I thought this little flare I’m having was caused by the occasional bit of dairy. And when I say occasional, I mean not very often. I was wrong. And I think this is important.
I live in a 100+ year old building, in an area of other older, heritage houses. The good news is wood floors, high ceilings, claw-foot bathtub, etc. It’s unique. I love it. But the bad news is that in our building (4 apartments) there is no laundry facility.
So, I’ve been doing my laundry at a neighbour’s place for the past couple of years. About two weeks ago, I noticed that the water coming off the final rinse was not clear. It had soap in it. And not just a little.
And this flare has been unconventional. It’s only on the inside of my upper legs and a little on the inside of my arms. Now, everyone with psoriasis has a unique pattern of plaques and spots, but more often than not the elbows, knees, ankles are pretty standard areas for psoriasis. But I’m not getting psoriasis in the normal places. That struck me as odd.
And the skin around the spots (guttate) is hot and a little rough. And I noticed that when I wear tights or fitted jeans, my legs itch.
The penny finally dropped. So, I went to a Laundromat, washed sheets, and a pile of pants and tights—anything that was touching my inner legs. In WATER only. No laundry soap. And I wiped down the dryer with vinegar water to remove any residue of fabric softener. AND I bought an antihistamine (which is not supposed to help with psoriasis itching).
My thinking has changed from “this is a psoriasis flare caused by a dairy cheat” to “this is a psoriasis flare caused by an allergic reaction to a laundry soap”. You might remember that my original giant flare of 2014 was caused by a reaction to a laundry detergent. Duh!
I now believe that it’s not only what we consume (food/ beverages/ supplements) or take INTO our body that can cause a flare. But what we put ONTO our body. That includes lotions, potions, soap, detergents, etc.
Take a look at what products you use in your home. If you use fabric softener—stop! And I don’t care what percentage “natural” your laundry detergent is—it might just be causing your skin to keep getting worse. Find one that you don’t react to.
And it can’t hurt to try an antihistamine to see if that helps. If it does, you may be having an allergic reaction and no matter what psoriasis medication you use, it won’t work.
Anyway, things are looking a little better. I’ll keep you posted on my results.
Much love, Dakota and Lucky
Hi,
I’ve been meaning to ask, did you test your D3 levels? Mine is normal.
It is scary to be taking a large dose of something that I am not deficient in.
Anyway, I have been on this protocol for 6 weeks now. I see no change. In my case, I was all cleared up last year. It came on in Feb this year and has since been increasing.
Six weeks is the shortest time for clearing. I need to know exactly what you’re doing? how much D3, how much K2mk7 (and which brand), are you using the magnesium chloride topically and have you stopped dairy AND foods/beverages “fortified” with calcium?
Hi Many thanks for replying.
How much D3: 30,000 for six weeks, a month later 40,000. From this week 50,000.
K2mk7 : 400. Now 500.
Brand: Doctor’s Best
Magnesium chloride topically: Yes, twice a day.
No dairy. I dont have any bottled, packed food with label. I have only raw and home cooked food. So, no question of any beverages “fortified” with calcium?
I am someone who likes to deep dive. Read all about Coimbra, read the books of Tiago Henriques and Jeff Bowles and followed Pagano to the T before — all the herbal teas and avoiding nightshades and all that.
I am also someone with enormous will power and discipline. I never cheat.
If it takes times to work, no issues. I can be patient. But I need to SOME signs 🙂
Hi
I have also used Now brand for K2 mk7.
I was wondering whether to increase D3 dosage after doing 50,000 for a few weeks
Thanks for your help
Hi, you should read how much Dr. Coimbra (in Brazil) is using for his patients (and has been for almost 20 years). He recommends for some as much as 1000 iu per kilo of body weight. That made me a lot less scared about the high dosage. And according to him, we, those of us who have autoimmune disease, seem to need way more D than “normal” people. You might want to read about Dr. Coimbra. There’s a lot more about him and his protocol (which, coincidentally is a lot like our protocol) on the Internet than there was 5 years ago.