A panty ranty!
Feb. 28th, 2003 02:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baratronI would like to rant about my allergies and my underpants. These two things are, in fact, connected.
Over the past few months, I've been developing more and more allergies. (I can't be bothered to look for links to earlier moaning - just trust me that there was some!). A few days ago, my forehead broke out in a red, itchy rash. Other parts of me are also itchy. I think it is contact vulvitis. Haven't bothered to see the doctor just yet, because I know it's not thrush or an STD, and it's blatently an allergic reaction. I itch when I wear underpants, but not when I stay in my pyjamas all day.
Well, looking down that list of contact irritants, I already avoid most of them because of previous allergic reactions. In fact, I'm becoming quite distressed by one in particular: condoms. I have extremely strong reasons for not wanting to get pregnant ever, and very strong reasons for not using hormonal contraception. Ruling out hormones means there isn't much left - the IUD is rarely fitted to women who have heavy periods and/or who haven't ever had a pregnancy go to term, and I fall into both categories. Also, it's definitely not a good thing to be putting in someone who's developing new allergies every couple of weeks! The diaphragm is a bit useless by itself, though I could conceivably get one as an extra precaution. We stopped using spermicidal condoms because I was having allergic reactions to nonoxynol-9, then I started reacting to latex, and now I'm having sodding allergic reactions even to polyurethane! If I could get my tubes tied tomorrow, this wouldn't be a problem, but I don't hold out any hope of being "allowed" it before I'm 30. I wish Richard wasn't so sodding monogamous, too! I am seriously contemplating not having PIV sex for the next four years, but this is a bit unfair on him.
Anyway. Contact irritants. I've always used a wet wipe after pooing, and this has become particularly important since the irritable bowel started - when you have what I shall term 15 minute diarrhoea (as in running to the bathroom every...), it is rather important to try to keep yourself clean. It is also important to try to clean yourself without irritating an already sore - hrm, I'll use the technical term - anus, and wet wipes are useful in this. Of course, being bloody allergic to everything, I've been fortunate to find precisely one that doesn't drive me itchy - Hakle Moist Camille - but a few months ago it mysteriously disappeared from the shops. I couldn't find anything else which claimed to be hypoallergenic (most said antibacterial! Badness!), and ended up buying Boots' own brand Baby Wipes, on the basis that I used them when I was a child without any itching occurring. Well, I don't think they've changed the formula - it's been the same since the 1970s at least - but now I suspect it's causing me discomfort. Of course, a female must wipe herself front to back, as it is very bad if - hrm - poo makes its way forward. However, when one's front is irritated by the wipe... well, I've tried starting in the middle instead, but being a wet wipe, the wet stays around for a little while, and when I get up, some very small amount of it runs into the front. And this is enough to cause me irritation.
Anyway. Since the time I had thrush, I've been extremely careful about irritants. I made sure all of my underpants were 100% cotton. They say you should wear white underpants that are 100% cotton (presumably because dye can irritate some people), but I didn't think my pants were the cause of the thrush (more likely, the 15 minute diarrhoea I had that week). So I just bought black 100% cotton pants. No problem. Erm, except, as I discovered this week, my pants have small print! They are 100% cotton except for the gusset! Oh yeah, that really makes sense - have 100% cotton for the parts that touch my leg skin, which probably couldn't care less what goes near it, then make the part that touches my delicate bits out of some synthetic crap! GAH!!
So I went to Marks & Spencer this evening and bought some fine white 100% cotton underpants, checking carefully that the gusset is also 100% cotton. I bought a size larger than the ones I normally wear, on the basis that being 100% cotton they probably wouldn't be as stretchy as normal pants. Held them up, and they looked approximately the size of one small whale, so I thought they would fit. But they're still not big enough. They fit, but they're tight, which almost makes the whiteness and 100% cottonness redundant. I'm going to have to go back tomorrow and buy some 3 sizes larger than my normal size, just to make sure they are suitably baggy. I might have to cut the labels out, so they're not saying size 24 at me when I'm still slightly funny in the head about taking a 16-18 these days. Blah. Yes, I would love to be skinny - I'd also like a body that didn't require me to spend 2 days in bed to recover from walking one mile *roll eyes*.
