A product causing an epidemic of allergies could be banned

Marie-Eve Dumont

Monday, 10 July 2017 06:30

UPDATE
Monday, 10 July 2017 06:30

Look at this article

It is a preservative found in many personal care products responsible for an “epidemic” of allergies could soon be banned by Health Canada.

“We expected it for a long time. There truly is an epidemic of people who have developed allergies to methylisothiazolinone, ” says Marie-Claude Houle, dermatologist in Quebec.

This product is a preservative used in cosmetics, personal care products and household in order to avoid the proliferation of bacteria or infectious agents. (see table above)

The methylisothiazolinone (MI) cause of dermatitis allergic contact.

“It is a type of allergy-delayed, that is to say, when a person is washing the hands, it can develop eczema, 24 hours or 2-3 days later. The MI causes a skin red, dry and itchy. People feel they have been burned, ” says Dr. Houle.

Health Canada has recently informed the industry that it was considering a ban on the use of methylisothiazolinone in products rinse-free (creams for the face or body, makeup, etc) and reduce the maximum allowable concentration in rinse-off products (body washes, shampoo, etc) to 15 parts per million (ppm), rather than 100 ppm.

Photo courtesy

Isabelle Lauzon, Allergic

Eczema almost everywhere

“I’m really happy since this is quite complicated to me to find products of hygiene, and I would avoid crises of allergies in my work “, says Isabelle Lauzon, who is allergic to methylisothiazolinone last six years.

The young 24 year old woman had eczema patches on 80 % of his body, since almost all products of care or cleaning she used contained. Her skin was swollen and cracked to blood in some places.

Even if today it has removed the HALF of his house, she still regularly reactions since, in her work as an educator in daycare, she handles wet towels, sunscreen, or creams, which belong to the children.

The methylisothiazolinone has started to be used on a wider scale when the parabens, other preservatives, have created a wave of concern, says Lionel Ripoll, professor of cosmetology at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi.

These are suspected to be endocrine disrupters, interfering with hormone functions.

“Allergen of the year “

Wanting to solve a problem, it created another. An association of allergists americans had even named the MI “allergen of the year” in 2013. The european Union has also prohibited in products rinsed, and reduces its concentration for those without rinsing. These standards came into force in February 2017.

Moreover, even if Health Canada is only at the stage of préconsultation, some companies seem to already begin to remove MI from their products.

The Newspaper has noticed that in looking at the ingredients of a foundation with anti-age that contained methylisothiazolinone while the same product, in the version ” reformulated “, now available on the market, no longer had.

Health Canada should publish its decision on the future of methylisothiazolinone in the fall after having held a public consultation.

Where can we find this product controversial?

Shampoos, conditioners