Death by Deodorant!

Or at last almost death...

Now that might sound like a funny title to you, but as I found out earlier this week for me it might just have been possible.  For those of you who don't know I am very allergic to soy and by that I mean back in college within one week I went to the ER twice because I couldn't breathe (anaphylaxis).  A couple weeks later I found out this was because I was very allergic to soy and that I needed to avoid anything with soy in it. Over the last 11 years I've managed to mostly keep my body happy by not eating soy, religiously reading the ingredients in all the food I buy, lotion, and shampoo.  Last fall, to my utter dismay I discovered Burt's Bees had changed the ingredients in two of my favorite products (their chapstick and some awesome hand lotion) and sadly they now contain soy.  However, for some reason I had never thought to read the ingredients in deodorant, sadly I learned this past Monday night why I must now add deodorant my long list of things whose ingredients I must read before purchasing.

Honestly I assumed at some point during my first few months here in Mexico that I would have an allergic reaction and probably need to use my inhaler, however I assumed it would be because of the food I ate.  However, Monday night when I got the splotchy, super itchy rash on the top half of my body I was shocked because I wasn't having any problems breathing instead I couldn't stop itching and my skin just looked gross.  It wasn't until Tuesday morning, when I started going over what other than food (by now I knew food wasn't my culprit) was new in my life and the only thing I could think of was the deodorant I had just started using that I bought right before leaving the states.  So then I read the ingredients and sure enough it contains hydrogenated soybean oil.  I can't believe it that now makes two "natural" products companies that since being purchased by much larger corporations that have changed the ingredients in their products to include soy - thanks a lot Burt's Bees and Toms of Maine.  Thank goodness for Benadryl and soap and water, which helped clear up my rash in about 36 hours.

Don't worry friends I brought more than one thing of deodorant with me and thus will still be smelling fresh and clean with the help of my Arm & Hammer deodorant.