Itchy skin by arm sleeves made of polyester

1. Cooling arm sleeves offered

During the hot summer months, staying cool seems to be the most important factor when working outside for work. But office paperwork is the main focus of my work life. So I used to perform the necessary tasks on the field two or three times per month.  However, if anyone works outside all summer, the high temperatures make it too improper for outdoor activities. This is why my company offered cooling arm sleeves to protect employees’s skin from the sun. But I experienced itchy skin after wearing cooling arm sleeves made of polyester as petrochemical products.

2. Itchy skin by cooling arm sleeves

1) Good time during the summer

My wife and child were the things I cared about most as summer 2022 approached. This is because they frequently went for walks in the intense summer sun. I was concerned that if they went for a walk during the day, they would suffer from heatstroke. My wife, therefore, desired to travel to a location akin to a valley on the weekends in order to get away from the demanding task of raising kids during the weekday.

I therefore went outside with them every weekend. It’s convenient to be able to see the sea after a fifteen-minute drive because Donghae, South Korea, is close to the coast. We took a walk on the adjacent trail or waded into the water to soak our feet when we got to the sea. My 16-month-old infant found great pleasure in plunging his hands or feet into seawater. He first like it when I gently dipped him in the sea, so I dipped his whole body in the water.

2) Beginning to use arm sleeves

After playing with my child for a while at the beach, my back started to hurt. Still, I cleaned him, picked it up, loaded it into the stroller, and headed for the car. It was already about two hours later when I finished that. But on a hot day, I went outside in a short-sleeved T-shirt, and the sun burned my arms, causing them to tingle for a few days. I therefore made the decision to wear arm sleeves that I had never used before in order to protect the arm skin from the sun.

Therefore, wearing cooling arm sleeves every weekend for a while during the summer became essential. As long as there was shade, it didn’t really matter, but when I went somewhere with sunlight, I wore compression arm sleeves. I wore the arm sleeve when I was heading to the sea, a nearby valley, or somewhere like an exhibition hall. Issues started to show up after a few uses of the arm sleeve.

3) Itchy skin by the cooling arm sleeves

– Allergy symptoms, headache and itchy skin

I experienced an allergic response that resulted in a headache when I was driving while wearing the cooling arm sleeve. I removed it right away and placed it at the end of the passenger seat. The headache went away on its own. We went to the beach and enjoyed playing with the baby after putting on the arm sleeves.

The sun was shining brightly, but the sky appeared cloudy. That meant I had to wear a sleeve. It’s Monday again, after spending the weekend at the beach with my family. However, my arms itched. It was unclear what was causing the itching. Upon further reflection, it appeared that the arm sleeves I had on over the weekend were now triggering an allergic response. Itching stopped after about two days.

Itchy skin by the cooling arm sleeves made of polyester as pertrochemical products
Itchy skin by the cooling arm sleeves made of polyester as pertrochemical products

– My wife’s allergy symptoms, itchy arms.

I got my wife and child arm sleeves because they were wearing sunscreen and participating in outdoor activities without them. Given the allergic reaction, I bought her a arm sleeve of white cotton and attempted to buy a same one for the baby. But even after spending more than an hour searching online, I was left with no choice but to purchase a regular arm sleeve for him, which was to be the best option at that time.

My wife, in the meantime, chose to wear the arm sleeves I had been wearing before arrival of the cotton arm sleeves. Her arms were burning so badly from the intense sunshine that she was also wearing an arm sleeve. Nevertheless, her arm sleeves that I bought did not arrive right away. I looked into why it was late and then I took action. Additionally, three days a week, she wore the arm sleeves I had worn.

The arm sleeves I ordered was finally delivered to my house on Friday. My wife and child chose to use the arm sleeves for a weekend outing, so they couldn’t be used fully. Because they were delivered on a Friday afternoon. And she informed me that her arms were quite itchy when I arrived home from work on Friday. I informed her at that time the ones she had been using appeared to have triggered an allergic reaction. And the arm sleeves I had bought recently were made of cotton, they would be OK

3. Evaluating the use of cotton arm sleeves

I went to work on the Saturday morning even though it was the weekend. And I spent afternoon of the day with my family. We went to “Handsome Beach, South Korea” a nearby location, as a family drive. We had a good time there. And my wife did not experience a severe allergic reaction to the cotton arm sleeve that day, based on my observations after looking at her for some time.

