Month: March 2014

Ohio discovers the Baby Wipe Allergy Crisis

Yesterday we talked about Baby wipes.
How is it that medical people a world away from each other would discover the allergens in baby wipes?
I looked at the ingredients and preservatives in my Equate Baby Wipes from Walmart, and the culprit identified in Australia was not in my baby wipes.
http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/allergies_al0/Moistened-Toiletry-Wipes-Cause-Rash-Of-Problems.shtml
Dr. Zirwas in Ohio is described as a good allergy detective.
Zirwas says the chemical preservative is MI (methylisothiazolinon) and it has been around for years. MI is found in many water-based products like liquid soaps, hair products, sunscreen, cosmetics, laundry products and cleaners as well as pre-moistened personal hygiene products and baby wipes.
This report reveals the nature of the problem–it is an allergy, not a sensitivity (some would say a distinction without a difference) and the MI is the culprit. Some other chemical in some other brand may soon be discovered to be an allergen–allergens are all around us, causing skin and respiratory problems mostly. The mediator is histamine–which causes itching and blood vessel reactions, but also fluid expanding in tissues under the influence of the histamine.
Life threatening allergic reactions occur, for example from hymenoptera (bees, wasps, hornets) and sudden loss of blood pressure can occur–anaphylactic shock–a very impressive event indeed, and too often fatal. More people die from bees than rattlesnakes, for example, by far.