Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with irritation

The acrylic...it burns!

echolalia67 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:31:28 -0800

I'm trying to teach myself to knit/crochet and have found that one of the major barriers to learning is the yarn - acrylic yarn to be exact. It irritates my skin. Seriously, it's feels like extra-fine steel wool against my skin and the tips of my fingers are beginning to crack, something they are prone to in wet/cold weather. Since I'm new to the whole knitting/crochet thing, I don't want to invest a whole lot of money into yarn in case it turns out that I don't have the knack for it. Is there any way to make the yarn less irritating to my skin while I learn enough to see if knitting/crocheting and I are meant to be?

Earphones for a person with sensitive skin who travels on a bus

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:50:49 -0800

How can I keep listening to music on the bus without exacerbating my easily irritable skin with earbuds, or causing hearing loss? The skin in the bowl of my ear and ear canal is easily irritable, which leads to flaking and ear infections. I had this under control, and then I got an iPod Shuffle. Being able to listen to music on my many bus trips makes me much happier, but it is surely irritating my skin. Also, trying to keep the music audible on a loud bus means I have to turn the volume up probably more than is healthy.

I'm planning to get a iPod Shuffle remote-replacement dongle so that I can replace the earbuds. I have some Sennheiser PXC-250 noise-canceling supraural earphones that work pretty well. They avoid the skin irritation that earbuds cause and the noise cancellation means I don't have to turn them up too loud. But they only work when I have a bag with me to store them in. One of the key advantages of the iPod Shuffle was that I could just put them in my jeans pocket and use them even when I didn't have a bag with me. So I'm looking for something more compact if possible. Even if I can't fit them in my pants, something I could more easily fit in my jacket pocket would be good. Something inexpensive would also be ideal I you can't always keep my jacket within view and expensive stuff might get stolen.

I've heard of bone conduction headphones (Outi, Audio Bone), but they seem to get poor reviews, and are apparently loud enough for others nearby to hear (not so great on the bus).

Thus far I have avoided canalphones (which seem apppealing for their noise-isolating characteristics) for fear that they will irritate my skin further, much as earplugs do.

Anonymous because, hey, not everyone needs to identify me with my health issues.

Why do my ear piercings continue to get irritated after 10 years?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:42:44 -0800

Almost ten years after I've worn earrings, my piercings continue to regularly swell and discharge pus. What's wrong with my ears, how can I fix it, and will I ever wear earrings again? The (gross) backstory:

Each of my earlobes is pierced twice. Both were done with a gun rather than a needle (bad, I know); the first ones about 20 years ago and the second ones about 12 years ago. I used to use hydrogen peroxide to clean my piercings and earrings (I think that's also no longer recommended).

I no longer have any of the earrings I used to wear, but they were all fairly inexpensive, and were probably made of a variety of metals that are usually used for cheap earrings.

About 10 years ago, my piercings suddenly started getting really irritated, no matter how often I changed/cleaned them. I gave up on wearing earrings for a while.

At one point, after I hadn't worn earrings for almost a year, I tried putting in my original piercing earrings (some fake gold ones with extra-pointy posts); my earlobes were red and swollen within 15 minutes, and it took several days to recover. I haven't attempted to wear earrings since.

A year or so later, I discovered one day that my earlobe was swollen and itchy. I pressed on it from behind and discharged pus through one of the piercing holes -- like popping a zit. It relieved the pressure and pain. In the years since, my piercings have intermittently become irritated in this way, and I can usually "pop" whichever one is irritated and discharge white pus (although sometimes a hole can be irritated but doesn't want to "pop"). Blood never comes out of the holes.

All four holes are susceptible, although it seems that my right side is irritated more often (however, the top hole on the right side is irritated right now, so maybe I'm biased). I estimate that at least one hole becomes irritated every two to four weeks, although I admit I've never kept track. The irritation usually lasts a couple of days.

Obviously, since this has been happening for many years, it has gone on as I've had many different hairstyles, used different hair products, slept on different pillowcases, lived in different apartments, and even lived on different continents. I don't have any medical conditions or allergies that I know of.

