Neoprene Allergy

[Larain]

You could try the Pinnacle wetsuit. It's also fabric on the inside.

Terry

Thanks! I did not know that! I will definetly look into it.

Do you, or anyone else here, know of anyone with an allergy to neoprene? I don't think it is common...

 

[knotical]

Do you, or anyone else here, know of anyone with an allergy to neoprene? I don't think it is common...

Googling neoprene allergy produces many hits, including this one from here on Scubaboard.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/diving-medicine/51923-neoprene-allergy.html

 

[robint]

Thanks! I did not know that! I will definetly look into it.

Do you, or anyone else here, know of anyone with an allergy to neoprene? I don't think it is common...

I do know people who have neoprene allergies, but they had a rash right from the beginning. They now either dive dry or wear a dive skin under the wetsuit and change out of it to dry clothes as soon as they get out of the water. It doesn't solve the problem, but sure helps.

I am thinking it has to do with something else other than the wetsuit. Where are you storing your wetsuit between dives? In the garage? (suits will absorb fumes from your car, etc. so it is very bad to store them there) Like others have mentioned, is the place you dive "good" water? Or does it have waste water emptied into it?

Also, we always wash our wetsuits after a dive trip and let them dry in the sun. I think that kills any "critters" and bacteria. The McNett shampoo is very mild soap and I would think that if you aren't breaking out from regular laundry detergent then you wouldn't be bothered by it. Sink the Stink is another brand of wetsuit wash that I like. We fill up our bathtub and soak the suits overnight, then hang them out on a clothing rack on the back porch in the sun all day. You might want to try that.

Do you pee in your suit? Could be that you are getting a rash from that. (used to happen to me, I could never hold it, in cold water in particular, and started getting a rash down around my ankles) I found that soaking my suit every night got rid of that problem. Heavy 7mm wetsuits don't flush out on their own as easily as lighter weight suits, so you might want to check that. I see this problem most often with people using rental suits and they never wash them before returning them.

robin

 

[Brian Sharpe]

Does your insurance cover allergists? It could be the neoprene or it could be something in the water or it could be something you're eating between dives.

 

[snowflake4727]

Allergies to neoprene are more common than people think. I have a friend who has to dive dry because of it.

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Body Glove actually came out with a line of rubber wetsuits called Eco Suits. They're constructed of non petroleum based rubber and even use water based inks.

 

[Beck-Miester]

From what I have read regarding the subject, it is not so much the neoprene, as it is the Diethyl Thiourea, which is used in the manufacture of neoprene. I wonder if a N2S suit with latex seals rather than N1S seals would make a difference? Are there such a thing as Latex Wetsuits out there....

(caveat: I am just waiting to see the condom jokes.......)

 

[Surface Interval]

One of the girls at our LDS has a neoprene allergy. She always wears a skin. I'll see if I can find out some of her other solutions.

I also think she's allergic to latex, but I don't want to make myself a liar.

I've also heard your allergies can change about every 7 years. This probably has to do with the amount of time you live somewhere.

I did recently have a very bad allergic reaction to a Punch from Taco Bell. Never happened before, but it can happen just like that.

I hope you figure it out!

 

[CUunderH2O]

To the OP: did you use any of your gear in a pool? Chlorine will leach out the chemicals used in neoprene, making an allergic reaction much worse.

I'm allergic to neoprene, or should I say to the Thiourea group of chemicals (I was tested 4 years ago). I found that wearing a skin under the suit did nothing to help me. However, I noticed that Pinnacle wetsuits (the merino-lined versions) seemed to prevent a reaction. Not sure why. Recently I bought a new Pinnacle wetsuit, as my old one was very compressed. This time I bought one that was not merino-lined, the 7mm Elastiprene. I used it on a recent 3 week dive trip, logging over 60 hours underwater in that time. No rash, no itching, no reaction whatsoever. Not sure what they use in their suits, but they work for me. Just putting in my 2 cents. YMMV

BTW, I normally dive dry in my local waters, using a trilam suit, but in the tropics I like to dive wet. I still get an itchy scalp for a few days when I wear a hood with my drysuit; it's not a Pinnacle.

And yes, people do develop allergies. My allergist said that many health care workers develop allergies to latex after wearing latex gloves for long periods, which is why many places don't use latex anymore.

If you're allergic to the Thiourea chemicals, you may also find you get a rash from some sneakers, padded sports equipment and the elastic used in underwear.

 

[KiwiDiva]

So glad to know I'm not the only one!! I've surfed/dived for about 6 years and within the last 3 years I've started having a reaction. My hands (mainly my fingers) start getting hard and desensitised after an hour or so of diving, then my fingers start to peel, then dry, crack and bleed. It takes about 3 weeks for them to heal and is painful! So my whole summer I've had practically no use of my hands (as I dive most weekends!). Its getting worse so I finally made an appointment with an Immunologist who has suggested its an allergy to thiourea, but will need to be confirmed with a patch test. But from doing a bit of research online, I have only found people with reactions on their bodies, not so much on their hands, which I think will make patch testing tricky for me.

Rubatex-231 seems to be the best/only option, it is made without the chemical thiourea. WetWear manufacture wetsuits out of that particular type of neoprene. So will have to start saving up for one of those!