Li Ziqi had a severe allergic reaction while filming a video, and felt uncomfortable all over! Why is she allergic to paint?

Audit expert: Peng Guoqiu

Deputy Chief Physician, Fourth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

On November 12, Li Ziqi returned after three years and released a video of the production of lacquer works, recording the whole process of making a lacquer door for her grandmother in half a year. This is her first video update since she stopped updating in July 2021. At present, the number of views of this video on Weibo has exceeded 130 million . Related topics have also become popular searches.

When talking about the process of making traditional lacquerware in her new work, Li Ziqi said that this was a painful and joyful creative process. It turned out that Li Ziqi had an allergic reaction after her first contact with raw lacquer: lumps appeared on her body, which scabbed and scratched repeatedly, and she felt itchy all over and had difficulty sleeping . The whole team went to the hospital to get anti-allergy injections.

The Chengdu Lacquerware Craft Factory published an article recording Li Ziqi's experience in learning lacquer art, and replied to netizens: "In fact, Li Ziqi also experienced severe allergies. They are all hard things that are made through hard work."

Photos of Li Ziqi during her allergic period. Source: Qilu Channel

What causes allergies?

Raw lacquer, also known as lacquer or Chinese lacquer, is a white viscous emulsion that flows out of the bark of the lacquer tree. It contains active ingredients such as urushiol, which may cause certain irritation or allergic reactions to the human body if it is not processed or dried.

Netizens wrote about their experiences with lacquer tree allergies in the comments section

According to Weibo celebrity @植物人史军, 15 species of Anacardiaceae Lacquer plants growing in the mountains of my country, such as Rhus verniciflua and Rhus sutchuenensis, all contain a substance called "lacquer phenol", which is the main "culprit" causing allergies and accounts for 40%-80% of the total mass of raw lacquer.

Rhus lacquer tree. Source: Xinhua News Agency

As the saying goes, " a pound of lacquer is obtained through a thousand cuts and a hundred miles of work ." The process of collecting lacquer is also very difficult. It is necessary to master the time of collection, the depth of cutting the bark, and the antiseptic measures for the wounds of the tree after cutting. The collection time is usually in the dog days of summer, because the water evaporates quickly in midsummer, there is plenty of sunshine, and the quality of the lacquer produced is the best. The most common way to collect lacquer is to cut the lacquer tree bark with a clam shell, as seen in the video, and then collect it directly with clam shells or bamboo leaves and store it in wooden barrels. These raw lacquers will oxidize and turn brown after contact with air.

Image source: @李子柒 video screenshot

How serious is a paint allergy?

Allergic symptoms vary according to individual constitution and sensitivity to urushiol. Mild reactions include localized erythema, restlessness, and unbearable itching , which usually subsides after three days. Severe reactions include local or systemic papules, local redness and swelling, and even tissue necrosis. Blisters appear after a few days, and the skin begins to scab and gradually desquamate after about two weeks.

Screenshot of Li Ziqi's video footage during her allergic reaction. Source: Tianfu New Vision

Allergic reactions are not limited to direct contact, but can also be indirectly triggered by contact with objects contaminated with urushiol, such as gardening tools, camping equipment, or pet fur. In severe cases, even the smell of lacquer can cause itching all over the body. It is worth noting that urushiol is present in all parts of the plant, including leaves, stems, and roots. Urushiol can also evaporate into the air, and "contact" allergies can occur within a certain distance. "Contact" does not necessarily mean direct physical contact. When watching Li Ziqi's video, it is not difficult to find that she had a lot of rashes on her head and neck when she came into contact with raw lacquer.

Image source: @李子柒 video screenshot

Is lacquerware made with raw lacquer poisonous?

It is worth noting that the finished lacquerware that has been completely dried and processed is non-toxic and harmless. After curing, the lacquer is not only environmentally friendly, but also maintains its beauty for a long time, and has excellent properties such as moisture resistance, wear resistance, acid resistance, and corrosion resistance .

These characteristics make lacquerware widely used in daily life and has a long history of use in China. In fact, as early as 1977, the Zhejiang archaeological team unearthed a small bowl coated with thin lacquer at the Hemudu site in Ningbo, because the history of its lacquer can be traced back to 6,500 years ago. As the origin of lacquer trees, China has a profound lacquerware culture, which has even influenced the cultural forms of some regions. In addition, from a medical and health perspective, although substances such as lacquer phenol in raw lacquer may cause allergic reactions, such reactions are usually limited to skin contact, and most people will be desensitized after several allergic reactions.

After the raw lacquer dries, the urushiol will polymerize into a film and no longer cause allergies.