Reaction to certain type of plastic bag

[JosephC]

I have finally realized that my ongoing negative reaction is undoubtedly from the certain type of plastic bag I was given after surgery (blue vomit bags) that I have lying on my bedside table. I first thought that I was just experiencing a strange odor sensitivity that might have been triggered by anesthetic used in surgery. It was really driving me crazy but I've suddenly realized that it was NOT an actual odor (real or imagined) but a problem that was affecting something to do with my breathing and even the taste in my mouth and on my lips - all without my even touching the plastic bags!!! Yikes.  Good bye bags!  Now I even have this reaction to the plastic trash bags that I use under the sink in the kitchen!!!   What is this?

[scarlet37]

I think it has something to do with using recycled plastic. Not sure how they do it or if they add a special chemical additive but I can't stand the smell of ziploc brand sandwich & freezer bags anymore for the same reason as you.

The odor affects my taste and smell and makes me feel nausiated. I even found that certain plastic storage tubs are made from the same stuff because I can smell it in the stores when I get close to those aisles. I now avoid those aisles like the plague!

You're not alone!  Best Wishes~

[JosephC]

Thank you for sharing your similar experience.

[Jod101]

I have come to conclusion of my Alergy (allergy) reactions... I'm alergic (allergic) to Type 1 plastics. There is a recyling label under any containers that have #1 on it. It keeps giving rashes and hives everytime I use it. First it was from TV dinners, I thought it was the food. But since I love some of them, I eat them all the time.... Come to find out I tested with containers with the same recyling code and it is it. You have to watchout these days... I thought I  was the only one!!!

Good luck and I hope someone will find this useful !!! Best is to test it yourself becasue the doctors don't know it. I went to two and did nothing for me, I found this on my own.

[peg907]

Everytime I go shopping and carry my groceries out in plastic bags, my forearms get a raised red rash which lasts for an hour. very weird!  
I'm also allergic to latex.
I was taking a cpr course and had to breathe into a dummy(had latex lips) my lips swelled up immediately.
Good luck with your allergies

[me310]

When I carry my groceries to the car from the store, I get raised red welt on my exposed arms.  I first notice an itchy feeling and then when I look at my arms they have these itchy red, raised welts where ever I have touched the bags.   I have also noticed that(sometimes -not all the time) my hand gets big hives in between my thumb and first finger after using a plastic fork while eating.  Old balloons start to smell bad and so I find I try to avoid them, and certain things at the dentist office smell bad to me and make me feel itchy, like a rubber dam.  
How does a person find out for sure if this is a true allergy?  

[FurballsMom]

Okay, obviously when you're puking your guts out in the hospital it's very difficult to avoid the plastic exposure.  There are so many things in the hospital that are made from plastic, and if you're in the e.r., you're lucky if you get as much attention as you need from the medical staff.  

Plastic bothers me a lot, too.  I know what you're talking about here.  I get headaches and nausea from anything with off-gassing.  At home I am using as many alternatives to plastic as I can get my hands on, especially in the kitchen.  I haven't had the serious reaction to plastic eating utensils, yet, but I still prefer not to eat with those things in the first place.

As far as the plastic grocery bags go, you probably already know about all the campaigns to use cloth and canvas bags of your own.  I know what it's like if you've forgotten them at home or in the car, but you might want to find what works for you to help you remember your own bags.  Especially if you're getting these reactions to the plastic grocery bags.

Does it really matter if there is a test to tell you whether or not this is a "true" allergy, when you know these things make you feel bad?  Avoidance is the key here.

The truth is that plastic is toxic and plastic pollutes.  Some things about modern life are not so wonderful, and that includes the pervasive plastic that touches nearly every aspect of our lives.  And, the truth is that it's impossible to completely eliminate plastic out of our lives.  Take for instance how much plastic is in our computers that we're using to talk to each other on this forum.  This plastic isn't making me feel so lousy, though, thankfully.

There is some good information about which plastics are more toxic than other plastics on mercola.com.  He offers some good advice for what to do about limiting our exposure to so much plastic in our lives.   I forgot what the key words are for finding those articles, but I'm sure it has to do with plastic and BPA.  In those articles you'll find information that you wouldn't otherwise know about even some hidden plastics that most people are unaware of.  For example:  Did you know that MOST canned goods, even organic items are in cans lined with the types of plastic that contain BPA?  There are a handful that don't, but you really have to do a lot of research that possibly includes contacting the manufacturers of the various companies and asking them LOTS of questions.  Since that seems like too much work, and I have so many food allergies anyway, I just don't buy food in cans anymore.  

And, since I'm trying not to throw more plastic into the dump than I have to, I'm trying to find other places I can discard plastic items I want to get rid of.  Supposedly the Tupperware items that I'm thinking of when I say this are within the range of the "safer" plastics, but they bother me.  So, I'm debating whether to give the things to my friends or to take them to a thrift store or what else to do with them, since they have a smell that bothers me, too.

I thought I was the only one who had a topical reaction to plastics.  And, I've been allergic to some degree eversince I was a little kid and would get boils on the backs of my legs any time I was wearing clothes that didn't cover my legs completely and would be sitting in the backseat of my parents' car, which was covered in vinyl.  I've gotten rashes on my skin at other times when I've forgotten about the vinyl issue, even as an adult.  I'm sure everyone knows that vinyl is a form of plastic.

With some online research about a hair care product that was supposedly "natural", I found out that this one ingredient was actually a form of vinyl.  I read about how that particular form of vinyl was also a known carcinogen.  I no longer had that receipt for the product, since it had been quite a while since I bought that product, but I threw out what was left of the product.  I plan on telling the staff at the supplement store where I had gotten that product that this product has something in it that is far from natural and is a known carcinogen.