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Three nights ago I noticed that after washing my hands they felt really sticky, almost like when you use the last paper towel on the roll and you get that glue residue on your hands. However, it wasn't the last paper towel so I figured maybe the liquid soap was really old and doing funky things so I rewashed with dish soap and again grabbed a paper towel. Once again, my hands got sticky as I dried them off. Thinking now that there was something wrong with these paper towels, I washed again and this time dried with a hand towel only to yet again find my hands sticky as they dried off. The stickiness only lasts 30-60 seconds, until the skin completely dries, but during that in-between time of soaking wet and totally dry they feel very tacky to the touch and my fingers will actually stick to each other.
The next day when I took a shower I noticed that the water was beading up on the skin on my arms. Sure enough, when I dried off afterwards I found that all of my skin is tacky to the thouch until it is completely air dried.
Today I shaved my legs and my skin felt almost like it had a layer of wax on it that kept catching the razor. The skin on my hands seems to be getting more sticky when they get wet. Water continues to bead on my skin when it gets wet. I asked my children if they can feel that my skin is sticky to the touch and they said yes.
This is affecting all of my skin now, including my face. I always put a moisturizer on my face after washing and it does not feel like my skin is absorbing it now, it just feels heavy and greasy since the lotion just sits there on top. I also tried putting lotion on my hands and it was not absorbed at all, just left my hands feeling very slimy and greasy so I wiped it off.
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this or have any suggestions for what might be causing it? Thanks for any held you can give.
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just some things to try. Do not use fabric softener. Use free and clear detergents, not to much. Sometimes you don't need as much as the manufacturer recommends, so back off on the detergent. try a cup of white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser of your washer with towels and other clothing. Do not rub dry your skin, pat dry with towel. Stay away from oily skin creams and lotions.
July 24, 2011 - 4:40pmThis Comment
Thanks for the suggestions. I don't use fabric softener. For aImost 2 months haven't been using anything on my body other than washing with Cetaphil antibacterial cleansing bar and a shampoo that doesn't make my hair sticky;nothing else. Can't wear anything in my armpits or I get infected hairs folicles. Am going to look into a different detergent tomorrow. Thanks again.
July 24, 2011 - 8:24pmThis Comment
What happened to this discussion? I'd been following it to see if the source of the sticky skin syndrome was discovered. I'm suffering from it also. No help from allopathic doctors. Could someone please respond so I know how you're doing.
July 23, 2011 - 10:01pmThis Comment
Hi there! This is kacha. I´still sticky. Sorry to hear that you are, also. Im also ill with M.E and I don´t have that much energy to write often here. Nothing new to report, No help from allopatic doctors, I think maybee people just don´t have anything new to report.(sadly) Im sure many of us check in the minute there is something new written , Atleast I do, If I get any helpful info i promise to write here as soon as possible! Something that could help would be to have some sort of name here on the forum so that we can keep track on how many we are, And what different types of stickyness we have, triggers etc.... etc...Im still trying to put the puzzle together. Have you written here before? How long have you been sticky? Sincerely, Kacha
July 24, 2011 - 10:00amThis Comment
Hey Chriz,
Thank you for the update. It's interesting that BOUNTY told you that... when I called them the representative did some research and told me that their paper towels are made from pine in their wood pulp which is a form of Rosin. After that I switched to 'SPARKLE'' (plain white) paper towels as they don't contain Rosin, and my sticky skin is better when I use them to dry my hands. Hope this helps you. Can't wait to find out if anyone else has a Staph Infection like me... it could also be a factor causing the sticky skin problem. Happy memorial day weekend!
May 29, 2011 - 4:02pmThis Comment
Hi a_s_m, Remember that I asked about Bounty Basic. Although in their reply they didn't qualify which paper towel, maybe they were speaking of Bounty Basic. I dunno....
I too have switched, but again, I think any relief has come a more absorbent paper towel, not from a change in brands.