Of course, it occurs to me that underpants that are 100% cotton and bleached white could possibly be as irritating as ones that are dyed, but I really don't know where to get unbleached cotton pants. I've seen outer garments - t-shirts and trousers made of it, but not underwear. Might have to try. My bra is causing me grief too - it's a crop top with elastic rather than a proper bra, and I think the lycra or whatever is making my top girly bits itch too.
And I think I'll have put £100 on my credit card by the end of this month (fucking hate February and its 28 days, meaning that all my bills go out on the same day instead of being spread over 3 or 4 days), and I was supposed to be paying it off this month! (Well, I spent £40 on flowers for my mum in hospital, which was a necessary expense, but I'm not sure all the rest was). Bah. Stress. I'm sure someone is playing the world's smallest violin for me even as I type ;)
Over the past few months, I've been developing more and more allergies. (I can't be bothered to look for links to earlier moaning - just trust me that there was some!). A few days ago, my forehead broke out in a red, itchy rash. Other parts of me are also itchy. I think it is contact vulvitis. Haven't bothered to see the doctor just yet, because I know it's not thrush or an STD, and it's blatently an allergic reaction. I itch when I wear underpants, but not when I stay in my pyjamas all day.
Well, looking down that list of contact irritants, I already avoid most of them because of previous allergic reactions. In fact, I'm becoming quite distressed by one in particular: condoms. I have extremely strong reasons for not wanting to get pregnant ever, and very strong reasons for not using hormonal contraception. Ruling out hormones means there isn't much left - the IUD is rarely fitted to women who have heavy periods and/or who haven't ever had a pregnancy go to term, and I fall into both categories. Also, it's definitely not a good thing to be putting in someone who's developing new allergies every couple of weeks! The diaphragm is a bit useless by itself, though I could conceivably get one as an extra precaution. We stopped using spermicidal condoms because I was having allergic reactions to nonoxynol-9, then I started reacting to latex, and now I'm having sodding allergic reactions even to polyurethane! If I could get my tubes tied tomorrow, this wouldn't be a problem, but I don't hold out any hope of being "allowed" it before I'm 30. I wish Richard wasn't so sodding monogamous, too! I am seriously contemplating not having PIV sex for the next four years, but this is a bit unfair on him.
Anyway. Contact irritants. I've always used a wet wipe after pooing, and this has become particularly important since the irritable bowel started - when you have what I shall term 15 minute diarrhoea (as in running to the bathroom every...), it is rather important to try to keep yourself clean. It is also important to try to clean yourself without irritating an already sore - hrm, I'll use the technical term - anus, and wet wipes are useful in this. Of course, being bloody allergic to everything, I've been fortunate to find precisely one that doesn't drive me itchy - Hakle Moist Camille - but a few months ago it mysteriously disappeared from the shops. I couldn't find anything else which claimed to be hypoallergenic (most said antibacterial! Badness!), and ended up buying Boots' own brand Baby Wipes, on the basis that I used them when I was a child without any itching occurring. Well, I don't think they've changed the formula - it's been the same since the 1970s at least - but now I suspect it's causing me discomfort. Of course, a female must wipe herself front to back, as it is very bad if - hrm - poo makes its way forward. However, when one's front is irritated by the wipe... well, I've tried starting in the middle instead, but being a wet wipe, the wet stays around for a little while, and when I get up, some very small amount of it runs into the front. And this is enough to cause me irritation.
Anyway. Since the time I had thrush, I've been extremely careful about irritants. I made sure all of my underpants were 100% cotton. They say you should wear white underpants that are 100% cotton (presumably because dye can irritate some people), but I didn't think my pants were the cause of the thrush (more likely, the 15 minute diarrhoea I had that week). So I just bought black 100% cotton pants. No problem. Erm, except, as I discovered this week, my pants have small print! They are 100% cotton except for the gusset! Oh yeah, that really makes sense - have 100% cotton for the parts that touch my leg skin, which probably couldn't care less what goes near it, then make the part that touches my delicate bits out of some synthetic crap! GAH!!
