Allergic reaction!! Help please!

[diesel1978]

Hi all i could really do with some advice here.....i have read all previous posts on this subject and also the tech notes but i need answers that i cannot find!!
I have a client or should i say i had a client!!! She came 2 me aprox 3 months ago after going to a local salon.....she had told the tech that she was allergic to nail glue (under her free edge flares up when she comes in to contact with it) but the tech told her that the nail glue she used was hypallergenic and proceeded to use it. That evening her hands had swollen to double the size , blistered and hence a trip to A & E where all her wedding rings etc were cut off!!
I was asked by one of my clients if i could do her nails (this was after the reaction had gone) to which i said yes i could either sculpt or tip using acrlic instead of glue.
We first did a tester nail which i applied using acrylic to tip it (we could'nt use forms as she suffers from sweaty hands).....we left this 2 weeks with no reaction so we proceeded to apply a full set. Full set applied no problems ......2 weeks later at rebalance no problems another 2 weeks at rebalance no problem then after 1 week .....the reaction started again! She removed her nails and left them until the reaction had disappeared.
I was then asked to put another set on which i did and again no problems with a full set and further rebalances then last week a week after her last rebalance the reaction had flared up again........a trip to her gp for medication and she was told that her reaction was to the nails and that she could never wear them again. This is all fine and dandy but i would really like to know why the reaction would flare up at random times???
I am baffled i really am!
look forward to your reply
tx
Amanda

 

[mum]

Hi Amanda
Nightmare!! You did everything correct by testing and waiting. The only thing wrong was reapplying after the flare up.

Nail adhesive and l&p both belong to the 'acrylic' family of plastics. Your client is obviously very sensitive to that family. If you think about your 'overposure' principle ("Every chemical subsance has a safe and unsafe level of exposure. Simply touching, inhaling or smelling a potentially hazardous substance can'y harm you. Exceeding the safe level of exposure is the danger you must learn to avoid." (Doug Schoon Nail Structure and Product Chemistry)) Her exposure limit to adhesive was exceeded before she came to you. Her exposure limit to the l&p was exceeded when the reaction flared up after your maintenances.

If someone reacts to an acrylic product there is a good chance that they will react to a similar product. She was told the right thing: that is not to wear nails. There is no artificial nail product that is not in that chemical family. Her sensitivity may drastically decrease if she waits for several months but, if I was her, I wouldn't chance it!

I hope this helps you to understand what happened. You did the right thing but, in hindsight (a magical thing) the second set were perhaps wrong but they did prove a point so maybe she will not persuade another technician to put some more on.

Marian

 

[The Geek]

Wow. What a nightmare.

The least likely substance (for nail enhancments) to cause an allergic reactions are cyanoacrylate (adhesives and wrap systems).
Saying that, it still can cause allergic reactions it is just far less likely than Methacrylates (L&P) and especially Acrylates (gel).

If somone becomes allergic to Acrylates... switch them to cyanoacrylates or methacrylate systems.
If somone becomes allergic to Methacrylate systems, switch them to cyanoacrylate systems. DO NOT SWITCH THEM TO AN ACRYLATE SYSTEM.

If someone is allergic to adhesive but not to L&P, it will not take long at all for them to become allergic to L&P. Sure, this can only come from overexposure but in the nail world this means contact of product to skin. Adhering tips to natural nail plates with L&P is a sure fire way to overexpose them to the product. I am not saying that this was the case, or that people cant put tips on with L&P wothout skin exposure. It is just that you are far more likely to expose the skin with L&P via this method than others.

Hypoallergenic is neither here nor there with adhesives. Hypoallergenic simply means 'Less likely to cause an allergic reaction than its counterparts'.
A good example of this is hypoallergenic soap. Its still soap, it still cleans... but they dont put a fragerence in it as that is the single most likely culprit of an allergic reaction in the cosmetic industry.
So, on that note... I have no clue what a hypoallergenic cyanoacrylate adhesive is.

Clients who exhibit allergic reactions to substances with little to no known sensitizers are considered to be hypersensitive. In this case your client was allergic to the least offending substance of the 'Acrylic' family; Cyanoacrylates. As such (As Marian mentioned) should not wear any enhancments full stop.

Hope this helps.

 

[diesel1978]

Thank you both for your replies.....i really needed to understand this situation for my own peace of mind and to give the client the facts because she is adamant that she will be having another set back on (not by me that is for sure!)
I really do feel for her though it appears the reaction flares up every time she puts latex gloves on at work so the saga is not over yet!
Once again many thanx for your replies
Amanda

 

[scattyfox]

You say she is allergic to Latex gloves as well, makes you wonder if she had been wearing the gloves more frequently when her nails flared up again. Looked at a site which says about latex and it says allergens can be carried by the corn starch inside them

have a nose at the link
http://www.osha.gov/dts/tib/tib_data/tib19990412.html

may be helpful in pin pointing why they flared sometimes and not other times. It may be that her allergy to the gloves is the culprit

Hope it helps a bit

Lucia

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Following on from what has already been said, I had the Council's environmental officer around today to get my licence to perform permanent makeup. Two topics came up for discussion, one was patch tests the other was about latex gloves.

Firstly she didn't really rate patch tests (which is a bit daft because my insurance is invalid if I don't do one). She said that the body maybe sensitive to a product but this may not show on the first time it is exposed to it (ie at patch test), it will only show in subsequent exposure when the body will THEN react to it ie when you do the treatment! I'll still carry on doing the tests of course, but will have to be more wary that a reaction could still occurr anyway. ie why your client may not have shown a reaction first of all, it may have taken a few visits for it to fully come out.

Second was latex gloves. She advised to ask people if they are sensitive to latex before performing a treatment, also so that I don't end up with over exposure and get contact dermatitis. Apparently dentists in our borough are having to ask their clients if they are sensitive to latex before they say open wide!. I am going to be using vinyl gloves.

Just adding my two penneth to this debate!! Hope it may help someone!

 

[The Geek]

Latex sucks.

Because it is a naturally occurring substance, people will naturally be more inclined to become allergic to it (odd huh?!?).
Especially with applying nails. Monomer can dissolve the latex and 'carry' it into your skin. So if you are not allergic to latex... it shouldn't take long before you are.
I would only use Nitrile gloves (the kind surgeons use).

Your clients reaction may have come from the latex though she would not know for sure without consulting a Dr. I once saw a figure that suggested 50% of people are allergic to latex. this is also a very good reason not to use latex gloves when working on a client!!!

I would also advise against patch tests of nail products on skin. All these products already have severe warnings about skin exposure and patch testing violates this principal.
On beauty treatments and hair treatments it is far more important as skin exposure is pretty much a given.

Hope this helps!

 

[talented talons]

Thanks GMG i was only thinking the other day about what gloves i could wear as don't want to wear latex ones. Where can you get the nitrile gloves from please?

I was going to use them mainly for pedicures as i really don't like feet much, but people do like having them done, so needs must as they say. Would the Nitril gloves be okay for this treatment?

 

[Bud]

hi - just did a quick search, cos i'm thiinking of getting some nitrile gloves too!

These are the suggestions from previous threads:

www.medisave.co.uk

http://www.designernails.com/Products.aspx?categoryId=508&type=2

hth x

 

[yogacat]

I often use nitrile gloves as they are much nicer to use than vinyl. I almost always use gloves for pedicures as it stops my hands from drying out, and yes, some people's feet are a bit horrible!