My questions:

What the hell would make really old piercings randomly, but regularly, irritated? Is there anything I can do to prevent the irritation? I'd really like to wear earrings again, and I'm willing to wear metals that are better for sensitive ears (stainless steel?), but I'm reluctant to experiment because of the cost of earrings and the pain that's involved.

(Anonymous because I really don't want my coworkers to know about my gross ears...)

Shaving Advice Sought

®@ — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:43:40 -0800

Want to look my best for tomorrow, seeking shaving advice. Late twenties male, never really got the hang of shaving. Would like to look my best, could use the advice of people more used to shaving. My neck is easily irritated by shaving, and often has red bumps afterwards. I was thinking I could shave my neck tonight, then tomorrow shave my face but leave my neck alone. Will this leave my neck relatively clean-looking, or will it appear stubbly?

Do I have herpes or what?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:09:12 -0800

I know you are not my doctor, but... I have had three outbreaks of something in the last four years, which could be herpes, but so far all the tests say it's not. Any other ideas what I might have? Much much Four years ago, I noticed some discomfort in my vaginal area. It felt dry and a little painful. I thought maybe my boyfriend had cut me with a rough fingernail or something, and didn't really think much of it. A couple days later, I realized I'd developed some small white sores on my labia. They looked like ulcers you might get in your mouth. On each side, there seemed to be one main one and then a scattering of smaller ones around it. At this point I realized it was more than just a cut, and went to the gyno right away, taking an appointment with a guy who was not my regular doctor. The doctor took one look and said it was definitely herpes, sent a swab test off to the lab, and gave me prescriptions for Valtrex and some ointment.

I broke the news to my boyfriend who was so good and supportive about it. He was the only person I'd been with in the last three years, though I'd had three partners before him. He went to his own doctor for a blood test, even though he'd never had any symptoms of herpes. A couple days later I called in for the results of the culture they'd taken, and... it was negative for herpes?! My boyfriend's results were also negative.

A year or so later, I got the same discomfort and sores again. Once again I went to the gyno, seeing my regular doctor this time. She took a look and said it didn't look like herpes at all, and she didn't know why the first doctor had said that. She took another swab culture, which again came back negative.

Just to make double-sure, I got a blood test a few months later after my regular check-up, which also was negative for herpes. So nobody could tell me what I have, but it's not herpes, and I went on with my life.

Last week my husband (same guy - we've since gotten married) and I both came down with the flu. About two days into being sick, I noticed that same feeling I had with previous outbreaks of whatever I have. This time there is one main sore on the right side of my labia, and a smaller one directly opposite it on the left side. The second day was the worst, and they've been improving every day since then and are now almost gone.

Ever since my first (mis)diagnosis, I have read and learned a lot about herpes. From what I've read, there's arguments for and against whatever I have being herpes:

FOR:
- I could have it without transmitting it to my (now) husband, because it's easier for women to contract.
- This last outbreak occurred during a time my immune system was weakened.

AGAINST:
- Sores don't look like herpes, from the photos I've seen and what my doctor said.
- It doesn't hurt to urinate - in fact, it's sort of a relief, because mostly what I feel is dryness.
- The first outbreak is supposed to be the worst and occur shortly after first contracting the virus, but my "first outbreak" was years after being with any guy who could've given it to me.
- Sores clear up in about a week - regardless of whether I use any medication or not. They don't crust or scab over, they just sort of close up.

Could what I have be herpes, even though it doesn't really look or act like herpes, and three tests have come back negative? If it's not, what could it be? My personal theory is that it's some sort of irritation (from detergent, clothing, or even latex condoms?), which leads to dryness, and then the dry labia rubbing against each other irritate each other, causing the sores, which is why they always seem to mirror each other on each side of my labia. Does this sound plausable? Any other theories? Thanks...

You ever have one of those days?

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:18:18 -0800

I'm having an "off day" for no particular reason. Feeling grouchy & peevish. This is dumb. Please help me fix it. Specifics are unnecessary, but basically a few things went wrong. Nothing major, mostly on the scale of "annoying". And there were some unrelated problems that all happened in a row- a small stack of irritating coincidences, starting in the morning and compounding all day, probably slightly exacerbated by my worsening mood.