Therefore, to reduce different allergic reactions like headaches and itching, it would be preferable to use the arm sleeves of cotton rather than one of polyester, a petrochemical product. However, I believe we should continue to observe, as there might be a twist. Anyway we need to check whether allergy symtoms occur or not, when using numerous other home products in addition to arm sleeves.

Bananas allergy sneezing after grocery shopping

1. Fruits that my mother has planted

Since I was a small child, I have loved fruits. I used to eat fruits like tomatoes, melons, and persimmons that my mother had grown herself when I was in elementary school and lived in the country. At that time, I ate tomatoes with a lot of sugar in the summer, but thinking about it now, it’s amazing how I ate them. Also I used to eat green melons, though it wasn’t as sweet as the yellow melon. It was still quite tasty to eat in light of my mother’s genuineness. My parents had a field, and at the head of the field stood a lovely persimmon tree. Every fall, I would pick and eat sweet persimmons from that tree. In those days, the only bananas were fruits that I couldn’t eat easily which make me sneezing as allergy now when they are aound me.

2. Change of fruits that I used to eat

1) After moving to Gwangju in 1992

My family eventually moved to Gwangju in 1992. My mother provided the family with seasonal fruits as snacks at that time. Melons, sweet persimmons, and tomatoes were grown and consumed by hand in the countryside, but they were bought and consumed in Gwangju. Additionally, I got conditions to eat grapes more frequently every summer than before. We used to eat seasonal fruits like apples and mandarins during the winter, and we would sometimes add pears on special occasions.

2) Until I can freely enjoy fruits

Nevertheless, I was unable to consume the fruits my parents had given me once I moved out of my home to attend a university in a large city. Of course, I couldn’t properly eat fruit even after my time in the military. Furthermore, I was not able to eat fruit frequently, even during my time in graduate school. I could purchase and consume the fruit of my choice only after I started working in an office.
Specifically, to relieve boredom, I would buy fruits like apples, bananas, pears, melons, pineapples, kiwis, persimmons, etc., keep them in the refrigerator and eat them. Apples are the fruits that I ate first thing in the morning in order to maintain good health. I’ve been having apples as breakfast for the past four years or so. I ate less fruit for a while after getting married in 2018 because my wife prepared Rice and Kimchi as breakfast for me early in the morning.

3) In a marriage, no sneezing as bananas allergy

We used to buy fruits every time we went shopping following marriage, they rarely strayed from the fruits I purchased before getting married. I usually picked apples up when I went grocery shopping. Additionally, my wife occasionally substitutes bananas and milk for breakfast, so bananas are now common fruits in the house.
We went to the local supermarket as usual to buy groceries. There were plenty of fruits in the supermarket, each with a distinct flavor and aroma, encouraging customers to choose their own. One day, we bought bananas and apples, staples in our kitchen, along with a variety of other ingredients. We left the supermarket after glancing around to see if there were any more ingredients we needed to buy.

On the 1.5 room balcony bananas that made me sneezing as allergy, stacked
On the 1.5 room balcony bananas that made me sneezing as allergy, stacked

We shared a 1.5-room apartment when we first got married, but it was too small to fit everything in the refrigerator. Among these, we set fruits out on the balcony to eat whenever we pleased. We typically placed onions, rice, apples, bananas, and other fruits on it along with laundry. Additionally, the door between the living room and the balcony was typically open.

4) Allergy, sneezing by bananas

But for some reason, I started sneezing a lot all of a sudden. I was unaware of the nature of the issue. The only thing new that I could find when I looked around the balcony was fruit. I eat that fruit frequently, but there was no cause for concern. However, the sneezes came one after the other, and I started to feel stressed out. I really thought it wouldn’t work, so I thought carefully about what the problem was.

I thought it might be because of the spicy scent of the onions, so I put them in a plastic bag and stored them, but I was still sneezing. After thinking about it again, I thought it was because of laundry, so I closed the balcony door. But I was still sneezing. I looked at bananas at that precise moment. That time, I made the decision to store the bananas in a plastic bag. My sneezing stopped, as if it had never happened. It was time to make sure of the source of the sneeze. After that, I always kept the bananas I bought in plastic storage containers. And since I moved into an apartment, I keep a variety of fruits in a big refrigerator that I pull out when I’m ready to eat them.

