Sunscreen solutions

I do hate sunscreen. . . smearing it on, missing spots, and breaking out in all sorts of allergic reactions. I found one sunscreen that works fabulously for me- it is by Badger. I call it my Kabuki sunscreen, because it leaves my skin white. At least it's not too drastic and I can see where I've put it.

But, what I like a THOUSAND times more than my kabuki badger sunscreen is my UV Skins. They are swim shirts that feel great in the water and block UV rays so that I don't have to worry about putting sunscreen on a large portion of my body. Okay, I don't love that they went on sale right after I bought them and that they are somewhat expensive, but I love not getting sunburned. I bought one for my little three year old, too, and I love not having to put sunscreen on him as well when we swim or go to the splash park. Well, I do have to put some on our faces and ears, but other than that, we're good now. When you dry them off, they are just like drying off your own skin- they don't retain water at all. And, they do look cute- even next to all my tan friends in their bikinis.

Children's Gummi Vitamins

My husband bought these for our son. . . and I almost ate one just to see what they tasted like until I read the label. I would have NEVER guessed that they contain Fractionated Coconut Oil!

Surprise!

Coconut hiding in baked goods

Some of my fiercest allergic reactions have been to the whack-'em-on-the-counter variety of baked goods, namely Grands biscuits and Pillsbury crescent rolls. So I had to stop eating them entirely. I contacted the company and they said that they would only give the secretest ingredients to my allergist, blah, blah, so my allergist, rather than get involved in the weirdness with pillsbury, told me just to stop eating them.

Today I was shopping instead for frozen biscuits because I have had a certain off-brand before in Arizona that had totally pure ingredients (I don't remember which one), so I looked in our local Oklahoma store. I picked up a bag of
BEST CHOICE BUTTERMILK biscuits, and there, lo and behold, actually listed in the ingredients as a flavoring is COCONUT. So. . . the secret ingredient in many of these things that can legally just be listed as a "natural flavoring" is actually coconut. It must scientifically corellate to buttermilk as far as our taste buds are concerned.

Another thing to beware of is the ingredient: sodium steroyl lactylate in these items. This contains Stearic Acid, which is over 50% of the time derived from coconut in America. Argh.

Please be careful, coconut allergic people, and read all labels of baked goods now, too, in addition to everything else you are already looking out for.

Warning: Prescription Drugs containing SLS

I have just had an experience that makes me very wary. I got a prescription for a new drug from the doctor, and I actually read the "other ingredients." I would suggest that anyone who is allergic to coconut do this, because the pharmacy is certainly not going to do it for you. Actually, you would have to get a really overly involved pharmacist to even think of such a thing. Luckily, my pharmacist today kept me out of trouble. I don't know how much Sodium Laurel Sulfate is in an average capsule, probably not much, but if you have to take a medicine three times a day, it could possibly mess you up.
I am not kidding here. I have had at least mild allergic reactions to almost every single prescription drug I've taken in the past 4 years, since I developed an allergy to coconut, but of course, I don't think any of them have SLS in them, so I don't know what it really is.

Anyway, I decided to get crazy and look up some random common drugs that may contain SLS. Of course, I don't have time to look them ALL up, so this is just to give you an example. Most drugs don't contain it. Sometimes some dosages don't have the capsules, so all the rules apply, except when they don't, of course! There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the types of drugs that contain it.

B12 capsules
CIALIS® (tadalafil)
CYMBALTA® (duloxetine hydrochloride)
Deconsal (Guaifenesin)
Lyrica (pregabalin)
Robaxin (methocarbamol)
Vibra-Tabs® (doxycycline hyclate, USP)