Update on isothiazolinone (preservative) contact dermatitis

New! Off the Press today! An update on the impact of isothiazolinone (preservative) contact dermatitis allergy .

“Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a socially and economically significant condition. ‘We are in the midst of an outbreak of allergy to a preservative [methylisothiazolinone] which we have not seen before in terms of scale in our lifetime…. I would ask the cosmetic industry not to wait for legislation but to…address the problem before the situation gets worse,” stated John McFadden, FRCP, consultant dermatologist at St. John’s Institution of Dermatology in London, in a 2013 article in The Telegraph. Because MCI was believed to be a more potent allergen than MI, MI was approved for use as an individual pre- servative in industrial products in 2000 and in cosmetics in 2005. Comparing pooled prevalence rates… In the 1980s, in response to the newly recognized isothiazolinone allergens, expert panels from the United States and European Union recommended more strict concentrations in cosmetic products. The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) recommended to the Cosmetic Directive of the European Union to limit. ‘”

Read more: UPDATE ON ISOTHIAZOLINONES.   Isothiazolinones, including (methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone, and benzisothiazolinone, are common synthetic biocides/preservatives found in many skin and hair products as well as industrial products.

By MICHAEL LIPP, DO, MISHA BERTOLINO, MA, ALINA GOLDENBERG, MD, MAS, AND SHARON E. JACOB, MD in The Dermatologist™.  Please click the ‘prevent’ button on Break the Isothiazolinone Cycle on the Dermatitis Academy Isothiazolinone allergen (hapten) page.