What was happening to me?

Pushing her trolley, Belinda’s face suddenly began to swell...

Belinda Shaw, 41, Port Stephens, NSW

Scratching at my neck, I was so uncomfortable. ‘Are you alright?’ my hubby Jay asked.

‘Just a little itchy,’ I replied. We’d recently had our house sprayed for pests, so I put the irritation down to that and popped an antihistamine.

But over the next few months, the rash kept coming back, each time worst than the last.

‘Look at my face!’ I said to Jay, as blotches crept up my neck and spread over my cheeks.

It even hurt to wear a blouse as my shoulders were red raw.

I’d already changed my shampoo.

Maybe it’s someone’s perfume, I thought.

With cream from the doctor, the angry rash would disappear after about a week, then come back with a vengeance, spreading all down my back and legs.

It got so bad I had to stop going swimming with our kids – twins Madison and Indiana, 14, Riley, 12, and Charlotte, 10.

Then one day I was at work when I retrieved an old box of documents from a dusty room.

Within minutes, my face started to tingle and it exploded in a puffy red rash.

‘Maybe I’m allergic to work?’ I laughed with my co-workers.

That night I didn’t sleep a wink and in the morning my skin was flaky and peeling. After slathering it in cream the rash died down.

‘I’m not going to let this stop me from living my life,’ I said to Jay. ‘And there’s nothing like retail therapy!’

In the fitting room

I slipped on a dress when I felt that familiar tingle.

Looking in the mirror, my face had begun to swell. I’m burning up! I panicked, racing home.

‘I was just trying on clothes!’ I said to Jay.

Stepping into a cold shower to try and cool off, the pressure of the water drops felt like sharp finger nails scratching my body.

‘I don’t even look like myself,’ I sobbed to Jay.

I couldn’t seem to do anything. One time,

Charlotte came home from a sleepover at a friend’s house and when she hugged me my skin erupted.

She must’ve used a different soap, I thought.

My new ritual was to apply cream then rest until my body was recognisable.

Like clockwork, I would leave the safety of my home rash-free… but return writhing in pain.

My whole face swelled and my eyes glued shut

Tests for all sorts of diseases came back negative and doctors were stumped.

One day, I was at the grocery store with the kids when my skin began to crawl. As I made my way down the laundry aisle, I couldn’t take the prickling sensation any longer.

‘I have to go,’ I told them.

Leaving them to finish up the shopping, I waited in the car as the rash grew before my eyes.

‘You don’t look like my mum,’ Charlotte said, when she saw me.

My heart ripped in two, but she was right – I looked horrible. At home, my whole face swelled to the point where my eyes glued shut.

‘I can’t keep doing this,’ I cried. ‘I need answers!’

By now, it had been going on for about nine months.

Determined to track down the root of the problem,

I had an allergy test.

The doctor divided my arm into over 20 sections.

In every square she put a different chemical and allergen.

Within seconds my arm was red, swollen and itchy.

It showed I was allergic to almost all everyday items.

Pollen, dishwashing liquid, sunscreen, washing powder, perfumes – they could all set me off.

If I even walked past a garden with fertiliser I would flare up.

‘Everything?!’ my kids asked.

Going through the

I was allergic to almost all everyday items

cupboards, we read the labels.

Some products even stated they were all organic, but had hidden chemicals or additives.

In total, we had to throw out more than 30 items.

Since then my life has been completely turned upside down.

If I walk into a room or a shop without adequate ventilation or if there’s mould, dust or chemicals present, within seconds

I can have a reaction.

I now try to shop outside peak hours to reduce the risk of running into people with perfume on and I’ve educated myself on labels.

The problem is many chemicals have different names and sneak under the radar. For example, sulphur, used in many cosmetics, can be marked as 220-228, which people don’t know.

It’s important to be aware of hidden additives in our food and chemicals in household products.

I’ve seen specialists, but no-one can tell me why I suddenly developed severe allergies – it’s a mystery.

People have asked if I’m sunburnt.

‘Mum’s allergic to the store,’ the kids will say.

For me, I’m not hiding inside, I embrace the outdoors to experience life with my kids.

I’m just trying to live in my skin every day and hope my story will educate others in what we are putting in, on and around our bodies.