Barb_ Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Is it possible for potassium chloride in a water softener to react with, say, salicylic acid to cause skin irritation? I suddenly devolved a wicked dermatitis on my eyelids and neck about two months ago. I wasn’t using anything different to wash or moisturize and it seemed to be a problem whether or not I used makeup. I wasn’t using anything different and I went nuts trying to figure out what was causing it. As it turns out, salicylates are in almost everything you put on your face. Not only are they in willow bark and aspirin, but cucumber, tomato, aloe, chamomile, and many other fruits and vegetables are high in salicylates, which are anti-inflammatory. My skin care problem was a moving target because salicylic acid is hiding everywhere. Weird that I developed a nasty reaction overnight, but I know it happens. Then this happened. My 19yo who is living out of state came home for Christmas. Within a couple of days, HER eyes became scaly, swollen and red. She said she also has never had that problem either. So I started thinking maybe it’s something in the house. I bought a water softener in the fall and for various reasons am using potassium in in rather than sodium. I know potassium reacts with acids and can also cause drug intactions when taken internally. Am I off base thinking that the potassium in the water could be reacting with the salicylic acid in our facial products to create skin burning and irritation? Google is failing me. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 DH says potassium chloride is a type of salt, and salts will not react with acids, so he votes no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Maybe the intermittence of the rash is due to if you've eaten higher salicylate foods at that time, increasing your sensitivity to it? Google brings up a LOT about sensitivity to it, so could be periods of higher exposure = stronger reaction....? Have you already ruled that out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 10 minutes ago, Barb_ said: Is it possible for potassium chloride in a water softener to react with, say, salicylic acid to cause skin irritation? I suddenly devolved a wicked dermatitis on my eyelids and neck about two months ago. I wasn’t using anything different to wash or moisturize and it seemed to be a problem whether or not I used makeup. I wasn’t using anything different and I went nuts trying to figure out what was causing it. As it turns out, salicylates are in almost everything you put on your face. Not only are they in willow bark and aspirin, but cucumber, tomato, aloe, chamomile, and many other fruits and vegetables are high in salicylates, which are anti-inflammatory. My skin care problem was a moving target because salicylic acid is hiding everywhere. Weird that I developed a nasty reaction overnight, but I know it happens. Then this happened. My 19yo who is living out of state came home for Christmas. Within a couple of days, HER eyes became scaly, swollen and red. She said she also has never had that problem either. So I started thinking maybe it’s something in the house. I bought a water softener in the fall and for various reasons am using potassium in in rather than sodium. I know potassium reacts with acids and can also cause drug intactions when taken internally. Am I off base thinking that the potassium in the water could be reacting with the salicylic acid in our facial products to create skin burning and irritation? Google is failing me. Any ideas? re: the bold, dh says potassium hydroxide will react, but not potassium chloride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Is your dd borrowing any of your shower/skin products while she's home? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 20 minutes ago, TheReader said: re: the bold, dh says potassium hydroxide will react, but not potassium chloride. Ah, thanks. I do not have a background in chem lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Just now, Barb_ said: Ah, thanks. I do not have a background in chem lol me neither 😉 My poor DH was getting rather annoyed as I kept double checking him.....LOL! (he is a chemist, so...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 18 minutes ago, Monica_in_Switzerland said: Is your dd borrowing any of your shower/skin products while she's home? No, she brought her own products with her, but from what we can tell she is also reacting to salicylic acids. I will be very interested to see whether she continues to have a problem when she returns home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) 28 minutes ago, TheReader said: Maybe the intermittence of the rash is due to if you've eaten higher salicylate foods at that time, increasing your sensitivity to it? Google brings up a LOT about sensitivity to it, so could be periods of higher exposure = stronger reaction....? Have you already ruled that out? I don’t think so. My diet hasn’t changed and this was an overnight 0-60 intense reaction to something that had never bothered me before. I chalked it up to changing hormones due to perimenopause, but when my daughter started reacting the same way I began to wonder if there was a common factor edit: Come to think of it, I was using a pure formula of salicylic acid on a breakout, but not on my eyelids. I’d used it on and off for the past year with no issues. But I live in the desert and winters are crazy dry here—like around 20% indoors. Maybe it isn’t the potassium, but the drier weather. Sarah has steam heat in the apartment Edited January 2, 2019 by Barb_ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) You're likely both reacting to the water softener, not the topical products. The topical products may be making your skin more sensitive to the softener. Try to turn off your softener and see if your skin goes back to normal. If that isn't possible, keep a gallon of fresh water (not softened) to rinse your hair and face with after showering. We live in an area with hard water and know several people who react to various softening methods. One friend has their master bath and kitchen hot water spigot hooked up to bypass the softener. That way they can have unsoftened water to shower and to cook with. Edited January 3, 2019 by Tap 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 That’s interesting. I’ll go out to the garage and see if I can figure out how to bypass it for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Salicylic Acid, is used to get rid of warts, corns and calluses. With it being applied directly to them, but not the surrounding area. Salicylic acid dissolves the substance that bonds our Cells together. So that the Skin Cells fall apart, and can be peeled off. Though with the skin of eyelids and neck, it is very thin skin. But Salicylic Acid can cause warts and calluses to drop off, which can be a few mm's thick. But the eyelid skin is only half a mm thick, and the neck is similar. So that it could cause serious damage ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieCurie Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Chemist here. Potassium chloride shouldn't be reacting with salicylic acid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieCurie Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Are you using the correct amount of potassium chloride? Potassium chloride has a different molecular weight than sodium chloride so you'd probably have to use a different amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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