Also recently tested my water and found that the ph level of the hot water is 'alkaline' although total alkalinity is within range. Water, both hot and cold, tested as Soft (not Very Soft or Hard) so I don't think that matters. ~Chriz
June 2, 2011 - 4:46pmThis Comment
Hey friends! Welcome to the group, Chriz. Your input is a huge help. I can relate to your (4th) comment about bug bites! I've had what look like 'spider bites' on different areas of my body that come & go, and they turned out to be Staph Infection when my doctor cultured them. I wonder if Staph could be a possibility in your situation rather than mold??? A microbiologist told me that Mold, Serratia marcesens & other Bacteria"s can all look visibly red... you never know exactly what you're dealing with unless you have it tested. Can you PLEASE let me know if Staph shows up on any tests that you do??? I'm trying to find out if that is a common denominator for our sticky skin. My doc assumed I had yeast for a long time, but I found out later it was Staph. Both organisms look similar on your skin, but only labwork can give an exact diagnosis! Thanks and welcome to our group!!
May 23, 2011 - 9:02pmThis Comment
to a_s_m,
I will absolutely keep you all posted regarding anything that I discover. FYI: I contacted Bounty...very nice and prompt reply, and they said that their BASIC paper towels, which I LOVE, do not contain any rosin or sodium benz.
"I'm sorry to hear that you've had a disappointing experience with the Bounty paper towel. Our goal is to produce high quality products that consistently delight our consumers and we regret this wasn't your experience. I certainly understand your frustration and you can be sure I'm sharing your comments with the rest of our team.
Also, the Bounty paper towels don't contain Rosin or Sodium Benzoate. They are comprised of Virgin Wood pulp, Wet Strength Polymer, Printing Ink for the printed paper towel, Adhesive and Ceteareth-10."
Maybe the reason why my hands are so sticky after using them is because they don't really dry them very well, which, before this started, was not a problem. I've switched, temporarily, to a more absorbent paper towel, but the issue remains, although, as we know, not as bad when hands are thoroughly dried. I also had a "bad outbreak" of sticky when using Fantastick with a paper towel. Wow did my hands get worse!! So I used Comet Cleanser on them again, and that helped to get me back to status quo (which is defined as wet in water-- hands feel a little slimy, damp--hands are sticky, dry--hands feel greasy as if lotion used recently and sometimes sticky in between base of fingers). ~Chriz
May 25, 2011 - 1:48amThis Comment
Kacha, (Chriz here.)
Yes, I am planning on experimenting. First with other folks using my water and then w/me using other's water (different sites). I'm also going to 'test for mold' in case the window I was working with had it in the tracks, and test the tap water with a kit (I have results from one I did about 5 years ago for a baseline).
Also trying to figure out how to test for the Serratia marcescens bacteria...?
Onset was so sudden that I'm half expecting this condition to go away. If it does I will of course post. Right now I'm trying to avoid using paper towels (PTs) which seems to help a bit, but not entirely. (Plus, I think I might actually be drying my hands more thoroughly now). And, also planning to switch PT brands (after contacting Bounty).
May 20, 2011 - 12:44amThis Comment
Thankyou Chriz for all the info! (this is Kacha again)
May 18, 2011 - 3:36pmIt was very interestin reading, and my mind is workin full spin trying to get the clues together... My latest episode of stickyness started after exposure to both plastic cast on broken foot and using paper towels to scrub hands afterwards. It can not however be only the paper towels, since the foot that also got sticky never was in contact with them.I just wish we could have a chemist and doctor reading through ALL of our comments to try and figure out, what the **** this is. I am quite certain that ther are different on triggers, but there seems to be similar stories too... First time I got it ten years ago it was initialy glue,on hands and the chemichal spread, or at least the stickyness spred. Not spreading this time, sofar, but the ecakt same stickyness to the skin. Paper towels and and glue might have the resin in comment, and also a paper magazine i was in contact with when another one of my sticky episodes started. but since not everyone gets sticky from that same product I think some sort of reaction call it allergy or sensitivty is present, atleastt for me. If it wouldnt me so mean, one would almost wish that you could try having someone else visit you, and try step by step to see if they also get sticky....clean window first wash with water from a bottle,check stickyness, then trying to use your faucet and see if stickyness appears...But who would be willing to test is the question and of course you dont want anyone else cathing this, but it would be interesting
as an experiment. Hmm. / kacha
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