Allergy to Alpaca?

[JessicaRenee520]

Yesterday, I took a few brief minutes while both kids were napping to crochet, with Yarn Bee Andes Alpaca, which is 85% acrylic/15% alpaca (yay 40%off coupon at HL!) and ended up with a sinus headache like I get when around cats or most types of dogs.

 

Bummer because I LOVE the colorway with the gradations this yarn offers, and even bigger bummer because I just treated myself to a skien of royal Alpaca from a lys as a "you are a mommy for the 2nd time" gift to myself for a neckwarmer or scarf(100%alpaca).

 

I don't know why all the alpaca in my stash, but now I'm worried.

 

Anyone else ever experience allergy problems like this with a fiber or am I just going crazy?

[magiccrochetfan]

I'm not allergic to any fibers---at least none that I've encountered so far. I do have difficulty wearing alpaca around my neck as it makes the front of my neck itch. But while working with it I had no problems.

 

I have allergies to dust, pollen, etc., and certain fragrances give me a headache. I really wonder if the Yarn Bee skein might have been purchased, exposed to cats/dogs, or to something else that would give you a headache, and then returned to the store and resold to you. I would think if you were allergic to a fiber it would bother your hands when you crocheted with it, but unless there were bits of fuzz coming off it that you could breathe in, I wouldn't think it would give you a headache. But i guess you could be allergic to some chemical used to process the yarn and were breathing that in.

 

Have you worked with the 100% alpaca yet?

[classic crochet]

It does that to me. So does wool. It took me a long time to figure out that I was allergic to it. It has also gradually worsened over the years. Now if I even pick it up it gives me a headache and makes the inside of mouth swell. It really stinks because I have really built up a nice wool and alpaca stash that I can no longer use.

[smokeyp81]

Hmmm....I always thought alpaca fiber was hypoalergenic. I found this article that discusses this....http://www.ehow.com/about_6544328_alpaca-allergies.html

 

Maybe it's one of the other fibers that is causing the problem....

[TheKnottyMale]

I'm ok with alpaca... wool is my enemy!

[Anniedo]

Alpaca (and llama) is hypoalergenic, I agree with smokeyp81, must be some other fiber.

[IamJolyn]

where I know Alpaca and llama is called hypoalergenic, that doesn't mean you can't have a reaction to it. I have very sensitive skin, and some 'hypoalergenic' items can make me react even worse then the normal ones. I remember one horrible week where I had used special laundry soap, and couldn't figure out why i was breaking out in bright red spots and itchy . . . and how Era doesn't effect me at all. I hope for the sake of your stash this isn't true and you can use your alpaca yarn!

[craftconnie1]

sometimes its not the fiber but the dye, or some other chemical in the manufacturing process

[boksie]

I thought that hypoallergenic meant very few people would be allergic to it. Maybe you are just one of the very few.

[thepunkrockinchick]

I am not very allergic to anything, but angora makes my nose a little stuffy... not enough to make me stop working with it. A lot of people are allergic to different fibers. It's not much different than being allergic to a pet, because the fibers do come from animals after all.

[thepunkrockinchick]

sometimes its not the fiber but the dye, or some other chemical in the manufacturing process

 

I agree! Plus, with natural fibers, they tend to be a little fuzzier and float around in the air more.

[annmcc1976]

I can't work with wool, I hink i'm allergic. When i use it i start to feel itchy on my face like smetin is crawling on me. so I just dont use it.

[JessicaRenee520]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments. I have deduced that I am not going crazy (well, at least with regards to yarn :-P ) Smokey81's article was helpful, and many of you may be right that perhaps I am allergic to the dye or fibers coming off of the yarn (it is very loosely spun...) I plan on trying the yummy 100% alpaca at some point, but am putting it off for now. I'll work on other projects in acrylic, cotton and wool as I havn't (YET) had issues with those.