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Petrolatum Facts—150 years to today.

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Petrolatum was discovered in 1859 inadvertently by the oil rig drillers in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The thick “rod wax” caused the rigs to malfunction and had to scraped off, however the workers found it to help soothe and heal their skin cuts. Robert Chesebrough, a chemist, refined, distilled, patented, and named it Vaseline—from the German wasser (water) and the Greek elaion (olive oil).

Purified petrolatum is a highly useful moisturizer and skin protectant as it prevents up to 98% of transepidermal water loss, is triple-purified and devoid of any allergens. It is recommended by the National Eczema Association as safe treatment option. There have not been any evidence-based reports directly linking purified petrolatum to cancer.

However, unrefined, low grade petrolatum does contain carcinogens called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Although the US does not regulate petrolatum use in cosmetics, labels stating “white petrolatum” or “Petrolatum, USP” can be sure they are buying a purified high grade product.

Petrolatum itself has never been reported to cause allergic contact dermatitis. Some petrolatum-based products, however, may not use a purified form of petroleum and often have additional ingredients such as Lanolin or fragrances and should be carefully evaluated for their ingredients by patients with known sensitizations.  

Free Article: IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME-LIKE DISORDERS IN ENDOMETRIOSIS: PREVALENCE OF NICKEL SENSITIVITY AND EFFECTS OF A LOW-NICKEL DIET. AN OPEN-LABEL PILOT STUDY.

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Authors: Borghini R, Porpora MG, Casale R, Marino M, Palmieri E, Greco N, Donato G, Picarelli A

Journal: Nutrients. 2020 Jan 28;12(2). pii: E341. doi: 10.3390/nu12020341.

Abstract

Alimentary nickel (Ni) may result in allergic contact mucositis (ACM), whose prevalence is >30% and may present with IBS-like and extra-intestinal symptoms. These symptoms are also frequent in endometriosis, and Ni allergic contact dermatitis has already been observed in endometriosis. Therefore, intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms in endometriosis may depend on a Ni ACM, and a low-Ni diet could improve symptoms. We studied the prevalence of Ni ACM in endometriosis and focused on the effects of a low-Ni diet on gastrointestinal, extra-intestinal, and gynecological symptoms. We recruited 84 women with endometriosis, symptomatic for gastrointestinal disorders. Thirty-one out of 84 patients completed the study. They underwent Ni oral mucosa patch test (omPT), questionnaire for intestinal/extra-intestinal/gynecological symptoms, and a low-Ni diet. Clinical evaluation was performed at baseline (T0) and after three months (T1). Twenty-eight out 31 (90.3%) patients showed Ni omPT positive results, with Ni ACM diagnosis, whereas three out of 31 (9.7%) patients showed negative Ni omPT. After three months of low-Ni diet, all gastrointestinal, extra-intestinal and gynecological symptoms showed a statistically significant reduction. Ni ACM has a high prevalence in endometriosis and a low-Ni diet may be recommended in this condition to reduce gastrointestinal, extra-intestinal and gynecological symptoms.

Link to article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32012984

Nickel allergy is associated with wheezing and asthma in a cohort of young German adults: results from the SOLAR study.

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Article from University Hospital Munich – elucidating the details of nickel allergy by – Kolberg L1,2,3, Forster F1,3, Gerlich J1,3, Weinmayr G4, Genuneit J4,5, Windstetter D1, Vogelberg C6, von Mutius E3,7, Nowak D1,3, Drexler H8, Schäfer T9, Radon K1,3,10. ERJ Open Res. 2020 Feb 3;6(1). pii: 00178-2019. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00178-2019. eCollection 2020 Jan.

BACKGROUND: Nickel allergy is the most prevalent contact allergy. It belongs to a different hypersensitivity type to asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis. The aim of this analysis was to assess whether self-reported nickel allergy is associated with incident wheezing, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis in young German adults, taking into account potential effect modification by sex.

METHODS: In total, 2051 (70.6%) participants aged 19-24 years took part in the second phase of SOLAR (Study on Occupational Allergy Risks), a follow-up study of ISAAC II (the second phase of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) in Germany. Self-reported nickel allergy, as well as having pierced ears, and the three outcomes incident wheezing, asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis, were analysed stratified for sex. Logistic regression adjusted for potential confounders was performed.

RESULTS: An association between self-reported nickel allergy and incident wheezing was observed for men and women, while only in males did pierced ears show a significant association with the outcome (adjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.10-4.62). Also only in males, self-reported nickel allergy was associated with elevated odds for incident asthma (adjusted OR 4.34, 95% CI 1.22-15.41). Neither in men nor in women was a significant association observed for incident rhinoconjunctivitis.

CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that self-reported nickel allergy is associated with incident wheezing. Whether this association is due to environmental or genetic predisposition, or due to an overlap of the mechanisms of type I and type IV hypersensitivity, needs to be elucidated. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32039258