, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

I couldn't find anything useful on WP. I did find this brief mention at WebMD [1], but the best thing I've found is this [2], from the Washington State government. It quickly outlines the main factors in skin irritation by clothing, and has several references to scholarly research (apparently there is a whole journal titled Contact Dermitis Dermatitis, evidence that this is a subtle and difficult subject :) SemanticMantis (talk) 15:25, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

May I politely suggest the book was actually called Contact Dermatitis? Richard Avery (talk) 15:57, 22 January 2014 (UTC)

(Indeed, corrected. But the journal has been running since at least 1985, so calling it a "book" seems selling it short :) SemanticMantis (talk) 16:22, 22 January 2014 (UTC)