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Soap Causing Abdominal Pain

DreamRunner

By DreamRunner
in Super Sensitive People

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DreamRunner Newbie
DreamRunner
Posted

I find every soap I have tried caused the same abdominal pains that I get from eating wheat. Has anyone else experienced this?

 

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IrishHeart Veteran
IrishHeart
Posted

No, I can't say that soap has ever caused me abdominal pain. 

1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I am a soap maker.  I do not sell soap.  Many soap makers use wheat germ in their formulas.  I don't know if that could cause such pains, but I think some absorption takes place.  You might check a craft fair for homemade soap, or learn to make it yourself as I do.

 

My soap has:

 

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Palm oil

Lye (Be careful with this, gloves and goggles are important.

distilled water

essential oil if desired. Peppermint might be good for your tummy issues if you tolerate it.

 

I don't use anything besides my own soap these days.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Very few things are absorbed thru the skin. Gluten is a large molecule. If so many things were absorbed thru the skin....we would be absorbing all the salty ocean water or the smoke from the BBQ grill or the dirt in the garden.

Assuming you aren't outright eating the soap... You could get some in your mouth during a shower so you could make sure your soap has as few "natural" ingredients as possible that you could be allergic to.

dilettantesteph Collaborator
dilettantesteph
Posted

What soaps have you tried and what are you doing with them?  How do you know that the soap is causing the pain?  How soon after using it are you having the pain?  I often notice glutening pain the next morning after I have eaten something with cc, and I can't tell what it is because it could have been anything I had during that day.  I need to spend long periods sometimes eliminating things one by one to figure out what it is.  

 

I use a soap made from the one olive oil that I can eat on my hands and body, but I use a "regular" dish soap and don't have noticeable problems with that.  Though I don't eat soap, I do bite my nails sometimes, though I try not to, so I think that I probably ingest a little whether I like it or not.

  • 1 month later...
AlwaysLearning Collaborator
AlwaysLearning
Posted

I have to wonder if it is from the soap and not something else. I had abdominal pains long after going gluten free and just recently found out about the link between vitamin B12 deficiency (which I have) and abdominal pain similar to IBS. The pain disipated within minutes of taking a B12 supplement (gluten-free, of course).

If you are showering and eating at similar times every day, I guess it could make sense that what appears to be related to a soap, could actually be your bowels responding to an earlier meal? 

I looked up gluten-free soap when I went gluten-free, and though I bought the gluten-free shampoos, didn't bother worrying about the soap because the information I found said it doesn't absorb through the skin and that only those with gluten-related skin problems should worry. That said, I already use artisan soaps that I don't suspect to contain gluten, or at least they don't seem to be causing problems.

I did have a face soap years ago, long before I knew that gluten was a problem for me, that I stopped using because it seemed to be causing or making worse sebhoratic dermatitis on my face. In hindsight, gluten was probably the root cause, though I'll never know if it was from ingestion or the soap. Perhaps it was both?

But I would suspect the soap more if you were experiencing skin problems rather than digestive. Any rashes, hives, or others sort of dermatitis?

How about going to a farmer's market type venue where the person who made the soap could possibly be the actual person selling it to you and quiz them on the ingredients before buying one to test out your soap suspicions? Else, I'd make my own in order to be certain.

FYI, when you look for soap recipes, those that have lots of glycerine are great for pulling moisture in the air to your skin.

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