I'm fully aware that I should just let inconsequential stuff like this roll off my back, and how lucky I am to be alive & healthy in a nice country & etc. But nevertheless, I feel grumpy, petulant, discouraged, and annoyed at myself for reacting this way. It's just a bad day, fer Pete's sake, get over it, right?

I have a few things I usually do to try and fix bad days, but suddenly it occurred to me that you probably have even better ideas. So, hive mind, what are your best strategies? How do you turn a bad day around?
Thanks!

Fire down below!

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:58:27 -0800

I am a girl with incredibly sensitive skin. Help me stay free of rashes AND hair "down there"... or convince me it's not worth it (men, please reply). I've tried waxing. I've tried shaving. Epilator? Check. It doesn't seem to matter what method I use, I ALWAYS get a rash.

Sure, it looks good for about a day, or even a week. But my skin is insanely sensitive, and I inevitably get a horrible, painful, scary-looking rash, especially along the edges where my groin and my legs meet. These rashes last 3-7 days.

I have had two long-term relationships where the guy didn't care down about having hair down there, so cool, I trimmed it. I'm single. Every time I am single, I feel OBLIGATED to be hair-free. So I try, but no method seems to work AND be non-irritating.

So far I have tried all of the following:

1. Using a new razor and sensitive skin foam after a bath
2. Professional waxing
3. Home waxing
4. Plucking all the hair with a rounded set of tweezers to avoid wax irritation
5. Nair (dear god never again lol)
6. Electric razor
7. Tend Skin and variations of that stuff
8. Clear deodorant
9. Only wearing skirts/dresses, no tight pants
10. Only shaving in the direction the hair grows
11. Epilator (yes really)
12. Exfoliating the area by every means possible

I feel like I want to have sex in the future, hence the grooming. But I can't always predict when sex will happen! So, guys... if you were going to have sex with a girl and there was some razor burn, primarily obviously on the... um... edges, how grossed out would you be? What if the girl had an STD test and showed you she was disease free, would that reassure you? Is a little hair better than no hair at all and a few red bumps? Ugh I feel so undignified even asking this. Help.

This is embarassing as hell. Throwaway account: embarassingashell at gmail.

How can I listen to someone who has an annoying voice without letting my irritation get to me?

Kattullus — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:35:21 -0800

Someone I have to interact with on a fairly regular basis has a voice that grates really badly on my nerves. How can I listen what the person is saying without being annoyed by the voice? As far as I know I don't show any outward signs of my irritation, so that's not an issue, I'd just like to be able to interact with this person like I do with everyone else. It's not a friend but it's someone I can't avoid talking with.

As far as I can tell the person is perfectly nice but the voice, a mix of David Brent and NPR, is extremely irritating to me. I've never had this problem before but I have a hard time paying attention to the words because the voice is so annoying to me. I thought this would abide once I'd gotten used to the sound but after 6 months of talking to this person at least twice a week I still can't get over it. Do you have any ideas as to how I can stop being annoyed? Have you ever had a similar problem and found a way to get past your irritation?

Make the music continue playing please

!Jim — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:47:30 -0800

Flash Player 9, running in Firefox pauses when it senses that it is no longer on screen. Please make it stop doing this so that I can listen to music (and videos) in the background. Say I have a video playing on youtube. When I switch from the video's tab (this is in Firefox 2.0.0.6) to another tab, or switch to another window, the video stops playing until I return to that tab. It happen on sites other than youtube as well (including the wonderful Mefi Music). This is incredibly undesirable. I'm using Flash 9, on a relatively vanilla Firefox 2.0.0.6 install (it has tabmixplus installed, and something from Evernote note clipper.) OS is Windows XP SP 2.

Also, I apologize in advance if this is easily googleable. I did try, but could not conjure the right words.

Study proposal: The Effects of Mud Wrestling on the Female Urogenital Tract

limeonaire — Thu, 24 May 2007 14:02:10 -0800

How do women who mud wrestle or take regular mud baths (esp. naked, say at a spa) avoid getting mud in their, er, orifices—or do they avoid it? Would tampons be useful in preventing such an occurrence? Or is that even necessary?

