ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A journalist lived with a debilitating skin condition for 10 years before discovering that the toilets at work were causing the problem.

Will Hayward's face was frequently red, flaky and sore but medical professionals were unable to get to the root of the problem.

"After six years of experiencing these flare-ups, the dermatologist diagnosed me with rosacea and gave me some different creams to try," said Hayward. "He also suggested I give up caffeine which is a common trigger for rosacea."

Despite these measures, Hayward's skin continued to deteriorate until the first lockdown. "Within weeks my skin had massively improved and was better than it had been in years," he said. "But when I returned to the office after 18 months, I was suddenly back to square one."

His GP put him on antibiotics and referred him to another dermatologist who suggested a patch test. This revealed that Hayward had an allergy to Methylisothiazolinone, commonly found in household products such as soaps, shower gels, shampoos and sun creams.

"I purged my house of everything containing Methylisothiazolinone and my skin was doing great," he said. "But then when I went back to the office after a bout of Covid, within a few hours my skin had started to burn."

The culprit was eventually discovered to be an air freshener spray containing Methylisothiazolinone that was set to go off in the office toilets at regular intervals. "I have a supportive employer who removed the product, and for the first time in years my skin doesn't hurt while at my desk," said Hayward.