# How could a shirt cause a rash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 13, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869 "2009-09-13T00:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/1 "2009-09-13T00:47:47Z")
Today I broke out in a rash all over my torso and upper arms. The rash consists in splotchy red slightly raised areas. It only began to itch–just a little–after about six hours from the time I first noticed the rash. The rash extends exactly as far as my shirt extended. (I was away from home all day so never could take the shirt off.) This makes me suspect the shirt was the cause. However, there are the following facts to keep in mind: 1. I have never had a rash like this before, ever, not even over a small area much less the entire extent of coverage of my shirt. And I’ve worn this shirt many times. 2. More specifically, I’ve never shown any kind of clothing-related skin sensitivities at all. 3. Rashes from laundry detergents, it turns out, are extremely rare–they are severely over-pop-diagnosed. 4. Anyway, I haven’t changed my laundry detergent. 5. My laundry stuff is all dye- and scent-free anyway. 6. I _did_ recently change my brand of dryer sheets, but I’ve worn clothes dried using these sheets before and had no problem. My questions are: Is it plausible my shirt has nothing to do with this? If not, how can a shirt cause a rash under the circumstances I’ve listed? -Kris ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/2 "2009-09-13T01:04:58Z")
Is it a new shirt? ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/3 "2009-09-13T02:19:25Z")
Could this shirt have absorbed more dryer sheet stuff than the other shirts in the load? (Perhaps it has a different fiber content than the other clothes that you’ve successfully used the dryer sheets on.) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/4 "2009-09-13T02:25:53Z")
What is a dryer sheet? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/5 "2009-09-13T02:27:57Z")
[quote=“1920s Style “Death Ray”, post:4, topic:509869”] What is a dryer sheet? [/QUOTE] \*\*A Straight Dope Classic from Cecil’s Storehouse of Human Knowledge \*\* [How do dryer antistatic sheets work?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1137/how-do-dryer-antistatic-sheets-work) ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/6 "2009-09-13T02:49:52Z")
If it was a new shirt, which had not yet been washed, I would guess you’re reacting to the sizing, which is chemicals and starchy stuff put in fabric so they it holds a shape on the bolt. Although fabric should be washed to remove sizing before being sewed into clothes, sometimes it is not done with commercial clothing. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/7 "2009-09-13T02:54:30Z")
You can actually become allergic to anything at any time, regardless of prior exposure. Is it possible that the shirt didn’t have the laundry detergent rinsed out all the way? You might try adding white vinegar to the rinse load and then rinsing again- that helps a lot with detergent sensitivities. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/8 "2009-09-13T03:13:08Z")
Could the shirt have been washed with some other garment that had been exposed to an irritant? E.g. if you had been out bushwacking through the poison ivy and washed your jeans in the same load as the shirt… ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/9 "2009-09-13T04:03:12Z")
Regarding the question whether it’s a new shirt, it’s not (see the OP for confirmation of this 😉 ). Having examined things more closely, I think my initial impression that the rash is coextensive with shirt coverage was erroneous. It goes up past the neck, doesn’t come all the way down through the stomach, and stops short of the ends of the sleeves. So I don’t think it was the shirt anymore. I think this was just a random incident. Apparently these things I’ve always heard of but never quite knew what they were called “hives” look exactly like what I’ve got, and appear for no medically discernible reason, and disappear similarly mysteriously. I’m just going to go with that, unless further information… happens… ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/10 "2009-09-13T05:44:59Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I think this was just a random incident. Apparently these things I’ve always heard of but never quite knew what they were called “hives” look exactly like what I’ve got, and appear for no medically discernible reason, and disappear similarly mysteriously. I’m just going to go with that, unless further information… happens… I second this, I used to suffer from massive huge hives, they would stick around off and on for six months, then disappear. Even as a baby I had them, then they’d go away for years at a time. I haven’t had any major problems in over 15 years. But before then the hives would come and go. No one ever could find out what 'caused them and then after 3 - 6 months they’d go away for years only to come back. It could also be someone touched the shirt and got something on it. Then you put it on so it’s not the shirt. Also maybe someone just don’t like you and put itching powder on it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/11 "2009-09-13T14:18:53Z")
Don’t discount your dryer sheet theory just yet. I get hives on my butt but nowhere else from dryer sheets. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/12 "2009-09-13T14:55:47Z")
Also consider heat rash, “prickly heat.” It can follow the pattern of your clothing. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-a-shirt-cause-a-rash/509869/13 "2009-09-13T15:20:15Z")
Your ailment definitely sounds like hives, and not shirt related. I mysteriously broke out in hives once for half a day. No unusual triggers. (stress?) It came and went, a one-time deal.