And if mud is allowed into the vagina or anus, does that lead to an increased incidence of infection (whether by yeast or bacteria)? How would one go about (or, ladies, how have you gone about) preventing such resultant infections? And do spas have problems with the transmission of such infections in their mud baths?

I've found an abstract from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found a greater incidence of pustular follicular dermatitis outbreaks among mud-wrestling college students (no joke) at the University of Washington in Seattle—but that doesn't speak to the question of vaginal, anal or urethral irritation stemming from prolonged mud exposure.

(And yes, this is a serious question, I promise—the topic came up during a conversation I was party to a while back about, well, vaginal irritation/infections. Fun stuff, huh?)

Facial gone bad...

irishkitten — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:30:49 -0800

So I got my first facial on Friday, and it didn't quite have the result I had hoped for. Help! The facial consisted of a number of steps, including a mask that really burned while it was on. I was told this was normal. Extraction wasn't much better, and I was left with blotches and swelling at the end of it. The esthetician told me the swelling/redness would subside by Saturday... and to my dismay, I woke up this morning to find that I had the beginning of some cystic acne, as well as some severe facial burning. So far anything I have tried to use on my face to ease the discomfort has only irritated my skin. Can anyone offer some sort of home remedy to ease the burning sensation?

Help me get the best shave a man can get.

Venadium — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 21:26:19 -0800

Acne/skin irritation related to shaving... After almost every time I shave my face, I experience mild to severe skin irritation above my chin, under the corners of my mouth. For whatever reason it occurs more often on the right side of my face. It looks like acne, basically a bunch of small whiteheads that become inflamed before they eventually just go away.

I know I should just go see a dermatologist but before I do, does anyone have any shaving creams or razors they could recommend that might help? Would an electric razor do the trick or might that make it worse?

Why do I get these blistery-rash reactions when I run?

I_Love_Bananas — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:27:08 -0800

Why do I get these blistery-rash reactions when I run? When I run, I get these reactions that look like angry red burn marks, almost. They occur in places where seams or stitching of my running attire (usually it's a sports bra, sometimes other stuff) rubs against my skin.

I have had adverse reactions to latex bandaids before. I wondered if the elastic-type thread used in stretchy workout clothes might be causing this.

When the rash-spots fade, they leave distinct marks that look just like scars. There are many of them on the undersides of my boobs and also on top, where the scoop-neckline of the sports bra hits.

One (expensive!) Nike running top had to be discarded entirely- the meshy fabric lining it rubbed whole sections of my chest raw.

I look like I've had reconstructive surgery, from the abundance of scar-like lines and marks all around my chestal region.

Heat makes it worse, as does distance. The longer I run, the more likely this is to occur (I seem to have to pass the 4-mile mark); which makes sense because by then I am hot and sweaty and the irritation potential is greatest.

I have tried applying Vaseline pre-run to the most rash-prone areas. This did not work.

I have seen substances on display at the running store to help combat chafing. From those of you who have used such items- does it sound like it would work for what I am experiencing?

Or is skin-on-skin chafing not the same thing as the clothing-based reactions I am having?

I would love to find a solution because I am running a 15K on Sunday and I REALLY don't want to be suffering over such a long distance. I'll finish regardless, but adding to my "scar" repertoire is getting old.

How do I get something out of my friend's eye?

ORthey — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:55:44 -0800

My friend has had something in his eye for four hours. We've tried everything we can think of, water, saline solution, eye drops, standing under the shower with eye open, closing eyes and trying to cry it out... nothing. We can't see anything in the eye either. Thoughts?

What if it CAN buy happiness?

ChrisR — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 07:10:34 -0800

What do rich people have that we don't? To be more specific, what are the little inconveniences that the middle class/lower class/middle-rich/foo/bar have to deal with, but when you have enough money you can get around easily. I don't mean the obvious ones, I mean things like showers that you have to fiddle with to get the temperature, or razor burn. Also, how can you emulate this sort of thing on the beer budget that I must live with?