So I went to Marks & Spencer this evening and bought some fine white 100% cotton underpants, checking carefully that the gusset is also 100% cotton. I bought a size larger than the ones I normally wear, on the basis that being 100% cotton they probably wouldn't be as stretchy as normal pants. Held them up, and they looked approximately the size of one small whale, so I thought they would fit. But they're still not big enough. They fit, but they're tight, which almost makes the whiteness and 100% cottonness redundant. I'm going to have to go back tomorrow and buy some 3 sizes larger than my normal size, just to make sure they are suitably baggy. I might have to cut the labels out, so they're not saying size 24 at me when I'm still slightly funny in the head about taking a 16-18 these days. Blah. Yes, I would love to be skinny - I'd also like a body that didn't require me to spend 2 days in bed to recover from walking one mile *roll eyes*.
Of course, it occurs to me that underpants that are 100% cotton and bleached white could possibly be as irritating as ones that are dyed, but I really don't know where to get unbleached cotton pants. I've seen outer garments - t-shirts and trousers made of it, but not underwear. Might have to try. My bra is causing me grief too - it's a crop top with elastic rather than a proper bra, and I think the lycra or whatever is making my top girly bits itch too.
And I think I'll have put £100 on my credit card by the end of this month (fucking hate February and its 28 days, meaning that all my bills go out on the same day instead of being spread over 3 or 4 days), and I was supposed to be paying it off this month! (Well, I spent £40 on flowers for my mum in hospital, which was a necessary expense, but I'm not sure all the rest was). Bah. Stress. I'm sure someone is playing the world's smallest violin for me even as I type ;)
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no subject
Date: 2003-02-27 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-27 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-27 07:36 pm (UTC)Organic cotton undies. Doesn't say anything about them being unbleached, but I daresay they could find out for you.
Maybe pretend to be a boy and wear boxers?
I've got another catalog around somewhere that does organicy sorts of clothing. When I work out where I put it, I'll see if they do unbleached cotton undies.
GAS, feel free to ignore
Date: 2003-02-27 09:29 pm (UTC)As one who tends towards loose stool (esp. while on my period), you have my profound empathy - and a suggestion to follow the wipe with a small bit of regular t.p. The wipe has already done the lion's share of the work, so all you need do is blot the dampness. (I don't have problems with allergies, fortunately, but I can't stand the way it feels if I just use the wipe.)
no subject
Date: 2003-02-27 11:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-28 12:22 am (UTC)Someone else makes another sort of polyurethane condoms - I'll look it up.
What does Richard get out of PIV sex?
Have you tried washing your bottom? Presumably - I hope! - you have found a soap that doesn't irritate.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-28 01:25 am (UTC)> but I don't hold out any hope of being "allowed" it before I'm 30.
Who would be "allowing" it, in this context? I decided a few years ago that I wanted a vasectomy, and booked the operation at Marie Stopes. I was 23 at that point (back in 1997), and it wasn't a problem. I subsequently changed my mind, and they were very good about that - no questions asked, they just cancelled the operation. (Of course, they do keep the 50 quid deposit, which is fair enough.) In fact, looking at their web page for female sterilisation: "Please note: at MSI, age is not a barrier to sterilisation, although
we do ask that anyone under the age of 25 has extra counselling before proceeding." So, that shouldn't be a problem for you. This obviously isn't something to rush into, but at least the option is there.
no subject
It wouldn't be rushing into anything - I've known since I was 21 that I do not want children. I am 99.9% sure that I do not want children ever, and 100% sure that I do not want to be pregnant or give birth to children. With the sheer number of problems I have that would be aggravated by pregnancy, it is A Very Bad Idea. In fact, I suppose I'm fortunate in not wanting children, because it would be an awful decision to have to make - weighing up the risks compared to the joys if I did want them.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-28 01:36 am (UTC)Sometimes having a parent with continence problems is a Good Thing - I was talking with Mum on the phone about this kind of stuff only yesterday :)
Boxer shorts?
Date: 2003-02-28 03:00 am (UTC)Wipes - you could try using ordinary j-cloths and water; I don't know if the cheap ones (you'd probably want to dispose of them instantly, after all!) would irritate you or not. Alternatively, you could try a cotton-based dry loo roll; we used to have an unbleached cotton one in Ireland, I don't remember the brand name. It was much much softer and more absorbent than the usual ones.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-28 07:56 pm (UTC)Anyways...
I feel for you on the birth control thing. I cant use any kind of contraceptive. Any condom i break out in hives, birth control pills make me sicks for weeks, anything else would do the same. so usually its the pull out method or im doing some worship to him... God... women are much easier to please.