colors of Rit Dye. I have used before but for maybe one color at a time. I spent on this occasion about two hours of dyeing each coloring followed by bleaching my arms and hands free of color to do the next [using undiluted chlorine bleach]. The next day my face, arms chest broke out in a terrible rash. My arms had deep blisters and my face was all bumpy. I tried everything in a panic...after about two weeks I got one side of my face fairly clear took another three weeks for the other side and by then the upper chest all cleared. What I have only left is from my upper calf to my feet terrible bad swollen legs, red and bright. burning. My feet got so swollen I couldnt put shoes on. I have been to doctor they ran every blood test imaginable and nothing came up. He is stumped, he said I had viral chicken pox...no way. Now the legs area of affliction is purple surround by a deeper purple. He gave me steroids and that seemed to help the sweeling. But my legs were so swollen you could poke a indentation two inches deep. They were like hard but very soft. Now this strange color. Any ideas here....it scare me. Is it the dye or bleach or both? Did I somehow poison myself? My feet are so dried out my toenails are all gone, or barely there and not growing much. Thanks for any advice

What an awful experience! I think that your biggest problem might very well be hypochlorite poisoning. Chlorine bleach is sodium hypochlorite, whose dangers are well known. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says, "If concentrated hypochlorite solutions contact the skin, chemical burns may occur; treat as thermal burns. Patients developing dermal hypersensitivity reactions may require treatment with systemic or topical corticosteroids or antihistamines." An MSDS (materials safety data sheet) page on sodium hypochlorite indicates "IRRITANT, MAY CAUSE BURNS AND/OR RASH ON SKIN AND MUCOUS MEMBRANES."

I think that it is much more likely that you were injured by bleach than by exposure to the Rit dye that you used, though it's impossible to be sure. Rit dye is an all-purpose dye, typically consisting of a mixture of a type of dye called acid dye (for wool and silk) and a type of dye called direct dye (for cotton). Some acid dyes are quite harmless (food colorings are in the class of dye called acid dye), while others can be toxic. The Rit dye company says that their Proline brand line of direct dyes is non-toxic, but I have not seen the same claim for Rit all-purpose dye, presumably due to the acid dyes it also contains. The MSDS (PDF) for Rit all-purpose powder dye indicates that this dye (like all dyes other than food colorings) must be used only with waterproof gloves, and that extended skin exposure may produce skin sensitization. Unless you have seen reliable certification indicating that a substance really is non-toxic, you should assume that it is not.

Proper usage of gloves is important with all dyes (with the exception of certified food & cosmetic colorings), including most natural dyes as well. Small spills of the fiber reactive dye which I prefer for use on cotton quickly react with the dead cells on the surface of the skin, potentially allowing less of the dye to penetrate inside the body as the result of skin exposure, though serious allergies have been seen among those who have carelessly allowed themselves to breathe the dust from the dye powder. If you ever feel like using dyes again after your bad experience, I would recommend that you use fiber reactive dyes, if only because you are less likely to have become sensitized to them, since you have not used them before. I would also, of course, recommend that you use good protective equipment such as gloves and a respirator (the latter only when using the dry powder form of the dye), and that in future you avoid the use of all chlorine-containing cleaning products. There is really no need at all to do more than wash to remove dye from the hands, though using gloves to reduce exposure is very wise. Chlorine bleach is among the most toxic of household chemicals, more dangerous than dye stains on the hands. The best way to remove dye from the skin is to use soap, water, and perhaps a loofa scrubber, and then be patient for time to take away the stains that remain.

It is possible that your systemic reaction was to the hypochlorite in the bleach, or that it was an allergic reaction to one of the dyes, or that your exposure triggered another condition to which you were susceptible, perhaps simply as a strain on your body when you were fighting something else off. It is good that most of your rash is gone, but your edema is quite alarming. See the page on edema at InteliHealth, from Harvard Medical School. There are many possible causes of edema, such as kidney or liver damage, or heart failure. You will want to be sure to have those ruled out; if you're not sure they have been, please ask your physician. If you are not feeling better soon, you should consult another physician for an additional opinion about your legs and feet. Please note that I have no medical training and have no qualifications for giving any sort of medical advice. I hope that you are completely recovered soon.


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