Allergic Reaction?!?!

hi all,

I painted at a large street fair yesterday and today got a call from a grandma that her 2 year old had a swollen red face LAST NIGHT after she tookthe paint off.

She sent the kid to day care today and she told me the school nurse said she seemed fine, but she wanted to know what kind of paint I used and I told her tag, dfx, wolfe. And told her it was all FDA approved, not craft paint, etc... I did not tell her I was insured as I did not want to open any worms yet if I didnt have to.

I told her if the child was having an allergic reaction, to try benadryl but to call her dr FIRST for proper dosage or even bring the child to the dr. Byt she didnt call me last night. I told her to please call me later when she saw the child, about 6 and let me know how she was.

Anyone have any experience with this? Should i be concerned at all?

Thanks,
Lynne

So she told me she

I'm allergic to all three of those. it might take a couple of days for the rash to go away completely, but benadryl or something like it should help.

I would ask what she ate that day (anything new/unusual), any sunscreen she used (new brand maybe?), new/different laundry products (detergent, softeners) etc. BEFORE I immediately suspect paints that have been painted on millions of children safely.....

My son had a reaction to the black pearl tag paint. It lasted 3 days total with benadryl and he hasn't had a reaction to any others or anything since. No other reactions other than rash/hives in the area it touched. Really creaped me out though. Good luck, I hope nothing comes of it.

You are not resopnsible for people being allergic to things. If she had taken the child to a burger place, and she ate ketchup for the first time, and had a rash, the owner would not be responsible for that either, uless the used a ketchup known to be unsafe, or one that was recalled for causing these reactions, or they were using ketchup for something other than it's intended purpose, say, if you painted the child with ketchup, you might be responsible because you used a product in a way that was not intended. Even finding a fish bone in your fish is not something you can make a claim on, because bones are expected, and the consumer assumes some risks, most notably, the obvious risks.

Peanut vendors at the baseball game are not responsible for a peanut allergic child's first reaction to penuts either. Also, there has to be a "loss" for your insuance to be responsible for anything. Unless this child experienced horrible pain because of your neglect, the family is out no money due to your wrongdoing, and no claim would hold up.

I doubt that even if this turns out to be an allergy, that your insurance company will need to get involved. Just keep showing concern that the child had an issue, because there really is not any way to know what caused her issue without an allergy challenge test anyway, and it is probably not that big a deal since face painting is optional and can easily be avoided.

Only reaction I have ever experienced was a little girl got a rash in the whole area where the white was, no other color... Other than that she was fine!

Thank you face painting mom, that perspective was very helpful!

I'm just curious - what did she clean the face paint off with? Maybe it was the cleanser or the cleaning (scrubbing) technique.
Also, I always thought that it's not recommended to paint kids under 3. Or is that just because they won't sit still long enough?

Christina

I wash face paints off regularly. I fail to see why everyone completely disbelieves that YES, people CAN be allergic to these things!! Don't start accusing the parents of feeding them something or washing it wrong. Just show genuine concern while assuring them that the paints are as safe as they can be and suggesting benedryl cream. It's all you can do and it's all you need to do.

Perry, I don't think anyone disbelieves the chance that there are allergies. At least I don't... but my first question would indeed be to find out what else it could be because the chance of it being my paint is so slim. If that child had allergies previously, or sensitivities to any creams, make up, lotions etc...then it might be a quick conclusion, but to take the blame without asking any questions opens the door to so many problems including that mom spreading the word about your products/business or practices being unsafe.
So yes, concern for the child first and foremost, but I also need to watch out for my reputation, I would NOT take any blame for any reaction without asking a whole pile of questions, and then...in the end...it really does boil down to what a face painting mom said...as long as you are following safe practices...you are not responsible for anyone's allergies. I do not advertise hypoallergenic paints, all I can do is do my best to provide a safe and clean environment to work in/from.

Yhank you I agree wholeheartedly. I did not hear back from the grandma but I did assure her that I did use FDA approved paints and to use benadryl and to take her to dr if necessary. I expressed real concern, which I hope helped.

You don't have to be responsible for anyone's allergies to help them track them down and take it seriously..... and that goes a long way with people. I have ingredient lists available, and anyone who has an allergic reaction to being face painted I'd rather figure out what exactly made them react than brush it off - I know what colour from what brand I used on them - I don't use just one brand in my kit. If they ever were to "blame" my kit or sanitation practices (which I stand behind completely), I could suggest they use a brand new unused version of that paint (same colour).

When I'm doing makeup on set, my first question to someone is "do you have any allergies?" - roughly one in four have answered yes - some of them quite severe, to relatively common things. Red dye, tea tree oil, even one who blisters when topically exposed to glycerin. If the prevalence of known allergies in adults - who don't "usually" mention to a makeup artist they are sitting down to be worked on by - is that high, why should we discount the possibility of unknown unfound unrecognized allergies in children? The one with a red dye allergy (specifically to #7 red pigment) didn't realize that some makeup contains it - even foundation - it has totally changed what he says to a makeup artist now - because even a little of it can hospitalize him for a month (wearing a red shirt for less than an hour did).

We know our product - we know what it contains - we can take them seriously and help them track it down, even by providing an ingredient list so they can test individual items out of it separately - potentially finding something that they will want to avoid for the future, and not avoiding all face painting forever after, just asking the right questions about the ingredients used in the paints or products being applied.

Your insurance is more for those crazy accidents like someone fall over your kit or getting poked in the eye by a brush, a flying tent in the wind, etc.

An allergic reaction could be very normal for that kid. I would warn them of other allergies such as lotions, creams, or makeup, if they have never had a reaction before. The ingredients would be very similar.

As soon as I smelled FAB and Paradise, I wondered how many people would be either repelled by the smell, allergic or senstive to them. I love a particular perfume (one that I modeld for a cosmetics company ONCE) and it made me itch so bad, I never doubted that people could react to just about anything again. When I worked as a MUA, we knew that many people had a contatct dermitis reaction to any pink eyeshadow, and I always asked about that, it is just not worth putting it on if you are going to make a mess out ouf someones face...and there are alternatives. Red and other paints with red in them are going to be the most suspcious to me if I have someone tell me that they have had allergies. I can swatch the inside of the elebow with several brands, in red and yellow toned paints, and know in an hour if that person has an issue. But, if they did, it would not be an insurance issue.

bottom line is, show concern, suggest that they identify all the things it could be, inform them that you use approved products (according to manufacturers directions, and with good hygene and sanitation practices) and follow the directions of your insurerer (as far as age goes) and know that you are not responsible if someone has an idividual allergic reaction. It happens. It may even be one of those things that never happens again to that child and nobody ever knows why it happened in the first place.

For instance, it could also be Fifths...children look like they have chapped cheeks, it is very contagous, and kids pass this around daycares before anyone even knows that they have it, until all the kids have had it. If it was Fifths, the Gma might not really even realize that the mild illness her gd has is related to her cheeks, unless she is take to the dr or other kids have the same issue and the daycare sends home a note.

It is not an insurance issue (unless your tent fell on her cheeks!)

I had an experience that agrees with what Noella stated. At my very first festival, I had a parent to tell me her child has gotten face painted lots of times with craft paint and have never had allergic reaction to it. So felt like the real deal would be no problem. When I gave her a baby wipe to clean left-over hot dog she said, "Oh No! She's highly allergic to aloe, which is a common ingredient found in baby wipes. She came that close to thinking she was allergic to professional paints because my brush was already loaded with Paradise paint. If we know what's in our paint we can avoid people thinking they are allergic to all face paints.