3. Allergy test as sneezing before eating bananas

I once read a book that claimed that people who are allergic to latex are also allergic to bananas, and I later discovered that this was true. Strangely enough, the book seemed to explain that allergies can arise from eating bananas. But I found myself sneezing because of an unidentified chemical that the bananas had released into the air. Whatever the situation, it is evident that one should always check for an allergy such as sneezing before eating the fruits such as bananas.

Skin disorders as occupational hazard by environmental conditions

1. IoT technology behind skin disorders as occupational hazard

IoT has been gaining popularity both domestically and abroad in recent years. Naturally, since 2017, my company has been diligently embracing IoT. As for me, I’ve been involved in the company’s IoT technology development since the beginning and frequently read about IoT in newspaper articles. I was unaware about the technology overall; all I knew was the term “IoT.” Interestingly, conducting research on ICT-related rules backed by national organizations allowed me to gain knowledge about the extent of IoT technology. And I recognized that several components of IoT around us can cause skin disorders as occupational hazard.

2. Technology development efforts

1) Method of technology development

Coworking with an IoT-focused business was crucial to integrating IoT into traditional industries. I had a number of chats over dinner with the CEO of an IoT business that I met with my coworker in 2017. A place for technology development was crucial, especially because I had been in Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea. We made a decision to move forward with technology development in the metropolitan area first and carry out more technology development in Gangwon-do after multiple meetings.

2) Progress in technology developments

In my opinion, sensors and an Internet homepage were the most essential components of IoT technology. Firmware and server management were additional requirements for sensor functionality. However, my understanding of IoT technology was limited to what I’ve learned from a little research, and I still didn’t fully understand how it works of the technology.

3) Working space of an IoT firm

We met frequently with IoT-focused firms to integrate IoT. I often attended meetings at the company’s office that run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Additionally, there was a ton of equipment and researchers working on their own duties in the professional company’s office. The soldering required for installing the sensor was among the items that caught my attention the most. I thought that the working space was suitable for employees to have allergy symptoms such as skin disorders as occupational hazard.

PCB, one of the main IoT components that can trigger skin disorders as occupational hazard
PCB, one of the main IoT components that can trigger skin disorders as occupational hazard

3. Skin disorders as occupational hazard

1) Supper with the company’s CEO

Sometimes I had a supper alone with the CEO of the company after our meeting. We once dined at a meat restaurant close to the office and had Korean beef and pork belly. During the meal, the conversation turned to each person’s childhood dreams. He stated that making a game was the aim. He made a game that was quite well-liked in Korea a long time ago, which I was unaware of.

2) Facial skin disorders as occupational hazard

But that day, the CEO’s cheeks flushed due to skin conditions on his face. When I questioned him about the reason behind the way he looked, he gave me this response. “I don’t have any disorders with my face when I’m relaxing at home, but when I work, I have skin disorders.” IoT gadgets went across my head as soon as I heard that, including the company’s sensors, soldering, etc. Suspicions also included chemicals emanating from a number of items, including paperwork scattered around the desk.

3) Telling my experience of conquering allergies

At that time I said that it could be chemical-related. I claimed that a substantial number of chemicals seep out of numerous objects, including IoT-related devices and documents in the office, and are dispersed into the air, making it imperative to open windows and ventilate. And I continued to talk about how I overcame my allergies. Since my office was next to the window at that time, I always opened it when I got to work, even if it was only a small. It is always open, regardless of the season.

4. Avoidance, the key to overcome skin disorders as occupational hazard

We were talking about allergies at that time, and a female employee who worked at a restaurant overheard. She asked me what she should do, stating that she enjoyed mushrooms but that if she ate them, she would get allergic. “You shouldn’t eat those mushrooms,” was my straightforward response. For people who have allergies to certain items, such as the restaurant employee and the CEO of Internet of products company, the best course of action is to avoid those products. This is because the items release unknown chemicals into the air. And then we breathe the air that contains the chemicals in the enclosure.