5 ms·
Lots of people are allergic to wool. Perhaps as much as a quarter to a half of the population will have a mild allergic reaction if they have ordinary coarse wo
by bloak 7y ago
Lots of people are allergic to wool. Perhaps as much as a quarter to a half of the population will have a mild allergic reaction if they have ordinary coarse wool rubbing against their skin for a long time, like wearing a woollen collar or scarf while trudging through the snow all day. Some people can recognise whether fabric contains wool just by touching it with their fingertips: an immediate itching sensation. So perhaps it evolved for use by sheep, not humans?
- mgbmtl 7y agoWhat about merino wool? It is said to be much less of an issue with allergies, and we see it everywhere these days.
- poooogles 7y agoWool makes me itchy (I still wear it just not against my skin) but cashmere and merino don't have the same effect.
- journalctl 7y agoLooks like it’s closer to 6% [1]. A lot of people self-diagnose wool allergies, but they really just get crappy wool, or they mistake itchiness caused by the coarseness of the material for an allergy. It’s an easy mistake to make, but it’s unfair to call it an allergy. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23665833/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23665833/