A Kind of Allergen—propylene Glycol

An annual competition sponsored by the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS) yields prizes akin to the movie industry's Rotten Tomatoes award. The allergen of the year is announced. This year's winner is a substance found in several meals, pharmaceuticals, topical skin care items, and cosmetics.Since the 1930s, propylene glycol (PG) has been sold commercially in the US. After a study revealed it could sanitize the air, it became a highly popular ingredient in air fresheners. PG is a practical, adaptable, and versatile chemical. It serves as a texturing agent, humectant, dough strengthener, antibacterial, emulsifier, flavoring, and anti-caking agent. It works well for skin conditioning. And it has no smell.

This particular contact allergy is important to understand for 2 reasons. PG is a cunning character in the first place since it has been challenging to ascertain how frequently it is a contact allergy. The patch test is the best tool physicians have for determining contact allergy, although patch testing has not proven accurate for PG, despite this being a contentious topic of debate among dermatologists.Second, manufacturers have been using PG more and more over time, and it is now a component of a staggering number of items (in 2012, it was listed in 5676 products, and according to ACDS, 38% of products contain it). Dermatologists currently estimate that PG allergies can vary from 0.8% to 3.5%, but they are significantly more likely to occur in aqueous solutions.In that case, allergy rates range from 10% to 30%.

Clinically, retail health providers need to know a few facts:

The face is where patients are most likely to get PG contact dermatitis; about 26% of cases are seen there.The pattern of the allergy's symptoms is broad or dispersed in 24% of instances.Deodorants, bath salts, and bath oils contain the largest concentration of allergens, and more than half of all allergies are caused by the use of personal care items.

More than 18% of responses are brought on by topical corticosteroids.Occupation-related dermatitis is occasionally brought on by PG.PG is typically found in finely encoded tablets, gel caps, liquids, chewables, and lozenges in pharmaceuticals.The risk of developing this allergy may be greater in people with atopic dermatitis. If the patient consumes this substance, the contact dermatitis caused by it may also be systemic.Despite the rarity, it's crucial to be aware of this. The majority of individuals get rash between 3 and 16 hours after ingesting. In particular, packaged goods, breads, canned foods, bacon, dairy products, sauces, and artificial flavor extracts and food colorings contain PG in large quantities. It can be found in nearly all fast food.Once this allergy is discovered, the retail healthcare provider's job is to inform people about the need to read labels carefully since avoiding an item is the best way to avoid symptoms.

An annual competition sponsored by the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS) yields prizes akin to the movie industry's Rotten Tomatoes award. The allergen of the year is announced. This year's winner is a substance found in several meals, pharmaceuticals, topical skin care items, and cosmetics.Since the 1930s, propylene glycol (PG) has been sold commercially in the US. After a study revealed it could sanitize the air, it became a highly popular ingredient in air fresheners. PG is a practical, adaptable, and versatile chemical. It serves as a texturing agent, humectant, dough strengthener, antibacterial, emulsifier, flavoring, and anti-caking agent. It works well for skin conditioning. And it has no smell.

This particular contact allergy is important to understand for 2 reasons. PG is a cunning character in the first place since it has been challenging to ascertain how frequently it is a contact allergy. The patch test is the best tool physicians have for determining contact allergy, although patch testing has not proven accurate for PG, despite this being a contentious topic of debate among dermatologists.Second, manufacturers have been using PG more and more over time, and it is now a component of a staggering number of items (in 2012, it was listed in 5676 products, and according to ACDS, 38% of products contain it). Dermatologists currently estimate that PG allergies can vary from 0.8% to 3.5%, but they are significantly more likely to occur in aqueous solutions.In that case, allergy rates range from 10% to 30%.

Clinically, retail health providers need to know a few facts:

The face is where patients are most likely to get PG contact dermatitis; about 26% of cases are seen there.The pattern of the allergy's symptoms is broad or dispersed in 24% of instances.Deodorants, bath salts, and bath oils contain the largest concentration of allergens, and more than half of all allergies are caused by the use of personal care items.

More than 18% of responses are brought on by topical corticosteroids.Occupation-related dermatitis is occasionally brought on by PG.PG is typically found in finely encoded tablets, gel caps, liquids, chewables, and lozenges in pharmaceuticals.The risk of developing this allergy may be greater in people with atopic dermatitis. If the patient consumes this substance, the contact dermatitis caused by it may also be systemic.Despite the rarity, it's crucial to be aware of this. The majority of individuals get rash between 3 and 16 hours after ingesting. In particular, packaged goods, breads, canned foods, bacon, dairy products, sauces, and artificial flavor extracts and food colorings contain PG in large quantities. It can be found in nearly all fast food.Once this allergy is discovered, the retail healthcare provider's job is to inform people about the need to read labels carefully since avoiding an item is the best way to avoid symptoms.